Tips for roasting sweet potato

Tips for roasting sweet potato - Closeup of bowl full of crispy baked sweet potatoes with herbs and eco friendly bamboo fork

Does anyone have any tips for roasting sweet potatoes? Since - seems to me - they cook and break down much faster than normal potatoes I skipped the parboiling stage and just stuck them (peeled) in the oven to roast for 45-60 minutes.

However they still came out a somewhat soft and squidgy result. Roast for shorter time or some other methodology?

I suppose I am looking for a crisp texture something like a normal roast potato but keeping the orange colour and distinctive sweet taste of the sweet potato itself.



Best Answer

Are you oiling them before roasting? Also, you mention peeling, but not cutting it up vs. roasting it whole.

I cut mine into chunks (maybe 1"/2.5cm), a toss in oil, and roast in a fairly hot oven (375 to 425F / 190 to 220C) to try to get the outside to get some browning.




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Should sweet potatoes be soaked before roasting?

We dug into this topic to find out the answer to this. Yes, you should soak sweet potatoes before baking. Soaking sliced sweet potatoes before baking will release surface starches. Releasing surface starches helps to crisp the potatoes on the outside, resulting in a deliciously crispy potato.

Why are my sweet potatoes not crispy?

The secret to crispy (instead of soggy) sweet potato fries is to spread them out in an even layer with enough room so that they don't touch. This is especially important if you're making a big batch of fries. Instead of just piling more onto one baking pan, spread them out over two baking pans or cook them in batches.

Should I blanch sweet potatoes before roasting?

No need to parboil them before roasting! When you bake the potatoes, they get nice and tender without any parboiling. They are also roasted at a high heat, making them perfectly crispy and cooked through in just 30 minutes.

Do you need to poke holes in sweet potatoes before baking?

The reason you're poking holes all over is to simply allow some of the built-up steam to escape from the inside of the potato as it cooks. If you don't poke holes, your potato could explode when you reach in to pull it out of the oven.



EASY Oven-Roasted Sweet Potatoes




More answers regarding tips for roasting sweet potato

Answer 2

The cells of the sweet potatoes (like all plants) are held together by pectin, which gets destroyed at high temperatures and makes the potato fall apart.  To cook the potatoes one just needs to break down the tangles of starch, which starts to happens at 70°C/158°F.  If you have a sous-vide machine you have probably heard of the magic 85°C/185°F for cooking vegetables, but you can get similar effects in a an oven set to that temperature.   

Answer 3

I am a fan of parboiling.

cut into chunks of your favorite size

Start in cold, salted water

bring to a boil

let them boil for 3 minutes

strain

(extra work step: but on a pan in a 500F/250C oven for 5 mins to remove moisture)

coat in oil salt pepper

on sheet pan in preheated 500F/250C oven until brown on outside and give when pinched.

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