Soft and creamy on the inside with the spice of cinnamon and ginger on the outside, these roasted sweet potatoes make for a great side dish on the dinner table.
I have been known to make lunch out of a single sweet potato with a bit of butter, ginger, and cinnamon. It’s super easy and super yummy, probably one of my simplest lunch dishes, and comes together in about 5 minutes using the microwave.
Behold: roasted sweet potatoes. Pillowy soft on the inside, kind of like the inside of a baked sweet potato, with just enough sweetness and spice on the outside. They are like little bites of sweet potato perfection.
I have a thing for roasting vegetables in the winter time. It not only brings out the natural sweetness of the vegetables, but these recipes tend to have less active, hands on time. Whether we are talking about a quick weeknight dinner or a big holiday spread, dishes that require less attention is a good thing!
Typically I roast vegetables at 425 degrees. This allows the veggies to soften without becoming mush while the outside caramelizes just enough. With roasted sweet potatoes however, we want the inside to be like mush to get the creamy baked potato texture. By starting with a cooler oven, the insides cook more evenly without the outsides burning. So, move the oven rack to the top slot and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
The sweet potatoes should be peeled and sliced into rounds that are about 1/4? thick. The long, skinny sweet potatoes work better, and they are easier to slice evenly than the thicker ones. Place the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet so they are touching but not overlapping.
I use a quarter sheet baking sheet, but if you don’t have one you can use a sheet of foil to create a smaller pan inside of your larger pan by folding up the edges of the foil. The foil on the quarter sheet that you see in the pictures is optional. I personally don’t like cleaning up a baked on mess when I can throw away the foil instead.
Make the spice blend in a small bowl or ramekin by mixing together the brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. In separate bowl or ramekin melt the butter.
Grab a pastry brush and brush the top each sweet potato with butter. You should use about half of what you melted, or 1 tablespoon on the first side. Then grab your spice mixture and sprinkle half of it on top of the buttered sweet potatoes. If you want to be exact, use 1 3/4 teaspoons of the mixture on each side.
Be careful to get more spice mixture on the potatoes and less directly on the pan. This is one of the reasons the potatoes should be touching. If too much of the spice mixture gets on the pan, it will start to burn and then re-stick to the potatoes when you turn them. It can also cause the potatoes to stick to the pan and it doesn’t taste very good.
Once you are done with the tops, flip the potatoes over and repeat the steps, brushing them with the remaining butter and sprinkling them with the remaining spice mixture. When they are all buttered and spiced, place the pan on the top rack of your preheated oven. Roast for 10 minutes, then flip the sweet potatoes and roast for an additional 10 minutes.
By now, the insides of the potatoes will be soft, but the outsides need to crisp up a bit. Turn the oven temperature up to 450 degrees or turn your broiler on low, then roast the sweet potatoes again for 3 – 5 minutes on each side. Oven temperatures can vary, so check after the three minutes mark.
*If your oven doesn’t have a high/low option on the broiler, prop the oven door open and make sure to check the potatoes for burning after 3 minutes. The potatoes are done when the edges start to brown slightly.
These roasted sweet potatoes are best served hot and fresh from the oven! Leftovers store well in the fridge or freezer. Reheat in a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes (15 minutes if frozen) until they are sizzling hot.
Print
- Yield: 6 -8 slices 1x
- Category: Side Dish
Ingredients
- 1 lb sweet potatoes*
- 2 TBSP butter
- 1 TBSP brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Move the oven rack to the top slot and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Peel the sweet potatoes and slice into 1/4″ thick rounds.
- Place the sweet potatoes on a small baking sheet, touching but not overlapping.
- In a small bowl or ramekin mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.
- In separate bowl or ramekin melt the butter.
- Using a pastry brush, brush the tops each sweet potato with half of the butter then sprinkle with half of the spice mixture. Flip the potatoes over and repeat the steps, brushing them with the remaining butter and sprinkling them with the remaining spice mixture.
- Place the pan on the top rack of your preheated oven, roast for 10 minutes, flip, and roast for an additional 10 minutes.
- Turn the oven temperature up to 450 degrees or turn your broiler on low**, then continue to roast an additional 3-5 minutes on each side.
- Serve hot from the oven.
I would suggest: place melted butter, salt, sugar and spices in a sealed jar. Vigorously shake. Place sliced yams in bowl add butter mixture and stir-toss well.
Add to oiled foil-lined sheet. Bake for 45 min @ 375 F .