This recipe for honey-roasted sweet potatoes meets all of my official criteria for being a great dinner component: (1) the potatoes are really tasty with a soft texture and a hint of sweetness; (2) they are easy to prepare, especially if you can find someone else to do the peeling; (3) they travel well and can easily be reheated, so they are nice to bring to a group dinner; and (4) they are a comfortable accompaniment to a weeknight or weekend meal. The recipe below is inspired by Ellie Krieger’s Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes – I used a little less salt and just a pinch of extra honey than the original instructions.
Just in case you were wondering, sweet potatoes are a Native American plant that are packed with calcium, potassium, and vitamins A and C. Although sweet potatoes are harvested in August through October, they are available in supermarkets throughout the year. Sweet potatoes are often confused with yams, but yams are large, starchy roots grown in Africa and Asia. Yams are rarely available in American supermarkets yet it is acceptable to use the term when referring to sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes contain an enzyme that converts many of its starches into sugars as the potato matures. The sweetness continues to increase during storage and when cooked. Thanks to Food Reference for these facts!
And back to the recipe – for Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes:
Ingredients
2 large sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions
–Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
–Peel and cut sweet potatoes into 1-inch pieces and place in 9×13 baking dish.
–In a small bowl stir together oil, honey and lemon juice.
–Pour mixture over potatoes and toss to coat.
–Sprinkle with salt, and bake, stirring occasionally, for about 1 hour, until potatoes are tender.
Have a great day, enjoy your sweet potatoes, and see you at the CTVegFest next weekend!
I am sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, Food Trip Friday and Simple Living with Diane Balch.
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