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Roasted Sweet Potato Bites

Caramelized at the edges, soft inside. High heat, a hot tray, and enough space between the cubes.

Prep
10 min
Cook
30 min
Makes
Serves 6
Jump to the recipe
Roasted sweet potato chunks with rosemary in a black pan
Photo: Mondgesicht / Pixabay

Sweet potatoes behave differently from ordinary ones, and the difference is sugar. They contain far more of it, which means they caramelize readily and burn readily, often on the same tray.

Preheat the tray with the oven. Cold cubes on a cold tray sit in their own moisture for the first five minutes and steam; the same cubes hitting metal at 220°C start browning on contact. This one change does more than any seasoning.

Space matters more than for anything else here. Sweet potato releases a lot of moisture, and cubes touching each other trap it between them. Two trays, always, even when one looks like it might do.

Cornstarch is the optional extra that makes them properly crisp: a teaspoon tossed through absorbs surface moisture and gelatinises into a thin shell. It is the same principle as dusting chips before frying.

Roasted cabbage steaks want the same treatment and the same tray temperature.

Season with salt and paprika before, garlic and herbs after. Garlic powder burns and turns bitter over half an hour at this temperature.

Sweet potato slices on a roasting tray
Photo: Damir Mijailovic / Pexels

Roasted sweet potatoes: the card

Caramelized at the edges, soft inside. High heat, a hot tray, and enough space between the cubes.

What you need

  • 2½ lb (1.1 kg) sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3 cm cubes
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp cornstarch, optional
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1½ tsp fine salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp garlic powder, to finish
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley, to finish

How to get roasted sweet potatoes properly caramelized

  1. 1 Put two baking trays in the oven and heat it to 425°F (220°C) convection. The trays heat with it.
  2. 2 Toss the cubes with the oil, cornstarch, paprika, salt and pepper until evenly coated.
  3. 3 Spread them across the two hot trays in a single layer, with space between every cube. They should sizzle as they land.
  4. 4 Roast 18 minutes, turn each cube, then roast another 10–12 minutes until deeply caramelized at the edges.
  5. 5 Toss with garlic powder and parsley while hot, and serve straight away.

On timing and cube size

  • They soften within 20 minutes of coming out. This is a dish to serve immediately, not to hold.
  • Cubes larger than 3 cm brown before the middle is cooked; smaller ones dry out.