These crispy Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes have a caramelized exterior while staying light and and fluffy on the inside. They are a delicious, easy side dish recipe for nearly any occasion from a weeknight meal to your Thanksgiving table.
If you’re like me, you’re always on the hunt for easy, versatile side dish recipes.
Salads are great, but sometimes you crave something a little more substantial but not heavy. Oh, and it needs to be quick to pull together.
Enter these Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Onions with fresh rosemary. This recipe ticks all the boxes for great side dishes - seasonal, simple and flavorful. Plus cooler autumn evenings are perfect for roasting ALL.THE.VEG.
Ingredients
This list is short and sweet:
A few ingredient notes:
- Sweet potatoes are my go-to, but you can also use yams in this recipe.
- Sweet onions have a variety of different names (Vidalia, Walla Walla, Maui). Any will do here. I've also used regular white and yellow onions in a pinch, too.
Instructions
No fancy skills needed for this recipe.
Start by peeling and chopping your sweet potatoes, onions and rosemary.
Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast until crispy and caramelized. Serve hot with an extra sprinkle of salt.
Roasting tips
- Use a hot oven. This recipe calls for 400 degrees and that’s probably the minimum for roasting veggies. The high heat ensures you get a crispy, caramelized exterior and soft, fluffy interior.
- Preheat your sheet pans while preheating the oven. Placing your prepared sweet potatoes on an already hot pan jumpstarts the cooking process and helps achieve that lovely sear we all crave.
- Cut your potatoes and onions in similar sizes to ensure even roasting. If your potatoes are cubed unevenly, they will be cooked through at different times and some might burn before others are fully cooked.
- Don’t crowd the pan. It’s tempting to try to fit everything on one pan, especially if you’re in charge of dishes, but try to refrain. Crowding the pan with veggies will result in more steaming than roasting because the veggies don’t have as much air circulating around them. Use two sheet pans instead and rotate them halfway through cooking.
FAQs
Absolutely! Skin-on potatoes have more texture, so if that doesn’t float your boat, feel free to peel your sweet potatoes before roasting them.
Sweet potatoes don’t brown immediately after being cut like russets do. If you plan to make them in a few hours, you should be fine with peeling and cubing ahead of time.
If longer than a few hours, submerge them in ice water and refrigerate for up to two days. Dry very thoroughly before roasting or your potatoes won’t caramelize or get crispy.
The technical answer is yes, you can, but they lose some of those irresistible crispy edges during reheating. If you have to reheat, pop them in a hot oven until heated through. You may have to tent with foil to keep them from over browning.
Recipe variations
Not a rosemary fan? Switch up the herbs. Try swapping in thyme or oregano instead. Dried spices like cumin and chili powder are pair beautifully with sweet potatoes.
Got leftovers? Toss them in a salad or use them as the base for a breakfast hash with sautéed mushrooms, a fried egg and a shaving of fresh parmesan cheese.
⭐️ Want more roasted vegetable recipes? We have a collection of seven plus foolproof tips to make the BEST oven baked veggies. ?
More potato recipes
- These Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes are the most requested recipe on our website for Thanksgiving. Give them a try and you’ll see why so many people love them.
- Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside and perfectly salted. Need we say more about this Smashed Potatoes Recipe?
- Still warm enough to grill where you live? You don’t want to miss these Grilled Potatoes in foil with fresh herbs or this grilled Hot German Potato Salad.
- Are you team Sweet Potato Casserole or not? The marshmallows take it over the top.
- This Potato Leek Soup is pure comfort food in a bowl. (Tip: roast the veggies for an awesome flavor boost!)
You can find all of our side dish recipes in our archives.
Recipe
Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Onions
Ingredients
- 4 medium-sized sweet potatoes peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 large sweet onion chopped into similarly sized pieces as potatoes
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil or other neutral oil
- 1 heaping tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place two baking sheets in the oven to preheat.
- Combine potatoes and onion in a bowl. Add olive oil and toss to coat evenly. Sprinkle rosemary, salt and pepper on potato mixture and stir to combine.
- Divide potato mixture on preheated baking sheets and roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes, rotating sheets and flipping potatoes and onions halfway through. Depending on the size of your potato and onion pieces, they may cook faster or slower. Keep an eye on them so they don't burn.
- Remove from oven and season to taste with additional salt and pepper.
Notes
Make-ahead tips:
- You can peel and cut the potatoes up to two hours ahead of time. Any longer than that and you need to pop them in a container of ice water and store in the fridge until ready to use. Dry VERY thoroughly before roasting.
- You can roast the potatoes and onions ahead of time but they will lose a bit of their crispiness. Reheat in a hot oven until warmed through.
Nutrition
Nutrition info not guaranteed to be accurate.
Side dishes don’t get much easier (or versatile) than these Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Onions. Each well-seasoned bite has a deliciously caramelized exterior and a soft, creamy interior. Perfect for Thanksgiving or any weeknight meal!
This recipe looks delicious AND it fits the paleo autoimmune protocol. So, thank you! I just started a weekly Paleo AIP Recipe Roundtable through my blog, and I would love it if you linked up this recipe. I’m trying to expand resources for the AIP community. Here’s the link:
Made these today, oh my so amazing! Big hit at Thanksgiving dinner! Perfection! So so good! Thank you for such a great recipe!
I'm so glad they helped make your Thanksgiving meal a hit. Thanks for letting us know!
I am always looking for ways to serve up sweet potatoes. Love them.
Sweet potatoes are a crowd pleaser around here, and these go quickly whenever I make them for dinner.
Can you make this the day before and reheat - say for Thanksgiving? Also, does it travel well if you need to take your dish to your relatives? Thanks!
Naturally they will taste best the day they are made, but reheating them on a hot sheet pan in the oven is always an option. I would suggest reheating them wherever you go for your meal rather than taking them preheated as they will steam in a closed container and become softer. Hope that helps!
I love rosemary, but never considered using it with sweet potatoes. I never considered combining onions with sweet potatoes either. This was absolutely delicious and I will definitely make it again. After posting a photo of my meal, I was asked for the recipe. Since I shared it, I've seen many of my friends also sharing recipes from your blog. All look wonderful and I can't wait to try some others.
Thanks for the comment, Pam. So glad you're finding some fun new recipes here!
Not always the biggest fan of rosemary but I loved this and will absolutely make it again! Perfect.
Woo hoo, I found a gluten free easy sweet potato dish for Thanksgiving!! My mom is gluten free so I wanted something she could have too plus I wanted to stay away from the traditional marshmallow laden dish. Cannot wait to try this!
Hope your family enjoys it. Happy Thanksgiving!
This recipe looks delicious AND it fits the paleo autoimmune protocol. So, thank you! I just started a weekly Paleo AIP Recipe Roundtable through my blog, and I would love it if you linked up this recipe. I’m trying to expand resources for the AIP community. Here’s the link:
Love roasted vegetables, especially sweet potatoes, and especially in the fall! This was so simple, but so good, and the house smelled amazing! Will be putting in the menu rotation, but will also work really well for formal dinners as well. Great recipe!!!!
Thanks, Katie. The smell gets me every time, too.
Psh. This is TOTALLY a recipe! I'm glad you shared it, because it looks totally amazing, too!
Thanks, Karly! I'm totally craving roasted veggies now that there is a hint of fall in the air.
This is a great side dish for Thanksgiving! I am always looking for new dishes to make--can't wait to try this out. Beautiful photos too.