These garlic roasted sweet potatoes have completely won me over. They are packed with flavor and go well with so many main dishes.
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Hi friends. How are you?
I am back with another great recipe to share with you today. I am always on the hunt for a good, easy side dish to make for dinner and this is it.
Just 5 ingredients and only 5 minutes of prep time. It’s totally my kind of a recipe.
Are you a sweet potato fan? I admit that I haven’t been a sweet potato fan for probably the majority of my life.
A few recipes have changed my professed sweet potato tastes including this scalloped yukon gold and sweet potato gratin which is incredibly out-of-this-world delicious.
And these sweet pecan yams that are on the MUST MAKE list for every holiday. They really should be called sweet pecan sweet potatoes because most yams are actually sweet potatoes (I won’t go into details here – just go to the post if you’re interested).
And then there’s also those savory garlic mashed sweet potatoes that I had one time at a football game. I can’t remember anything about the game (not surprising), but I sure can’t get those sweet potatoes out of my head. So yeah I’ve been working on perfecting that recipe for several years now so look for that one coming soon, my friends.
And then there’s the recipe I’m sharing today. While these garlic roasted sweet potatoes may look simple, they can stand proudly with the other favorite sweet potato recipes posted on my blog.
They are so delicious, my friends. Make sure you follow a few tips below and you’re sure to end up with delicious roasted sweet potatoes.
Don’t skimp on the oil
The right amount of oil is important so the potatoes don’t get dried out. If they seem extra dry, make sure you add a bit more oil to the mix. If you’re not sure after mixing it, it will be apparent when you take them out to turn halfway through.
Always error on the side of a bit more oil. You’ll thank me when you taste them.
Coarse salt rocks (literally)
I really like using coarse salt for roasted veggies. It brings out the flavor of the food in amazing ways.
Right now my favorite coarse salt is this French sea salt (aff link) my friends over at The Food Nanny introduced me to. It is seriously so good.
Fresh garlic is key
Please please please don’t sub out the fresh garlic. You will not get the same result. The refrigerated minced garlic is so convenient (believe me I used it for years because I hate the smell of garlic on my hands). But it has an off taste and will not give you the bright happy flavor that these roasted sweet potatoes deserve.
Spend a few minutes with your kitchen knife mincing. Or use a garlic press (a.k.a my favorite garlic handheld mincer thingy, aff. link). I love this tool and you don’t even have to peel the cloves first.
It will totally be worth it.
Don’t crowd the pan
You’re going to be tempted to throw an extra sweet potato on that pan just because you think it fits, but DON’T DO IT. A crowded pan is a catastrophe when it comes to roasting vegetables because they just don’t roast the right way.
Here’s a visual of what you’re going for.
A proper roasted vegetable should start to be a little brown on the edges. That’s when the flavor really comes out. And you won’t get that if you have every square millimeter of the pan filled with veggies.
Here’s what they look like after roasting. Mmmh. Soo good.
So many possibilities
This recipe is super simple (and we love it that way), but you can easily create variations by adding or changing up the seasonings.
I’d love to hear what you try! Italian seasoning, chipotle or chile powder, the options are endless.
Garlic Roasted Sweet Potatoes
These garlic roasted sweet potatoes have completely won me over. They are packed with flavor and go well with so many main dishes.
Ingredients
- 6-7 cups peeled, cubed sweet potatoes and/or yams 2 to 2 ½ pounds, or about 3 medium or 2 large
- 3 large cloves fresh garlic minced, see note
- 2 teaspoons coarse salt see note
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a half baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
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In a large bowl combine peeled sweet potatoes/yams, fresh minced garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil and mix well.
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Spread evenly on parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in preheated 425 degree oven for 20 minutes.
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Remove pan from oven and turn sweet potatoes with a spatula. Sprinkle a bit more olive oil if the potatoes look dry. Then return to oven and roast an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender and starting to turn golden on the edges.
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Serve sweet potatoes warm or at room temperature. Delicious reheated as leftovers also.
Recipe Notes
1. Technically the things they call “yams” in the store are really sweet potatoes – check out this post on sweet pecan yams for more info.
2. Using fresh garlic is super important! Don’t sub with the refrigerated minced kind or the flavor will not be the same.
3. You can use any type of coarse salt here (or regular salt if you don’t have coarse salt), but the coarse sea salt is my favorite.
4. This recipe is super simple (and we love it that way), but you can easily create variations by adding seasonings. I’d love to hear what you try! Italian seasoning, chipotle or chile powder, the options are endless.
Recipe Source: Heather @ The Cook’s Treat
All images and text © The Cook’s Treat
Disclaimer: post contains affiliate links for items on Amazon.
