These Roasted Purple Sweet Potatoes make for the perfect side dish in just 30 minutes! Purple Sweet potatoes are rich in antioxidants, make this easy recipe to try out this healthy root vegetable.
Have you ever eaten a purple sweet potato or purple yam? Sweet potatoes come in many different colors. You can find some that are white, yellow, purple, red, brown. That goes for the inside too, from yellow, white, orange, and purple.
Roasting vegetables is a great way to make them in advance or even for entertaining. We love roasted beets and sweet potatoes which can also be roasted up with these purple sweet potatoes. While you’re using the oven you could even make roasted Brussels sprouts with garlic, roasted red potatoes, and baked asparagus. We always roast vegetables in batches when meal prepping for the week.
health benefits of Purple Sweet Potatoes
Purple sweet potatoes are low in calories at just around 50 calories per potato. They have little to no fat, 1.3 grams of fiber, 1.4 grams of protein, and only 12 grams of carbs. They are also a good source of vitamin C and potassium.
Purple sweet potatoes are rich in anthocyanin and carotenoids, these are natural antioxidants from that beautiful purple flesh. Antioxidants help protect us from free radicals that can damage our DNA. (source)
what is the white stuff when you cut a sweet potato?
This is just the starch escaping from the potato after being cut. Potatoes will produce this white liquid when you cut into them and it’s completely normal. You make also see this happen with squash or other starchy root and vine-ripened vegetables.
where to buy purple sweet potatoes?
We find organic purple sweet potatoes at our local ShopRite supermarket. Ask your local store’s produce manager to see if they can bring in purple sweet potatoes – they may be able to order it for you.
how to make Roasted Purple Sweet Potatoes
ingredients you will need:
- purple sweet potatoes
- red onion
- high smoke point cooking oil
- salt to taste
- parsley – garnish
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
Chop up the purple sweet potatoes and the red onion.
Toss the vegetables with the oil and arrange on baking sheet with plenty of room for them to bake.
Bake for 15 minutes and then toss. Continue to bake for another 10-15 minutes or until desired crispiness.
Season with salt to taste and then chop up some fresh parsley to garnish.
Why parsley? Just look at the color pop on these Roasted Purple Sweet Potatoes! The beautiful purple and green contrast, you’ll be eating with your eyes before your mouth. You could also use cilantro, rosemary, scallions, or even Brussels sprouts.
do you peel sweet potatoes?
No, we leave the peel on and especially now that our daughter is older and doesn’t mind the skin. We never peel any of our potatoes, not even carrots. The skin is packed with vitamins and nutrients. Make sure to give them a good scrub to clean off all the dirt, after all they do come out of the ground.
recipe tips:
- we suggest using a larger baking tray, this will ensure there’s adequate spacing between the purple potatoes
- overcrowding the potatoes can cause them to steam, which can result in soggy potatoes, not crispy
- if you only have olive oil and not a high smoke point oil reduce the heat to 375 or even 350 degree F in the oven and cook a little longer
- always preheat oven before roasting vegetables. you want them to go into a hot oven and crispy right up
- make a large batch and use for meal prep
- switch up the seasonings, easily add taco seasoning and mix with black beans for sweet potato tacos
- this recipe works well for all sweet potatoes, not just purple sweet potatoes.
Roasted Purple Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 purple sweet potatoes
- 1/2 small red onion
- 1 tablespoon high smoke point cooking oil
- salt to taste
- parsley - garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
- Chop up the purple sweet potatoes and the red onion into bite size pieces.
- Toss the vegetables with oil and arrange on baking sheet.
- Bake the sweet potatoes for 15 minutes and then toss. Continue to bake for another 10-15 minutes or until desired crispiness.
- Season with salt to taste and garnish with parsley or other herbs.
Nutrition
Thanks for the attention to purple sweet potatoes! Many dismiss them as too starchy and dry. I soak them on minimal water, meaning drizzle water on them, that seems to reduce the starch a little, and I combine with other varieties for roasting. Funny, people take one cube, and immediately give back for more!
They are SO good and definitely deserve the attention! 😀
You mentioned making a large batch to use for meal prep. Are they good cold or would you suggest reheating – microwave or oven?
You could do either, we typically just heat in a skillet too! 🙂