Make these oven-roasted sweet potatoes for a holiday side or to elevate your weeknight dinner routine all year long. Simply roast the sweet potatoes with a little salt and olive oil, then finish with the nutty, slightly sweet honey tahini and a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds. It’s easy but looks like you spent all day making it.
The trick to deliciously caramelized on the outside, velvety on the inside sweet potatoes–or carrots, cauliflower, or even salmon for that matter? Let aluminum foil and a hot sheet pan do the work!
In this easy oven roasted sweet potato recipe, the vegetable is sliced into thick rounds so they hold their shape as they roast. They’re covered in foil to happily steam in your oven until they’re nice and tender. You simply remove the foil in the final 15 minutes. Kick back as the hot sheet pan concentrates their flavor into a golden-brown crust!
You can leave it at that, but I love the honeyed tahini drizzle so much that I included this recipe in my first cookbook. Creamy, nutty, and rich, it plays well with the sweet and savory qualities of the potatoes. It has a smooth, velvety texture and distinctly toasty, savory flavor. In fact, you may want to double it to spread on your morning toast!
Table of Contents
Ingredients for Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes
You can keep this oven roasted sweet potato recipe simple, or dress things up a bit with creamy tahini and toasted sesame seeds. Here’s what you’ll need:
For the Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Sweet potatoes: Look for firm sweet potatoes with smooth skin, which is a good sign of freshness.
- Olive oil: Used to give the potatoes their golden exterior and prevent sticking. Use a high quality extra virgin variety for the best flavor.
- Kosher salt: Enhances the sweet and savory flavors of the sweet potatoes.
For the Honey Tahini
- Tahini: Learn all about this incredible Mediterranean staple in our “What is Tahini?” essential guide. Use a high-quality, smooth tahini made from roasted sesame seeds with no other additives. My favorite all-natural tahini comes from Soom, which you can order from our shop.
- Honey: I love the savory herbal notes of our Greek Alfa honey with the sweet potatoes and savory tahini, but any light, spreadable honey that’s not too overpowering will work well.
- Sesame seeds: I like to freshly toast sesame seeds myself, but you can buy them pre-toasted if you like.
How to Roast Sweet Potatoes
I swear by these tried and true oven roasted sweet potatoes! They’re perfectly tender on the inside and crisp on the outside. Here’s how to roast the best sweet potatoes, every time:
To Roast the Sweet Potatoes
- Get ready. Preheat your oven to 425°F. Line a 13×9-inch sheet pan with aluminum foil and brush generously with olive oil. Scrub 3 medium sweet potatoes and dry them very well, then slice into 3/4-inch thick rounds.
- Season the sweet potatoes. Arrange the rounds in the prepared pan in a single layer. Generously brush the tops of the rounds with olive oil and season with a big pinch of salt (about 1/2 teaspoon). Cover the pan tightly with another piece of foil.
- Roast the potatoes covered in foil. Bake covered for 30 minutes, which traps the steam and makes the potatoes very tender.
- Roast the potatoes uncovered. Remove the top foil and roast until the bottoms turn golden brown, another 15 to 20 minutes. Use tongs to carefully flip the rounds over and return to the oven until the second side is also golden brown, about 10 minutes or so. Set the pan aside to cool for 5 minutes.
To Make the Toppings
- Toast the sesame seeds. While the potatoes roast, pour 1/4 cup of sesame seeds into a small, dry pan and set over medium-low heat. Swirl until golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate to avoid overcooking them.
- Make the honeyed tahini drizzle. In a small bowl, stir 1/2 cup tahini and 1/4 cup honey until well combined. You’re looking for a runny enough sauce to drizzle over the potatoes. If the mixture is thick, warm it up for a few seconds in the microwave.
- Finish and serve. Use a spatula to transfer the sweet potato rounds to a serving platter. Drizzle on the honeyed tahini and sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds over top. Serve immediately.
Swaps and Substitutions
The easy technique for these oven-roasted sweet potatoes is arguably the best part of this recipe (though I’ll admit I never pass on honey tahini). Make the simple sweet potatoes with salt and olive oil on repeat, mixing up the flavors with the seasonings you like and what you have on hand. Here are some ideas:
- Keep it simple: Skip the honeyed tahini and sesame seeds for an easy, healthy, and versatile side dish.
- Make it savory: Replace the honeyed tahini with garlicky tahini sauce or spicy and herbaceous chermoula.
- Add toasted nuts: Roast and finely chop or crush blanched almonds, hazelnuts, or walnuts to sprinkle on as a garnish.
- Add warming spices: Season the sweet potatoes with warming spices like clove, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg for a fall-winter twist.
What to Serve with Roasted Sweet Potatoes
These roasted sweet potatoes make for a delicious addition to a reimagined holiday spread. Serve along with garlic and herb roast turkey breast, juicy pan-seared pork chops, or baked cranberry chicken.
If you’re looking to round out side dishes for a festive feast, serve roasted sweet potatoes alongside, fresh baked rosemary focaccia, and a big winter salad like radicchio salad or roasted beet salad with pears and goat cheese. In fact, that sounds like a show-stopping menu for any dinner party regardless of the holiday!
If you find yourself with leftover honey tahini, it’s absolutely delicious on toast, oatmeal, fresh apples, bananas, in smoothies, or really any time you’d use peanut butter.
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Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes with a Honeyed Tahini Drizzle
Ingredients
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed, dried, and cut into (¾-inch) thick rounds
- Kosher salt
- 1/2 cup tahini, well stirred
- 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds
Instructions
- Get ready. Preheat your oven to 425°F. Line a 13×9-inch sheet pan with aluminum foil and brush generously with olive oil.
