Easy Roast Sweet Potatoes with Smoked Paprika

These easy roast sweet potatoes flavoured with smoked paprika, are quick, simple to make, and a great alternative to traditional roast potatoes.

A tasty side dish for a wide variety of meals such as roast dinners, chicken, and fish.

These easy roast sweet potatoes are one of my favourite side dishes. In fact, I think I prefer them to normal roast potatoes because you don't need to do the whole par boiling thing!

I love how their sweetness complements the smoky paprika and spicy cayenne pepper so well.

👩‍🍳 Love potatoes? Try my easy Parmentier potatoes too!

Jump to:

• ✔️ Why should you try it?
• Is roasted sweet potato good for you?
• Should you leave the skin on when roasting?
• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🥄 Equipment
• 🔪 Instructions
• 💭 Top tips
• 🧊 Suitable for freezing?
• 📖 Variations
• 🍴 Serving suggestions
• 😋Related recipes
• Recipe
• 💬 Comments

✔️ Why should you try it?

• A delicious alternative to traditional roast potatoes
• Great hot out of the oven or cold in salads
• Can be flavoured many different ways
• Simple to make
• They're quick - the potatoes are cooked in about 20 minutes

Is roasted sweet potato good for you?

Yes! Sweet potatoes are a great source of vitamin c and vitamin b6. They're also rich in potassium and magnesium.

These crispy roast sweet potatoes are baked in olive oil, which is a healthy fat containing lots of beneficial fatty acids.

Should you leave the skin on when roasting?

It's absolutely up to you, whether you leave the skin on or not. My kids prefer sweet potatoes peeled, but if I'm roasting sweet potatoes for adults only, I often leave the skin on.

If you would prefer to leave the skin on, just scrub the potatoes under cold running water and allow them to dry, before cutting into bitesize chunks.

🥘 Ingredients

• Sweet potatoes - 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled (or the skin left on if you prefer) and cut into bitesize chunks.
• Olive Oil - 2 tablespoons of olive oil are needed for this recipe.
• Smoked Paprika - 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika are sprinkled onto the sweet potatoes before roasting.
• Cayenne Pepper - I love the heat that a small pinch of cayenne pepper gives the sweet potatoes. If you prefer things on the mild side just leave this out.
• Sea Salt - A sprinkling of sea salt (I use Cornish sea salt flakes), really helps to bring out the flavour of the sweet potatoes.

🥄 Equipment

A vegetable peeler (if you prefer to roast without the skins on), a sharp knife to cut the potatoes into chunks, and a large baking sheet, are the only pieces of equipment you will need for this easy recipe.

🔪 Instructions

The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post

One: Peel the sweet potatoes or leave the skins on if you prefer.

Two: Place on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil then sprinkle over the smoked paprika, cayenne pepper and sea salt.

Three: Bake in a preheated oven for 18-20 minutes.

Four: Serve with meat, poultry, fish or whatever you fancy!

💭 Top tips

Cut the sweet potatoes into equal size chunks, which will help them cook evenly. I like my roast sweet potatoes to look a bit on the rustic side, so I don't cut them into uniform square pieces. Instead, I just make sure they are roughly the same size, about 3 cm.

🧊 Suitable for freezing?

The cooked roast sweet potatoes can be frozen. Just make sure they have cooled to room temperature, before placing them in a freezer-safe container.

When you are ready to eat them, take them out of the freezer and allow them to defrost. You can then reheat them in a hot oven for 10 minutes.

📖 Variations

Sweet potatoes can take on a variety of flavourings really well. Smoked paprika is one of my favourites, but you could also try woody herbs like thyme and rosemary (just scatter the herbs around the sweet potatoes and make sure they are coated in oil to prevent burning).

Other options would be whole cloves of garlic in their skins, cinnamon, honey, and chilli flakes.

🍴 Serving suggestions

I serve these easy roast sweet potatoes in so many different ways. First and foremost they always feature as a side dish to a roast dinner, as well as to slow cooker meats like my slow cooker pork chops. I also serve them with my baked cornflake chicken nuggets, air fryer chicken breasts, savoury mince, courgette and feta frittata, and courgette & feta burgers for an easy weekday dinner.

They're also good with leftover pork bolognese, garlic butter chicken or lamb and apricot tagine, and a side of vegetables for a quick and nutritious lunch.

I sometimes stir cold leftover roast sweet potato cubes into salads like this herby halloumi couscous, to add a bit of texture and flavour.

😋Related recipes

More sweet potato recipes you might like;

• Sweet Potato and Lentil Curry
• Sweet Potato Macaroni Cheese
• Sweet Potato Chickpea Salad
• Skillet Sweet Potato Casserole
• Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Wedges
• Spanish Sweet Potato Rice
• Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes
• Baked Maple Sweet Potato Tots
• Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad

More delicious sides from the Effortless Foodie kitchen!

Recipe