Why We Love Sweet Potatoes!

Sweet potatoes are awesome! They are a delicious root veg with soft, tender flesh ideal for oven-roasting. Unlike regular potatoes, sweet potatoes have a sweet flavor, but like their near-cousins, they go with pretty much anything. If you love sweet potatoes, check out this recipe for Mediterranean baked sweet potatoes with crunchy chickpeas. 

Easy 30-Minute Dinner Recipe

Convenience is another great reason why this recipe is awesome. Sweet potatoes require 2 seconds of prep (cut them in half) and take around 20-30 minutes to bake. Once cooked, the flesh is soft and ideal for loading up with toppings and sauces. It’s that easy! 

Healthy and Nutritious

The great news is sweet potatoes are a healthy veg that are filling with a 100g serving containing 20.1 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 0.1 grams of fat, and just 81 calories. Sweet 🙂

Baked Sweet Potatoes with Lemon and Thyme

Sweet potatoes have a sweet earthy flavor and are not overly starchy like your usual potatoes. To contrast the sweetness of oven-baked sweet potatoes, we opted for a few lemon rounds and some fresh (wild) thyme that is plentiful in the mountains beside Spanish Radish HQ.

The lemon adds a delicious tang to the sweet potato flesh and the thyme adds yet another subtle layering of flavor. 

Very little seasoning is required, just a small pinch of salt and some freshly cracked black pepper will do. You‘ll want the lemon and thyme flavors to shine through. Plus, the sauce is delicious and full of flavor.

Choosing the Best Sweet Potatoes

When purchasing sweet potatoes, look for veg that are firm to the touch and without any blemishes or cuts in the skin. Sweet potatoes are typically available year-round, but they are seasonal, and you’ll find the best ones in the fall. 

If you’re buying your sweet potatoes from a supermarket, they’ll likely be cleaned of dirt and grit and be orange. It’s still worth giving them a quick wash under some fresh water before cooking with them. 

If you’re buying from a local farmers market, they may still have some dirt on them, and you’ll need to give them a scrub under some fresh water to remove the grit and dirt before cooking. The skin is edible, but it does tend to crisp up once oven-baked so it is often not overly palatable. You can easily scoop the tender sweet potato flesh away from the skin.

How big do the sweet potatoes need to be for this recipe?

Sweet potatoes come in all shapes and sizes and the ones we used in this recipe were between 17-25 oz (500-700 grams). You can also use smaller or whatever you have in your area, just adjust the cooking time accordingly.

Toppings and Ingredient Substitutions

The beauty of this recipe is it is super versatile and can accommodate many dietary plans by tweaking the toppings (well, except low-carb diets as sweet potatoes are naturally quite high in carbs). Pick and mix the best flavor combinations of toppings for your sweet potatoes. 

Here are just a few suggestions for yummy sweet potato toppings:

• Your favorite green (lettuce, rocket, spinach, kale, etc) plus some sweet corn, diced cucumber, and shaved carrot.
• For an extra tangy hit, add some pickled veg (diced pickles, pickled carrots, or capers all work well here). 
• Add a little quinoa and some chopped nuts or seeds to have a balanced meal with lots of nutrients. 
• If you want to add fish or meat, add some grilled chicken breast, tuna, or even some ground beef to your sweet potato for a protein boost. 
• We made a yogurt dressing for this recipe but you can also make a vegan-friendly Mediterranean salad dressing — it’s virtually the same as the one on this page except minus the yogurt. Just be sure to check the Dijon mustard is a vegan-friendly option. 
• If you don’t like thyme or have access to it, add fresh rosemary instead. Both herbs are used extensively in Spanish cooking and across the Med.
• You can melt any of the yummy Spanish cheeses over your hot sweet potato or your favorite cheese.

Baked Sweet Potatoes – Storage and Batch Cooking

This recipe is great for meal prep and batch cooking. The sweet potatoes can be cleaned and stored in the pantry until they are needed for baking. The toppings and salad dressing can easily be whipped up in a few minutes, so there’s very little cooking required. 

Once cooked, baked sweet potatoes are best consumed within 2-3 days and should be refrigerated in an airtight container. Baked sweet potatoes tend to become soggy when frozen and thawed so it is not recommended.

Nutrition Facts

Note: Based on serving 4 people without any toppings, including dressing.