Roasted Sweet Potatoes are one of our favorite Fall sides. This recipe is special enough to be served on Thanksgiving, but we make it on the regular in Autumn and Winter because oven-roasted sweet potatoes are easy and irresistibly delicious. You’ll love how the garlic is added – no peeling required!
If you love sweet potato recipes as much as we do, this Sweet Potato Casserole is a treasure of a recipe along with Creamy Sweet Potato Soup (also topped with bacon).
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Roasted Sweet Potato Recipe:
The maple in this recipe caramelizes the edges of the sweet potatoes as they roast in the oven, making them glow. Those are the pieces my fork attacks first along with the salty bites of bacon. Don’t skip the roasted garlic – pop the little cloves out of their sleeves and indulge. Maple-bacon flavored roasted garlic is incredible.
How are Yams and Sweet Potatoes Different?
Some grocery stores in North America label sweet potatoes and yams interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. A true yam is a deep reddish/purple color on the outside with a white center and is not commonly sold in North American grocery stores.
What you will typically find in grocery stores are sweet potatoes (as pictured below) that have a copper-colored exterior with an orange center. This type of sweet potato is what’s commonly used to make traditional Thanksgiving sides like Mashed Sweet Potatoes or Sweet Potato Casserole.
How to Roast Sweet Potatoes:
I’m convinced that oven-roasted vegetables is the best way to cook them, especially sweet potatoes. The texture is incredibly smooth and roasting draws out their natural sweetness. We add real maple syrup, bacon and garlic to give this dish wonderful sweet, salty, savory flavors that you will love.
- Preheat oven to 400˚F. Line the bottom of a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment or Silpat.
- Slice the whole garlic head in half horizontally (parallel to the root). Peel and slice sweet potatoes into 3/4″ thick pieces.
- In a large mixing bowl, toss together sliced sweet potatoes, garlic, olive oil, maple syrup, salt, and pepper.
- Arrange on a baking sheet with garlic cut-side-up. Bake at 400˚F for 20 min, then stir, top with bacon and bake another 25-30 min until sweet potatoes are tender and bacon is crisp.
How Long to Roast Sweet Potatoes?
At 400˚F, sweet potatoes cut to 3/4″ thick will take about 45 minutes to roast. For best results and even roasting, cut potatoes to an even thickness and stir the potatoes halfway through. Test the largest chunk of potato – it should be easily pierced with a fork. Use the largest sheet pan that will fit in your oven for even roasting. We use a big 15×21 sheet pan.
Do I have to Peel Sweet Potatoes?
Whether or not you peel your sweet potatoes for roasting is personal preference. Sweet potato skins are tender and you can skip the peeling if you love the texture of the skins. It will be even easier.
A tray of cubed roasted sweet potatoes is like adult candy. I’ll pull this out of the oven and take little bites while making dinner until I realize a quarter of it is gone! These roasted sweet potatoes disappear quickly every time. Make it once and you’ll make it again and again!
Push the roasted garlic cloves out of the sleeves and serve tossed with the sweet potatoes. I hope this roasted sweet potato recipe becomes a new favorite for you!
The Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes:
These are all of the classic Thanksgiving side dishes that we traditionally make for our Thanksgiving dinner. Make them all for the ultimate Thanksgiving feast.
- Creamy Mashed Potatoes – just read the reviews!
- Turkey Gravy – a must-have with Juicy Turkey
- Green Bean Casserole – made from scratch
- Cranberry Sauce – so good with orange zest
- Soft Dinner Rolls – don’t forget honey butter
- Potato Salad – way better than storebought
Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Bacon
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400˚F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.
- Slice the whole un-peeled garlic head in half horizontally (parallel with the roots). Peel and slice sweet potatoes into 3/4" thick pieces.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine sliced sweet potatoes, halved garlic head, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp maple syrup, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper and toss to combine.
- Place in a single layer on a prepared baking sheet with the garlic cut-side-up. Bake at 400˚F for 20 min. Remove from oven, stir the sweet potatoes, sprinkle pieces of bacon evenly over the top and bake another 25-30 min or until sweet potatoes are tender and bacon is crisp.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Serve these maple roasted sweet potatoes and bacon as the most delicious side dish. I’m so tempted to pick some right off the screen and unfortunately for me, there weren’t any leftovers (there never are!)… Best to make them again.
I made these tonight for dinner and I wished I had taken a photo! It was so full of flavour, although I have to admit, I did a few alterations to the cooking process. I placed the cut garlic with some olive oil, salt & pepper in the oven until I was done with the next step. I browned the bacon, scooped it out and let it set on a papertowel. Added the cut up sweet potatoe, olive oil, salt & pepper in the bacon fat until the potatoes were browned then I added the maple syrup. Tranferred this all into the garlic dish and baked until the potatoes were tender. I sprinkled the reserved bacon on top of the yummy sweet potatoes This recipe is a keeper, what a wonderful combination of the sweet potato and maple syrup with the salty bacon, thank you Natasha for sharing ~ love it!!!
That is so wonderful to hear and thank you so much for sharing some of the alterations that you did with the recipe. We appreciate it!
I am so intrigued by this recipe. I use a lot of your recipes, never disappointed. I am planning to make this for Thanksgiving. Question, can I make this the day before and heat it up? Thank you.
