These Garlic Roasted Sweet Potatoes are a fantastic savory side dish for your family dinner or holiday meal. Diced sweet potatoes are seasoned and roasted with fresh herbs along with a head of garlic, which adds amazing flavor!
This is one of my Side Dish recipes I know you’ll want to keep on hand!
With the holiday season rapidly approaching (seriously where has this year gone?!), it’s time to start thinking about what to make for the big holiday dinner.
For me, Thanksgiving is amazing because of the people we’re with, the sides, and the desserts. The main course… eh, I could take it or leave it half the time (well, unless it’s a copycat HoneyBaked ham, or a stuffed pork tenderloin).
But the sides; oh man, I never get tired of those!
While most sweet potato recipes really play up the sweet factor, this recipe goes in another delicious direction. Savory!
The savory flavors of garlic and herbs really work well with the sweetness of the potatoes, and it all roasts together in one pan.
How to make garlic roasted sweet potatoes?
This is just an overview; the full ingredients and directions are in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post.
- Mix the potatoes, oil, and seasonings. I like to add the oil first, stir, then add the seasonings and stir again. This way the oil acts like a glue, and the seasonings stick really well to the potatoes.
- Add garlic and herbs. These add a really nice depth of flavor when they’re also roasting in the oven alongside the potatoes.
- Bake. Check to make sure the potatoes are fork tender, as well as golden brown.
Helpful Tip!
For the best results, try your best to chop the sweet potatoes into evenly sized pieces. If they’re drastically different, they won’t cook evenly and some will be overcooked and some will be undercooked.
Variations of this recipe
- Baking sheet – if you’d prefer, you can cook this recipe in a rimmed baking sheet, with no changes.
- Seasonings – please feel free to play around with the amount and type of seasonings to reflect your taste preferences. Other spices you could try would be onion powder, chili powder, cayenne pepper, dried thyme, smoked paprika, etc.
- No garlic – the head of garlic adds extra flavor, but isn’t necessary and can be omitted if you’d like.
- No fresh herbs – if you don’t have fresh rosemary on hand, or would rather not use it, you can omit it. You could also substitute the rosemary with fresh thyme.
- Oil – any oil can be used in this recipe. I chose olive oil because I always have it on hand, but vegetable oil, canola oil, or avocado oil will also work just as well.
FAQ’s
I highly recommend it, as sometimes the skin of a sweet potato can be a little tough and fibrous.
I’m sure it could be, but I haven’t tested it to say for certain. My guess is to skip the head of garlic, as it may burn, and to air fry at 390°F for about 8-10 minutes, then stir and continue air frying another 6-8 minutes.
Making roasted sweet potatoes ahead of time
I think roasted food tastes best when made fresh, so I don’t advise making these sweet potatoes ahead of time.
However, there are a couple of things you can do to work ahead!
How to prep ahead for this recipe:
- Potatoes – to keep the potatoes fresh, I wouldn’t peel or cut them, but you can give them a good scrub, then dry them and store them at room temperature.
- Spices – the spices and seasonings used can be combined in a small bowl, covered, and kept at room temperature.
Storage
Leftover sweet potatoes should be refrigerated in an airtight container and eaten within 3-4 days.
The best option to reheat is to add them to a baking sheet, cover with foil and bake at 400°F for 10-15 minutes.
Remove the foil and bake another 5 minutes or so to crisp them up.
My Favorite Sharp Knife!
Raw sweet potatoes can be difficult to cut since they’re very dense. You’ll definitely need a sharp knife! You can use any knife you’d like, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention this chef’s knife from Misen. I’ve had one for years, and it’s very comfortable in my hand, and holds a sharp edge for quite a while.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. sweet potatoes peeled and cubed
- 1 head garlic excess paper peeled away, but keep the head intact
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary optional but recommended
Instructions
Prepare
- Preheat oven to 400°F and set out a 9×13" or other large baking dish.
- Peel and slice sweet potatoes into roughly 1" pieces. Slice the garlic head in half horizontally so you have a top half and a bottom half.
Mix
- Add sliced potatoes to a large mixing bowl, then add olive oil and stir to combine.
- Add dried rosemary, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper and stir to combine again.
Bake
- Transfer sweet potatoes to baking dish and nestle the garlic halves into the potatoes. Rub a little olive oil over the exposed garlic halves. Add sprigs of rosemary.
- Bake in preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes, or until golden brown and fork tender. If the potatoes or garlic are browning too quickly, you can cover loosely with foil.
Serve
- Discard roasted rosemary, and let the dish cool for a few minutes. Feel free to add additional fresh rosemary if you'd like.
Want to save this recipe for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own recipe box!
Chef Tips
- I’ve estimated this will serve approximately 4 people, but as always, the exact serving size is up to you.
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Sandra McCollum says
I don’t want to regret that I should have eaten that.
Erin says
Sounds incredibly delicious! Can’t wait to make this!
Deborah says
This dish looks so good and can’t wait to try it! Thank you for this.
Deborah says
Comment to self. Won’t wait until Thanksgiving to make this!
Robin Rogers Werner says
Do you squeeze the garlic over the potatoes after they are done baking? This dish sounds delish!
The Chunky Chef says
You certainly can 🙂 Or you can save it to use in other recipes that use roasted garlic.
Robin Rogers Werner says
Thank you!