Coated in a mixture of melted butter, fresh rosemary, and maple syrup, these baked sweet potatoes are the perfect blend of savory and sweet and earthy, without being TOO sweet.
I almost always see recipes for sweet potatoes drenched in all kinds of sweet things – brown sugar, honey, even marshmallows. No judgement here if that’s what you like, but I prefer more savory things with dinner. And sweet potatoes are already just that – sweet. You don’t need much sugar when you cook them! But I’m also a huge fan of sweet and salty together. These glazed sweet potatoes have the PERFECT balance of sweet and salty with salted butter, kosher salt, and maple syrup in the glaze. And the fresh rosemary adds the most AMAZING earthy flavor that pairs so well with the savory and sweet flavors of this dish. (Unrelated: rosemary is also amazing in greyhound cocktails. But I digress.)
And it couldn’t be easier to make. First, start with peeled sweet potatoes. OK I HATE peeling potatoes of any kind, and almost always keep the skins on. Like with sweet potato fries. But these glazed sweet potatoes are so melt-in-your mouth buttery and tender that the chewier peels, if left on, would disrupt the pureness of each soft bite. So go ahead and peel them. It’s worth it.
The salted butter, kosher salt, fresh rosemary, and maple syrup are melted together to make the glaze. You can do this on your stovetop or in the microwave. Then, the glaze is mixed with the sweet potatoes in a baking dish and baked, covered with foil, for about 45 minutes. It takes a little while to cook, but this whole recipe only requires 10 minutes of hands-on time to prep everything. And you want to REALLY cook those sweet potatoes – again, they should be super tender and melt-in-your-mouth soft. To save time, especially if you’re making this for a holiday, assemble it up to 24 hours in advance so all you have to do is stick it in the oven to cook when you’re ready!
One final thing. When these glazed sweet potatoes come out of the oven, you’ll notice that much of the glaze has accumulated at the bottom of the pan. When you serve the potatoes, I recommend scooping the potatoes out onto your serving dish and then spooning the buttery, maple syrupy, delicious glaze from the bottom of the pan on top of the potatoes. Then, I recommend licking the baking dish clean because this glaze is THAT GOOD. Maybe wait for it to cool first, though.
If you like these Maple and Rosemary Glazed Sweet Potatoes, you’ll love these Roasted Potatoes and Onions with Rosemary and Mustard, this sweet potato casserole, these Rosemary and Honey Roasted Almonds, and this Roasted Cauliflower with Pine Nuts and Raisins. Here’s the printable recipe!
