Whether you’re looking for a way to use more antioxidant-filled sweet potatoes in your cooking or just need a great seasonal side dish, these cinnamon-roasted sweet potatoes deliver.
Wonderfully elevated with sweet ingredients and savory deliciousness, these aren’t your typical roasted sweet potatoes. Cinnamon and a drizzle of honey bring out the sweetness in these tubers while garlic, thyme, and pepper add a savoriness you didn’t know you needed. Together, they offer a complex flavor that will have your taste buds dancing.
I’m confident your family will love this side dish as much as mine does. Serve it alongside stuffed acorn squash, roasted vegetable winter salad, or your favorite turkey dish.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Budget-Friendly. By featuring two affordable stars, sweet potatoes and fresh garlic, and common spices, this recipe is sure to come in under budget.
- Easy Clean-up. I’ve simplified this recipe so it only requires a single cookie sheet for prep and baking.
- Not too Sweet. I feel the honey really elevates this dish, but if you’re watching your sugar intake, you can easily skip it.
- Easy to Make Ahead. Save time by mixing the sweet potatoes and spices early and bake when ready.
How to Make Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes
This recipe is fairly straightforward and typically takes less than 45 minutes from prep to finish.
You can find the full printable recipe card at the end of this post. For now, let’s take a closer look at how to make cinnamon-roasted sweet potatoes.
Key Ingredients
- Thyme. I always use fresh thyme in this recipe. It bakes better than dry thyme and adds so much extra flavor.
- Sweet Potatoes. I recommend orange-fleshed sweet potatoes as they have a softer texture and hold more moisture. But you can experiment with white-fleshed varieties and yams as well.
- Garlic. Whole garlic cloves infuse the entire dish with a nutty, savory sweetness and add a richness beyond what you’d get with garlic powder.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Prep the Ingredients. Place sweet potatoes, garlic, and thyme on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with spices.
2. Roast until potatoes are tender. Add honey halfway through if desired.
3. Flavor the Sweet Potatoes. Squeeze garlic out of its skin and mix with the potatoes. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Tips, Substitutions, and Variations
- Don’t rush it. Let the roasted sweet potatoes cook as long as needed. It can take between 25 and 45 minutes for them to get tender and start to brown.
- Make uniform sweet potato cubes. For uniform cooking, I’ve found it’s very important to cut your sweet potatoes into the same-sized cubes. I aim for 1-inch cubes, but you can go a little smaller to reduce the cooking time.
- Substitute garlic powder. I highly recommend fresh garlic if you have it. But if not, toss sweet potatoes, olive oil, and ¾ teaspoon garlic powder in a bowl before spreading over the baking pan.
- Substitute rosemary for thyme. If you’re out of thyme, I’ve found fresh rosemary also works very well in this recipe.
- Out of honey? You can substitute pure maple syrup. Honey is sweeter, so you’ll need to add 1 1/4 tablespoon syrup.
- Add toasted pecans. One great variation I return to with this recipe is to garnish it with roasted pecans. The combination of crunchy pecans and the crispiness of the roasted sweet potatoes is just so good.
Make Ahead and Storage Recommendations
To save time, I often prep this dish early. I cut the sweet potatoes and mix them with garlic, thyme, olive oil, and spices in a large container. I pop this in the fridge until I am ready to bake.
That way, when you’re ready to eat, all you have to do is spread them over your baking sheet and roast for 25 to 45 minutes.
If you have leftovers with this dish, place them in an airtight container and store them in the fridge. They will stay good for three to five days.
Reheat by spreading them over a baking dish and cooking at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until warmed through.
Try These Other Sweet Potato Dishes
Sweet potatoes are packed with nutrients like vitamin C, protein, and calcium, so why not cook with them more often? Here are a few more of my favorite sweet potato recipes.
- Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Lentils, Kale and Sun Dried Tomatoes – Satisfying, filling, and healthier than stuffed baked potatoes.
- Spiced Sweet Potato Puree – Low in fat and sugar, but oh so delicious.
- Mexican Style Loaded Baked Sweet Potato Fries – The perfect flavorful, colorful appetizer.
- Brazilian Salmon and Sweet Potato Stew – Hearty and protein-packed.
Cinnamon-Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Equipment
- 1 baking sheet
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 6 garlic cloves unpeeled
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 thyme sprigs
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon or one cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
- 1 tbsp. salt sea salt or kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper ground
- 1 tbsp. honey optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place the sweet potatoes, garlic, and thyme sprigs on a parchment lined baking sheet. Drizzle on the olive oil and then sprinkle on the cinnamon, salt and pepper evenly. Toss to combine, then spread out in an even layer,
- Roast until potatoes are tender and browned, 25-45 minutes. Drizzle the sweet potatoes with honey halfway through, if desired.
- Serve hot or warm, along with the garlic cloves (squeeze the garlic out from the skins and mix with the potatoes before serving).