- Season the sweet potatoes. Arrange the rounds in the prepared pan in a single layer. Generously brush the tops of the rounds with olive oil and season with a big pinch of salt (about ½ teaspoon). Cover the pan tightly with another piece of foil.
- Roast the potatoes. Roast covered in foil for 30 minutes, then remove the top foil and roast until the bottoms turn golden brown, another 15 to 20 minutes.
- Finish roasting. Use tongs to carefully flip the rounds over. Return to the oven until the second side is also golden brown, about 10 minutes or so. When finished, the potatoes should be melty-tender and charred nicely on both sides. Remove from the oven and set the pan aside to cool for 5 minutes.
- Toast the sesame seeds. While the potatoes roast, pour the sesame seeds into a small, dry pan and set over medium-low heat. Swirl until golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate to avoid overcooking them.
- Make the honeyed tahini drizzle. In a small bowl, stir the tahini and honey until well combined.
- Finish and serve. Use a spatula to transfer the sweet potato rounds to a serving platter. Drizzle on the honeyed tahini and sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds over top. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- You’re looking for a runny enough honeyed tahini sauce to drizzle over the potatoes. If the mixture is thick, warm it up for a few seconds in the microwave.
- If you find yourself with leftover honeyed tahini, it’s absolutely delicious on toast, oatmeal, fresh apples, bananas, in smoothies, or really any time you’d use peanut butter.
- Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including olive oils, honey, jams, and spices.
I used a hot honey and the combination of sweet and heat was amazing. This will be part of a regular rotation. Thank you
Oh, YUM! Thanks for sharing!
Followed recipe exactly and it was delish! Adding to the rotation. Thanks so much.
Excellent recipe. I had to add some water to the sauce as it was a little thick.
Thanks, Bethany! Appreciate the review!
Love the topping. We have a lot of roasted kumera and this just made it that little bit more delicious! Used maple syrup instead of honey to make it vegan.
Thanks for taking the time to comment and review, Carolyn!
Hi Suzy,
I love your recipes, but can you please retain a light (white) background? It’s really hard to read the black text on blue background sections. Thanks!
Hello! Thanks for the feedback! I’ll pass it along to the team and have them take a look.
This sangria came out perfect! I was a little concerned with the rosemary in it, but it was delicious, everyone enjoyed it! Thank you
SO delicious and easy! We love this recipe! I used maple syrup and it tastes great with the tahini! Thanks so much!
Looks very good but honey is not vegan. Is there a vegan substitute that would work for this dish?
Hi, Linnie! I’m Summer and I work here at The Mediterranean Dish. Sorry for the oversight. I changed the recipe to reflect honey or maple syrup. Enjoy!
So simple tomake and incredibly delicious. Thank you for the inspiration!
For tahini, how can I tell when you mean tahini paste versus tahini with lemon, garlic etc already mixed in? I followed your link here and deduced you mean paste in this recipe in others I’m not sure. I tried your lamb and vegetables recipe last night and it blew my mind! And the tahini recipe. I’ll be trying this tonight!
Hi, Amber — I’m Summer and I work here at The Mediterranean Dish. We always start with a base of Tahini. So if we call for Tahini in the recipe it’s just plain Tahini. Our preferred brand is Soom Tahini which we sell in our shop. If we want to doctor up the tahini we will always list those ingredients and provide a recipe for creating something new with the tahini. I hope this helps.
Wonderful flavors!
I tried them immediately since I had so many sweet potatoes. I’m not sure I’ll be able to eat them any other way now, they were amazing!!! My picky husband loved them as well.
Wonderful! Thanks so much!
Going to try making this! But honey isn’t vegan so would suggest either maple syrup or agave syrup
The honey-tahini sauce is over the top!!! Divine!!! ONLY thing I did differently (and idk if it affected time, or how…), but I decided to make sweet potato wedge “fries” in lieu of rounds. BUT, at 425F? I didn’t “steam” with the additional sheet of foil, and it STILL was done in 30 minutes. ??? I dunno… BUT, I also used non-stick olive oil cooking spray both on the foil and then over the top of the potatoes. Salted well and turned potatoes over at about 15 minutes. They were gorgeous, caramelized, and I LOVELOVELOVE that Suzy left the skin on!!! (My preferred way to use potatoes is always skin-on!) This was 100% delicious, and I intend to use that tahini-honey sauce on lots of things (I’m actually thinking roasted broccoli-cauliflower at the moment…). AMAZING!!! PS NO ONE opted to use ketchup once they tasted the sauce – it enhanced the sweet potato without overpowering it!!! THANK YOU!!
Love this! Thanks so much for the wonderful review, Chrissie!
This looks fantastic, but can it be made without the foil? I try not to cook with foil touching the food as much as possible. Any substitutes that would also work well?
Hi, Clark. Parchment paper would likely be the best substitute here if you prefer to stay away from foil.
These look delicious! I want to make them as my contribution to a Thanksgiving dinner. My question is regarding the “serve immediately.” Will it change the texture/quality if I cook it at home, and take it there?
Any suggestions for the best way to do that? For example, steam at home and brown in their oven? (I just hope there’s an oven available for that!!)
Thanks!
Hi, Claudia! This is a great option for Thanksgiving dinner. You can make the whole dish at home (including browning in the oven) then keep it warm and drizzle with the tahini and toasted sesame seeds just before serving.
Whew! Good to know! I’ll do a test batch this weekend. Thank you again!