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Salt roasted sweet potatoes

Salt roasted sweet potatoes are a super easy preparation for this healthy tuber that produces a tender, perfectly seasoned potato. Top salt roasted sweet potatoes with a simple garlic butter or sour cream and enjoy the unique savoriness.

Salt roasted sweet potatoes topped with sour cream

Thanksgiving is nigh, guys. The holiday where families gather to celebrate togetherness — assuming we all don’t strangle each other before dessert — and express gratitude for the gifts we have in life.

It’s also the holiday where the poor, awesome sweet potato is drowned in sticky-sweet syrupy goo and capped with marshmallows. Like the texture of shredded coconut {shiver me timbers}, this is a dish that I just don’t understand. Please don’t take offense if it’s your Thanksgiving specialty — I know it’s just me who has this thing about sweet potatoes and marshmallows.

I simply prefer a savory treatment for sweet potatoes (and for the folks who believe they harbor a general dislike of the sweet potato, it’s worth a try to salvage the enjoyment of this healthy tuber, too).

Cured sweet potatoes, ready to be salt roasted

As a plus, this method for salt roasted sweet potatoes in a bed of salt yields a super-tender inside with a crispy skin outside, subtly infused with salt and herbs.

The technique works equally well with the grocery-store Beauregard variety (garnet skin with orange flesh, shown above) and the sensational Asian Murasaki varieties (purple skin, butter/white flesh).

Two sweet potatoes ready to be salt roasted

Salt roasting is nothing new — it’s a great treatment for russet potatoes, too — you can salt roast steaks, and even whole chickens, on the grill. Far from oversalting the food, the salt does double-duty as both tenderizer and subtle (yes, subtle) seasoning. In the covered environment of the baking dish, the potatoes are gently steamed with moisture from the salt, plus extra flavor from the herbs and garlic.

The result is restaurant-quality, if you ask me.

Salted Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Use the garlic cloves to make garlic butter to stuff into the salt roasted sweet potatoes (vegans, you already know that Earth Balance makes quite the tasty spread with roasted garlic — I used it here).

I’m kicking myself, though, because I recently scored some black garlic and totally forgot about it — that would’ve been awesome.

Salt Roasted Sweet Potatoes, ready to serve

Although I prepared salt roasted sweet potatoes for a light dinner with a green salad, you can easily scale up this recipe for your family to prepare salt roasted sweet potatoes for a crowd: use a larger baking dish with enough salt to cover the bottom by an inch, and add another sprig or two of rosemary and thyme.

You can also roast an entire garlic bulb — just slice off the top to expose the cloves, and nestle the bulb in the salt. Oh, and as discussed in the comments below, you can save the salt. It will have a touch of herb flavorings from the rosemary and thyme stems, so, store it separately and use for savory recipes.

Karen xo

Print Recipe
5 from 2 votes

Salt roasted sweet potatoes

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Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 2
Author: Karen Gibson

Ingredients

  • 2 medium sweet potatoes
  • 2 cups kosher salt
  • 2 sprigs rosemary
  • 2 sprigs thyme
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • olive oil for brushing
  • sour cream or Greek yogurt for garnish
  • 2 tablespoons butter softened, for garnish
  • herbs de Provence for garnish

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 450°F.
  • Pour the salt into a baking dish. Nestle the potatoes into the salt, and arrange the rosemary, thyme and garlic cloves around them in the salt. Cover tightly with foil and roast for one hour. If using large potatoes, test for doneness with a paring knife - the tip of the knife should easily pierce the potato.
  • Remove the foil and brush the all sides of the potatoes with olive oil. Remove the garlic cloves and set aside. Discard the rosemary and thyme springs. Return the pan to the oven and bake, uncovered, for another 15 minutes, to crisp the skin. Meanwhile, squeeze the roasted garlic cloves into the butter and mash well.
  • Brush any caked salt from the potatoes. Slice open and garnish with garlic butter, sour cream and a sprinkle of herbs de Provence.
Nutritional information, if shown, is provided as a courtesy only, and is not to be taken as medical information or advice. The nutritional values of your preparation of this recipe are impacted by several factors, including, but not limited to, the ingredient brands you use, any substitutions or measurement changes you make, and measuring accuracy.

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Salt Roasted Sweet Potatoes - Recipe at SoupAddict.com

Recipe Rating




VG

Sunday 21st of November 2021

This is an incredible method to make sweet potatoes. It tastes like it came from a gourmet restaurant. The flavor of the sweet potato has more complexity and aroma. It's definitely worth it!!!

Mary@FitandFed

Tuesday 13th of November 2012

Cool1 I've heard of salt roasting meat but didn't know you could use it for vegetables. Since I don't eat meat (except the very occasional fish) this recipe is a lot more apropos to my kitchen. You are not the only one who does not understand the sweet potato/marshmallow thing. I love sweet potatoes just as they are, especially this time of year when the crop is new. They are so sweet naturally, I can't imagine adding sugar to them.

Christine

Monday 12th of November 2012

Having written it off in all forms (ala Thanksgiving versions), you may have just saved the sweet potato for me. Ages ago went to a restaurant on the East coast that was known for it's prime rib cooked in salt and herbs. So good. I'm actually going to try this in the next day or so. Thanks!

Carmen C

Monday 12th of November 2012

Hmmmm...this looks interesting. I like sweet potatoes most any way but will definitely give this a try. Can the kosher salt be saved and used again?

SoupAddict

Monday 12th of November 2012

Yes! And the top layer will have some of the flavor of the herbs, as well, especially rosemary.