Fitness / May 21, 2024

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Roasty, toasty, and just a little sweet!

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Ever wondered why sweet potatoes are so much more orange than your average spud? When sliced and diced, whether roasted or sautéed, golden-colored sweet potatoes almost always look more like carrots than any other vegetable! There’s actually a reason for that turmeric-like tint in sweet potatoes (and, hint: it isn’t turmeric!) – it’s a special form of vitamin A called beta-carotene!

Beta-carotene is what is called an antioxidant provitamin A compound (meaning it gets converted into vitamin A by your body!) It’s also used to naturally color a lot of other foods like margarine, but it’s best found and utilized in vegetables with rich golden shades like carrots, cantaloupe, apricots, and sweet potatoes! That makes our recipe for roasted sweet potatoes just a little sweeter if you ask me.

When roasted to perfection with some light caramelization on all sides, roasted sweet potatoes end up being delicious, decadent, and damn good for you, too! Serving up a side of roasted sweet potatoes will have you feeling golden!

Are Roasted Sweet Potatoes Healthy?

Sweet potatoes are full of iron and healthy dietary fiber on top of beta-carotene’s natural rejuvenation and antioxidant properties. With ingredients as simple as these, you can best bet that sweet potatoes are easy-peasy and vegan-pleasy (and paleo to boot!)

Due to the carbohydrate content in sweet potatoes, they won’t be suitable for keto eaters, but that just means finding alternatives for that sweet, roasty beta-carotene! Another excellent source for many of the same nutrients found in sweet potatoes (with way fewer carbs!) would be deliciously diced, golden butternut squash!

Beta-Carotene and you.

Beta-carotene (which takes its name from the Latin word for “carrot”) is a rich pigment naturally appearing in vegetables ranging from subtly yellow peas to vibrantly red peppers. Beta-carotene doesn’t just tint your favorite foods though – it’s a provitamin A compound, meaning it converts in our bodies into retinol (also known as vitamin A) an essential vitamin for renewing skin and maintaining cell health.

You’ve probably seen retinol in the list of ingredients on your nighttime facial cream, but the retinol your body makes naturally out of beta-carotene doesn’t just rejuvenate your skin and prevent wrinkles. Retinol made through your metabolism keeps every cell in your body young and healthy, from your eyes to your lungs, from your skin to your gut! That makes it a sort of super-food component, which is why so many superfoods contain some amount of beta-carotene!

While that doesn’t necessarily mean you should go eating your retinol-based facial care products, it does mean that incorporating more sweet potatoes, carrots, and colorful vegetables can help keep you looking youthful and healthy!

INGREDIENTS

4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat

Prepare the oven and baking sheets.

Toss

Coat sweet potatoes with oil and seasonings.

Spread

Arrange sweet potatoes on sheets.

Roast

Cook until tender and caramelized.

Devour!

FAQs & Tips

How to Make Ahead and Store?

Roasted potatoes are so easy to make that you may as well make them ahead of time! While they’re best served fresh out of the oven, there’s something to be said about the delicious, tender insides of microwaved sweet potato leftovers! Make sure to store your roasted potatoes in the fridge for up to 4 days (any longer and they’ll dry out too much to be savorable!) and heat them up.

Is beta-carotene always yellow/orange/red colored?

Not all vegetables that contain beta-carotene end up being the color of leaves during the fall. Many beta-carotene-rich foods are green such as broccoli, spinach, and kale – the deeper the green, typically the more nutritious.

How do I get the caramelized edges without burning my sweet potatoes?

Make sure to monitor your roasted sweet potatoes as they’re cooking, you’ll start to see darkening on the edges of your cubes! Any further than that lightly darkened color is going to taste bitter and unpleasant, but right when you start to see those crispy corners, you’ve got a deliciously caramelized sweet potato!

Serving Suggestions

Sweet potatoes go perfectly with other colorful beta-carotene dishes. Serve these roasted sweet potatoes with bright broccoli salad, colorful kale soup, or eye-popping stuffed peppers! If you’re looking to compliment the subtle sweetness of your roasted sweet potatoes, try a little something salty like spinach cheese quiche!

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 25

Servings servings

Calories 171kcal

Author FoodFaithFitness

Ingredients

4 medium sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C) and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
In a large bowl, toss the cubed sweet potatoes with olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper until they are evenly coated.
Spread the sweet potatoes out in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets, ensuring they are not overcrowded for even roasting.
Roast in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are tender on the inside and caramelized on the edges. Halfway through, stir the sweet potatoes for more even browning.