Thyme-Roasted Garlic Sweet Potatoes

I was never a fan of sweet potatoes.  My only experience with them was when they were covered in brown sugar and butter and tasted more like a dessert than a healthy root vegetable.  One night a few years ago I was ready to give sweet potatoes another try. I threw in a few ingredients I had in the pantry and tried my hand at a more savory approach to sweet potatoes. I was hooked.

Back when I first started this blog I wrote about the recipe . The photo I took at the time was hideous. I knew it was, but back then I didn't think I cared much. A couple of years later and my standard for food photography has changed a bit. (And I hope it is still in the process of changing and improving!)   Rather than deleting my old recipe for Roasted Sweet Potatoes I thought I'd leave the recipe up so you can check out how my photography has changed over the years.

So here the recipe is again. This time I made it with fresh sprigs of thyme from my friend's garden. If you feel the way I used to about sweet potatoes, I encourage you to give this recipe a try before you write them out of your life forever!

Thyme-Roasted Garlic Sweet Potatoes
((Printable Recipe))

Ingredients:
4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
about 10 to 12 sprigs fresh thyme, divided
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon himalayan pink sea salt (or any salt)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over a large rimmed cookie sheet pan.

2. Arrange the potato cubes in a single layer. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and toss with the minced garlic, salt, crushed red pepper flakes and about 8 sprigs fresh thyme (stems and all).

3. Roast about 40 to 45 minutes, stirring ever 15 minutes with a metal spatula. (I live my potatoes to get a little black on a few sides.)

4. When finished cooking, remove the stems of the cooked thyme from the potatoes. Garnish with the leaves of the remaining fresh thyme.

Other sweet potato recipes you may enjoy:
Black Bean Sweet Potato Quinoa Burgers
Sweet Potato Burritos
Sweet Potato Croquettes with Black Bean Sauce
Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Browned Butter and Sage