If you enjoy this Melting Sweet Potato recipe, explore more sweet potato ideas in our Sweet Potato Recipes collection. For a great turkey to pair with this dish, see the How to Smoke a Turkey tutorial.
One of my favourite ways to enjoy sweet potatoes is as Melting Sweet Potatoes. These slices become irresistibly tender, richly caramelized, and full of savory flavor. The straightforward high-heat roasting method concentrates both the natural sweetness and savory depth of the potatoes, creating a side dish that feels like comfort food at its best.
I prefer to let the sweet potatoes’ natural sugars shine rather than adding maple syrup or brown sugar. Instead, a splash of vegetable broth and a scatter of garlic added near the end of roasting create an aromatic sauce as the broth reduces and the garlic roasts, elevating the dish with umami and roasted depth.
Sliced into roughly 1-inch rounds, the potatoes caramelize into mahogany edges while becoming meltingly soft inside—so tender they practically yield to a spoon.
These Melting Sweet Potatoes pair beautifully with roast or grilled pork, chicken, turkey, or a pan-seared steak, and they’re also excellent served cold or reheated and tossed into salads with goat cheese and dried cranberries. My favorite way, though, is simply to eat them straight from the pan.
Sweet Potato Recipe
For even cooking, choose sweet potatoes that are roughly the same size—medium-sized tubers work well. Use a rimmed half-sheet pan or a metal roasting pan; do not use a glass dish at the high temperature called for in this recipe.
This recipe works equally well with melted butter or extra virgin coconut oil combined with olive oil. Expect some oven smoke while roasting; run a vent fan if needed. If potatoes seem to scorch, check your oven temperature with an inexpensive oven thermometer and adjust the temperature if necessary.
While I usually use vegetable broth for its flavor, chicken or beef broth can be substituted. Thinly sliced or coarsely chopped garlic both work; avoid pressed garlic since small bits can burn quickly at high heat.
Sweet Potato Side Dish
I often make more than I think we’ll eat because leftovers reheat beautifully. Re-crisp them on a very hot cast-iron skillet with a bit of butter or coconut oil: heat until the bottom crisps, flip, and finish reheating. Leftovers are also delicious cubed over greens with goat cheese and dried cranberries.
Use these to make Melting Sweet Potatoes:
- Rimmed half-sheet pan (metal)
- Flexible metal spatula or turner
- Melted butter or extra virgin coconut oil
- Extra virgin olive oil or garlic-infused olive oil
- Vegetable broth (or chicken/beef broth)
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See how easy these Melting Sweet Potatoes are to make? No sweetener needed!
Melting Sweet Potatoes
Preheat the oven to 500°F.
Peel the sweet potatoes and slice into 1-inch thick rounds. Arrange the slices on a rimmed half-sheet pan with space between them so air can circulate.
Drizzle the potatoes with melted butter or extra virgin coconut oil and with garlic olive oil or plain extra virgin olive oil. Season with kosher salt and ground black pepper. Use your hands or tongs to turn the slices so they are evenly coated in oil.
Roast for 15 minutes, or until the undersides have caramelized to a deep brown. Carefully flip the slices and roast another 15 minutes.
Flip the slices once more, scatter the thinly sliced or chopped garlic over the potatoes, and pour the vegetable broth around them. Return the pan to the oven and roast for a final 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are completely tender and the broth has reduced to a thick, glossy sauce.
Transfer the Melting Sweet Potatoes to a serving plate with a spatula and spoon the pan sauce over them. Store any leftovers tightly covered in the refrigerator.
Melting Sweet Potatoes
Rebecca Lindamood
Ingredients
- 3 pounds sweet potatoes roughly equally sized
- 3 tablespoons melted butter or melted extra virgin coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons garlic extra virgin olive oil or plain extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 garlic cloves peeled and thinly sliced or chopped
- 1 1/4 cups vegetable broth
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 500°F.
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Peel and slice the sweet potatoes into 1-inch rounds. Arrange them on a rimmed half-sheet pan. Drizzle with the melted fat and olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss so each slice is coated.
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Roast for 15 minutes, until the undersides are deeply caramelized. Flip the slices and roast another 15 minutes.
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Flip once more, scatter the garlic over the potatoes, and pour the vegetable broth into the pan. Roast a final 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the broth has reduced to a sauce. Transfer to a serving plate and spoon the pan sauce over the potatoes.
Originally published February 2017. Updated April 2017, February 2018, September 2018, and February 2021.