Crispy 5-Ingredient Roasted Sweet Potatoes

These crispy 5-ingredient roasted sweet potatoes make an easy side dish or tasty addition to all kinds of dishes – from bowls, to breakfasts, to salads. They are crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and perfectly seasoned. Great for meal prep or family dinner! Whole30 compatible, paleo, gluten free, and vegan.

As soon as fall hits we start making roasted vegetables for almost every meal. It just happens so naturally!

They are so versatile, simply to make, and can be enjoyed in so many ways.

Sweet potatoes are always a regular in our roasted veggie rotation, and I’m so excited to share our back-to-the-basics recipe for both basic (plain) roasted sweet potatoes, and seasoned (spiced) roasted sweet potatoes.

They’re just as delicious as my Sweet and Spicy Mexican Roasted Sweet Potatoes, but a little more adaptable and cut into cubes instead of rounds.

Why you’ll love these roasted sweet potatoes

They are:

• Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside
• Perfectly seasoned
• Simple and easy to make
• Great for meal prep
• Savory
• Versatile – add them to bowls, salads, breakfasts, and tacos!
• Whole30, paleo, gluten free, and vegan
• THE best!

Ingredient notes

Sweet potatoes

Our go-to sweet potatoes for roasting, per the instructions in this recipe, are orange or red-fleshed varieties – jewel or red garnet.

They are often labeled as yams in the grocery store, but true yams are a different vegetable entirely – much more starchy.

White sweet potatoes are also delicious but a bit drier / starchier than orange sweet potatoes, so the roasting time may differ.

Spice blend OR just salt and pepper

Depending on your preference or how you’ll be using the roasted sweet potatoes, you can either season them with a simple spice blend (included in the recipe below), or just salt and pepper.

Olive oil or avocado oil

Whatever you like or have on hand will work! You could use melted ghee or coconut oil, too.

Tips for picking the best sweet potato

There’s a few simple things to look out for when picking a good sweet potato at the store.

• Make sure that they have firm, blemish free skin – avoid soft spots, dark brown spots, or sweet potatoes with wrinkled skin. This is especially true if you’re not planning on peeling your sweet potato before cooking.
• I recommend choosing an orange or red-fleshed sweet potato for the most consistent results with this recipe. These are the red garnet or jewel varieties and are commonly found in grocery stores.

Best seasoning blend to use

Sweet potatoes are incredibly versatile, like a blank sweet canvas of caramelized goodness. So just about any blend of spices can be used to season them.

Our go to spice blend is made of:

• Onion powder
• Garlic powder
• Paprika
• Salt & pepper

You can find all of the pantry staples for these sweet potatoes on Thrive Market.

A membership based natural products store that is like the Whole Foods of Costco but entirely based online and with the BEST wholesale prices.

I’ve been a Thrive Market member for 4 years and over that period of time have saved $4,283.42 on natural groceries! That is some serious savings.

How to cut sweet potatoes for roasting

All you need to prep your sweet potatoes for roasting is:

• Large cutting board
• Sharp knife
• Vegetable peeler (if you’re planning to peel your sweet potatoes)

Do you have to peel sweet potatoes before you cook them?

You do not need to peel sweet potatoes before you cook them.

If you leave the skin on you’ll want to wash and dry them well before cutting to make sure the skin is clean.

When roasted with the skin on the texture will have a little more bite, since the skin will get rather crispy and crinkled in the hot oven.

But it’s really up to your preference!

To cut the sweet potato into even sized cubes

Sweet potatoes can be a little bit difficult to cut if they’re big.

If you’re worried about them while rolling around while you slice them into rounds, you can peel or slice off a thin piece of the rounded edge so that it sits flat on your cutting board.

• Cut into ½ inch rounds, and then dice each round into even sized cubes (as pictured below).
• Try to keep the cubes evenly sized so that they all cook at around the same rate.
• If left uncooked for a while, sweet potatoes can start to turn brown. To prevent this, they can be rinsed with cool water immediately after cutting. However moisture is not a friend to nice crispy roasting, so I usually try to wait to cut the sweet potatoes until I’m ready to toss them with oil and pop them in the oven.

How to roast diced sweet potatoes

• Add cubed sweet potatoes to a large, rimmed baking sheet. This is one of our favorite sheet pans for roasting all kinds of veggies.
• Toss with olive oil or avocado oil, salt, and black pepper (or a spice blend). Make sure each piece of sweet potato is nicely coated. Clean hands work great for this step!
• Spread out sweet potatoes in a single layer to promote crispy edges. If they’re too close together they’ll steam instead of roasting. Two roasting pans spaced out evenly in your oven is better than one that is overfilled.
• Roast sweet potatoes at 425 for 25-30 minutes, until tender and starting to caramelize on the edges. If you want them to brown on all sides you can take them out and toss them every 10 minutes or so. If you don’t toss them during cooking the part of the sweet potato cube that will be the darkest is the side that is touching the sheet pan. To keep things easy, I usually just leave them to roast without tossing.
• If you want extra crispy edges go ahead and bump the heat up to broil for a minute or two before pulling them from the oven and serving! Add a sprinkle of flaky sea salt if that’s your jam.

What is the best temperature to roast sweet potatoes at?

My favorite roasting temperature for just about any vegetable is 425 degrees Fahrenheit, sweet potatoes included.

At that temperature they should be ready in about 25-30 minutes, but it’s always a good idea to do a taste test to make sure they’re done before pulling them from the oven.

How to use roasted sweet potato cubes

These yummy roasted sweet potato cubes are delicious on their own as a simple side dish, but can also be used for meal prep in lots of other ways.

They would be delicious in:

• Your favorite salad
• A grain bowl
• Your breakfast spread
• Tacos or burritos
• Etc!

Storage

• Refrigerator: Allow the roasted sweet potatoes to cool to room temperature and store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
• Freezer: I haven’t personally tested freezing roasted sweet potatoes, but I have frozen steamed sweet potato cubes, so I image it would work well. To thaw, move to the refrigerator overnight and reheat in the oven on a sheet pan before serving.

Love this recipe? Try these other sweet potato recipes!

• Sweet Potato Hummus
• Crispy Sweet Potato Fries
• Sweet and Spicy Mexican Roasted Sweet Potatoes (Paleo + GF + Vegetarian)
• Twice Baked Garlic Parmesan Sweet Potato Casserole (GF + Paleo option)
• Whole30 Sweet Potato “Sandwiches” (Whole30 + Paleo + GF)

If you enjoyed this recipe, we’d love it if you would take 5 seconds to rate and review it below! It’s also super helpful for other readers if you share any modifications you made to the recipe. 

Thank you for sharing your kitchen with NK. We’re so grateful you’re here!

Print