With just 20 minutes of cooking time, you can serve up these Easy Roasted Sweet Potatoes as a simple family dinner side dish. Or, you can make a batch ahead of time and pack them in a kiddo’s lunch—they’re a perfect finger food.
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
A little soft and a little crispy, these sweet potatoes are one of my go-to vegetable recipes for kids. I love them since they are great for babies and toddlers (as well as us adults!), they are easy for the kids to eat, they work well warm or chilled.
Plus they’re super versatile—they pair with all sorts of flavors. We love to have them with Baked Chicken Tenders, Marinated Chicken Tenders, Chickpea Fritters, Breakfast Burritos, and more.
I love to make extras so I have leftovers on hand to pack for daycare or even to add a veggie boost to toddler smoothies.
(You may also like Sweet Potato Tots and my Sweet Potato Baby Cake.)
Table of Contents
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Ingredients You Need
To make this recipe you need to have the following ingredients on hand and ready to go.
- Sweet potato (with orange flesh). These are sometimes called “garnet yams”.
- Olive oil
- Salt, optional to taste.
TIP: Don’t cut your sweet potato until you’re ready to cook it as it will brown if left exposed to air.
Step-by-Step Instructions
The process involved in making this recipe is super simple. Scroll down to the bottom for the full recipe, but follow these basic steps:
- Preheat the oven and prepare a rimmed baking sheet.
- Peel and dice the sweet potato.
- Toss sweet potato with olive oil.
- Bake until just soft.
TIP: These sweet potato cubes will be soft, but not super crispy. To make them extra crispy, eliminate the nonstick spray and use a little extra olive oil. They may stick a little to your roasting pan, which is why I don’t usually go that route, but I do understand the texture preference.
Frequently Asked Questions
We like them as a side dish with recipes like Pan-Seared Chicken, Black Bean Quesadillas, Chicken Nuggets, Tofu Nuggets, and even scrambled eggs. I also love them on salads.
My kids have dipped them into everything including Ranch, Ketchup, salsa, and even Peanut Sauce.
In my experience, babies who are able to eat finger foods and younger toddlers will love to eat these at any temperature. (As of writing this post, my five year old also regularly inhales them at any temp too!)
They are a great option to pack in a toddler lunch, especially if it won’t be able to be reheated.
If you leave off the salt and have some leftover in the fridge in an airtight container, you can add up to ½ of a cup to kids smoothie. It will add some serious creaminess, as well as Vitamin A, fiber, and natural sweetness.
How to Store
Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge.
Best Tips for Success
- I find that the garnet yams variety has the best flavor, but any orange flesh one will work.
- Add salt to taste as you like. (You can omit it for babies or younger toddlers.)
- You can serve these warm or at room temperature if in a packed lunch.
- Try them in my Chicken and Sweet Potato Bowls.
- Serve with a dip such as ketchup, ranch, or any other sauce your kids like.
- If you leave the salt off, you can add ½ of the leftover sweet potatoes to any toddler smoothie to add creaminess and nutrition.
Related Recipes
Snacks
Easy Sliced Baked Apples
Vegetables
Easy Roasted Zucchini
Baby Food
Favorite Sweet Potato Baby Food
I’d love to hear your feedback on this recipe if you try it, so please comment below.
Easy Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 cups peeled and diced sweet potato (from about 2 medium)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and coat a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. (Or skip the parchment paper if you prefer.)
- Peel the sweet potato. Slice into rounds.
- Cut each round into three strips. Turn and slice across to make small squares.
- Place the diced sweet potato onto the prepared baking sheet and toss with olive oil.
- Roast for 20-25 minutes or until soft when poked with a fork.
- Serve with a little salt if desired.
Equipment
Notes
- I find that the garnet yams variety has the best flavor, but any orange flesh one will work.
- Add salt to taste as you like. (You can omit it for babies or younger toddlers.)
- You can serve these warm or at room temperature if in a packed lunch.
- Serve with a dip such as Ketchup, Ranch, or any other sauce you kids like if desired.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge.
- If you leave the salt off, you can add ½ of the leftover sweet potatoes to any smoothie to add creaminess and nutrition.
Nutrition
This post was first published January 2020.
I just made this for my one year old. She keeps toddling back into the kitchen for more – a definite success! Thank you for this great recipe!
So glad to hear that!
This method was a big hit with the toddlers and the adults! These will be a nice go-to side in our meal rotation. 👍
These are yummy little sweet potato fries!
Hi Amy,
Can I use this for your sweet potato pancakes and sweet potato chicken nuggets? Those two recipes call for roasting the potatoes whole, I’d be more confident in terms of doneness with these cubed ones. Leave out the salt, should I?
Sure thing and yes, you can leave out the salt
Can I make this on a regular baking sheet?
Absolutely