Hi Kerry, yes you can make them ahead and they do reheat pretty well both in the oven and on the stovetop. It is a good idea to reheat them either way so your bacon crisps/freshens up and it is best served warm.
Do you add the garlic with the sweet potatoes to serve? In your pictures, I don’t see the cloves mixed in with the sweet potato chunks. Does the garlic have a very strong flavor when mixed in? I’d like to make this for Thanksgiving and would love to know. Thanks!
Hi, the cloves are very mild after roasting on high heat. I like to sprinkle them over the sweet potatoes to serve but you can do it to preference. My children don’t love the garlic but my husband and do.
Hi Natasha, I am Muslim and we don’t eat bacon. I am super fond of your recipes. So, which meat should be used in the replacement of bacon.
Hi, it would be difficult to find something comparable to bacon but if you wanted that little salty bite, you might sprinkle some parmesan in towards the end of roasting.
Consider trying “Beef Bacon”. It is not always easy to find pre-packaged, but most butcher shops will know what you’re after if no luck at your local grocery store.
Feta cheese also goes great with sweet potatoes and squash, and would also give that salty flavor.
So what happens to the garlic? Do you just roast it with the potatoes then discard? I scanned over the comments and didn’t find the answer.
Hi Karen, we have this note in the recipe that should help “Don’t skip the roasted garlic – pop the little cloves out of their sleeves and indulge. Maple-bacon flavored roasted garlic is incredible.”
Sweet potatoes and bacon are a match made in foodie heaven. These were divine. Making again for Thanksgiving.
They sure are aren’t they, Alli! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Natasha you’ve done it again my friend! Such an incredibly easy to make delicious side dish. The bacon just takes it over the top and it is so good. Thanks for another hit!
You’re welcome, Billy! Thank you for that great review!
Little but significant extras like roasted garlic and bacon made this sweet potato recipe so delicious. It’s easy enough for everyday but also special enough for a holiday table. Thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed that, Julia.
OMG. Why have I never thought of adding bacon to roasted sweet potatoes? I typically do marshmallows but this is way better.
Isn’t it the best, Trang! Thank you for that awesome review.
What a perfect combination, need to try this recipe!
I hope you give it a try soon, Katie! Thank you for that awesome review.
hello!
in the ingredients it reads sea salt but in the instructions it’s kosher salt. which one do I use ? 🙂
thank you!
Hi Monica, sea salt is correct but any salt will work here. Sorry about that – not sure why I wrote kosher salt? Must have been typing fast!
I live on my own so instead of cutting the recipe can I freeze the remainder
Hi Dianne, I think that should work fine.
FYI, most grocery stores where I live label sweet potatoes “yams”, so make sure you double check when buying them. Good recipe!
Thanks Dima!
Do you think this would work with butternut squash?
Hi Susan, I haven’t tried that before. Sweet potatoes are sweeter than butternut or acorn squash if you’ve tried those and about the same in consistency. The centers are more creamy to the bite than a roasted regular potato would be. I hope you give it a try. We LOVE sweet potatoes. If you experiment with butternut squash I would love to know how you like it!
I made this last night for dinner and it was a HUGE hit. Another favorite recipe. Thank You!
That’s so awesome, Annette! Thank you for this great review!
Hi Natasha! Can I substitute maple syrup with olive oil so they are not that sweet?
Hi Luda, yes that would work great or you could just omit the maple syrup 🙂
My girls and I made these last night because I need to bring a side to thanksgiving dinner at the in laws. I’m so glad we tried it, I luckily already had all the ingredients and my husband said he really liked them. I will definitely be making this to bring to dinner and I’m thinking of making your strawberry cake for dessert. Thanks for the delicious recipe!
I’m glad to hear the recipe is a HIT! Thanks for sharing your great review Sarah! 🙂
I love the dish the 1st time around especially with my black bean soup I make.
The 2nd time around i wanted my bacon more crispy so I par-cooked the bacon and used some of the fat rendered as substitute instead of olive oil to mix in with the spices and sweet potatoes.
A healthier option would be to par-cook the bacon, keep the olive oil in the mix, and toss out the rendered bacon fat from the par-cooked process.
Thank you for sharing, it will not become a staple in our home.
You’re welcome Allan! I’m happy to hear how much you enjoy the recipe! Thanks for sharing your great review with other readers!
My husband, who is not a huge fan of sweet potatoes, ate these straight out of the pan! I thought they were pretty tasty too. An excellent side dish for a special occasion, just make sure your people-swatter is handy!
LOL! I’m glad to hear you both enjoy this recipe! Thanks for sharing your excellent review Inga!
Can I use yam instead of sweet potato?
Hi Dana, in the US, yam and sweet potato are often used interchangeably. Some grocery stores call them yams and some sweet potatoes.
Hi Dana, in the US, yam and sweet potato are often used interchangeably. Some grocery stores call them yams and some sweet potatoes.
Natasha, these sweet potatoes are soo delicious! thank you for sharing the recipe with us! I personally never knew how to cook them, and my family doesn’t eat them either. I am just in love with how flavorful they are, with minimal ingredients too! I will definitely be making this again.
You’re welcome! Thank you for sharing your awesome review!