These hasselback sweet potatoes are smothered in a sweet and savory mix of brown sugar, vegan butter and fresh rosemary, then roasted to perfection! They make a stunning and delicious side dish that's perfect for holiday dinners and celebrations.
Sweet potatoes are a must-have for holiday dinners as far as I'm concerned. Whether it's mashed sweet potatoes, sweet potatoes with pecan crumble, candied yams, or marshmallow-topped sweet potato casserole, they'll always have a place at my table in one form or another. Today I'm sharing a new, delicious way to enjoy them!
These hasselback sweet potatoes are great for special dinners, but they should come with a warning: they might just outshine your main dish and totally steal the show! They're absolutely delicious and pretty cool looking to boot. And to be honest, I'd just as soon enjoy one of these taters are my main dish.
The recipe is pretty simple and requires only a handful of ingredients to make, but it does take a bit of patience and care to get those perfect cuts in your sweet potatoes. Don't worry though — I'll share a few tricks to make it easy!
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Vegan butter. This is sold right next to the regular butter in most supermarkets. Melt, Miyoko's and Earth Balance are some common brands you'll probably see.
- Brown sugar. Use organic brown sugar to ensure the recipe is vegan. Non-organic brown sugar may be processed using animal bone char.
- Fresh rosemary.
- Sweet potatoes. We're using fresh orange sweet potatoes, also called yams in some areas of the world. But I see no reason you couldn't make the recipe work with other varieties, like purple or yellow sweet potatoes.
- Salt.
How They're Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Begin by melting your vegan butter, either in short spurts in the microwave (in a microwave-safe container), on in a small saucepan on the stove. Stir in the brown sugar, until it dissolves, and finely chopped fresh rosemary. Set the mixture aside to cool while you slice your sweet potatoes.
Scrub your sweet potatoes and get ready to slice them. The trick is to slice them almost all the way through, leaving just enough unsliced flesh at the bottom so that they don't fall apart when you roast them — about a half inch is ideal!
Use a super sharp knife. I recommend placing a couple of wooden spoons (or similar utensils) in parallel on your cutting board, then setting a sweet potato right between them. Make your slices about ¼ to ⅛ inch apart, stopping when the knife hits the spoon handles.
Tip: If your slices get too close together you might accidentally cut a wedge out of the potato here and there. Just put it back and probably nobody will be the wiser.
Brush about half of your rosemary butter mixture over the sliced potatoes. Transfer them to a baking sheet and pop it in the oven.
Roast your sweet potatoes for about 45 to 50 minutes. At about the halfway point, take your baking sheet out of the oven and gently fan the slices a bit. Brush them with the rest of your rosemary butter mixture, and try to get some of it to sink in between your splices.
Take your sweet potatoes out of the oven when they're tender and slightly crispy on the outsides. Give them a sprinkle of salt. Your sweet potatoes are ready to enjoy!
Leftovers & Storage
Hasselback sweet potatoes are best served immediately, but if you have some leftovers they'll keep in an airtight container in the fridge for three to four days.
More Holiday Side Dishes
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Rosemary Hasselback Sweet Potatoes
These hasselback sweet potatoes are smothered in a sweet and savory mix of brown sugar, vegan butter and fresh rosemary, then roasted to perfection! They make a stunning and delicious side dish that's perfect for holiday dinners and celebrations.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup vegan butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons organic brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 4 medium sweet potatoes
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 400°F.
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Stir the butter, brown sugar, and rosemary together in a small bowl or container.
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Cut parallel slits into each potato, cutting almost all the way through and leaving just about a half inch of potato uncut at the base. Space the slits ¼ to ⅛ inch apart. (Note 1)
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Brush half of the rosemary butter mixture over the outside of each of the sweet potatoes, then place them on a baking sheet.
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Bake the sweet potatoes for about 20 minutes, then remove the baking sheet from the oven and gently fan them open. Brush them with the remaining rosemary butter.
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Return the sweet potatoes to the oven and roast them for 20 to 30 minutes more, until tender and crispy on the outsides.
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Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven and sprinkle them with salt before serving.
Recipe Notes
- I recommend using a couple of similarly sized wooden spoons as guides here. Place the sweet potato on a cutting board, and arrange the spoons parallel, running along ether side of the sweet potato. Use a large knife to cut slits in the sweet potato, stopping when the knife contacts the spoon handles.
- The nutrition information is an estimate and will vary based on the size of your sweet potatoes.
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