Roasted Sweet Potatoes With Miso Butter and Maple Recipe (2024)

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Roasted Vegetables
Sweet Potatoes

Miso butter adds savory richness; ginger and maple syrup add punch and sweetness.

Emily and Matt Clifton

Emily and Matt Clifton are recipe developers, photographers, and cookbook authors. Their two cookbooks are Cork and Knife (2019) andThe Ultimate Dutch Oven Cookbook (2021).

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Updated September 16, 2022

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Why It Works

Sweet maple syrup and salty miso add extra dimensions of flavor to roasted sweet potatoes.
Fresh grated ginger and white wine vinegar balance the dish's sweetness, keeping it from becoming cloying.

Like many people, we have a strategy for tackling Thanksgiving—I call it our "What Works" list. By knowing in advance that Sunday is when we make the stock and Tuesday is when we make the gravy, that this mixing bowl is big enough to hold all the rutabaga and that we'll need a certain number of chew sticks to distract our dog while we cook, we don't have to think too hard about almost anything, no matter how many people end up coming over. The trouble with the "What Works" list is that we sometimes get complacent, leaning on the same tired dishes year after year, without any variation. This roasted sweet potato recipe is one of our efforts to break out of our Thanksgiving rut this year.

Our idea was to combine two seemingly unlikely bedfellows with the roasted sweet potatoes: miso and maple syrup. Miso, especially the white kind we call for here, is not only salty and savory but also lightly sweet, making it a perfect match for sweet and earthy sweet potatoes. Maple syrup, meanwhile, delivers a complex flavor that plays beautifully off those salty, earthy qualities. Don't worry if you're serving a traditional crowd—this combination doesn't scream "fusion." In fact, if you don't tell them there's miso in it, most probably won't realize it (though they'll likely want to know your secret). And, of course, if you don't make this for Thanksgiving, it'll still be great on the table any other time.

The recipe itself is incredibly easy. We combine butter, maple syrup, and miso in a saucepan and cook them together to form a smooth sauce. Next, we stir in some white wine vinegar and grated fresh ginger, for some sharp, tart flavors to help balance the sweetness and add brightness to contrast with those earthy flavors. We toss diced sweet potatoes with that sauce and roast them until they're tender and browned. We like to leave the skins on, since they have good flavor and grow tender during the roasting, but feel free to peel the potatoes for a less rustic look.

That's basically all there is to it. Those of you familiar with othersweet potato recipeson Serious Eats may have noticed that we don't kick ours off with a low-temperature cooking step before the final roasting. That's because that step is designed to enhance the sweetness of the potatoes (by allowing enzymes that are active at those lower temps to break complex carbohydrates into simple sugars), but in this case, we already have more than enough sweetness from the maple syrup and white miso. Any sweeter, and we'd risk crossing into cloying territory.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes With Miso Butter and Maple Recipe (3)

This dish wasn't on our "What Works" list before, but we think there's a good chance it will be from now on. There are worse ruts to be in, right?

November 2016

Recipe Details

Roasted Sweet Potatoes With Miso Butter and Maple Recipe

Active20 mins

Total60 mins

Serves6 servings

Ingredients

2 1/4 pounds (1kg) sweet potatoes, cut into 2-inch pieces (about 7 cups; see notes)
6 tablespoons (90g)unsalted butter
1/4 cup (60ml) puremaple syrup
1/4 cup (60g) whitemiso
2 teaspoons (10ml)white wine vinegar
1 (1-inch) knob peeled fresh ginger, grated (about 2 teaspoons)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Arrange sweet potatoes in a single layer in a 9- by 13-inch baking dish.
In a small saucepan, combine butter, maple syrup, and miso and cook over medium heat, stirring, until butter is melted and sauce is smooth. Stir in vinegar and ginger and remove from heat.
Pour miso butter over sweet potatoes and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. (Be careful with the salt, as the miso will already be salty.)
Bake potatoes, stirring occasionally, until tender when pierced with a knife, about 40 minutes. Serve immediately. (To brown the potatoes more deeply, set them under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes; watch them closely to make sure they do not burn.)

Special Equipment

9- by 13-inch baking dish

Notes

We like to keep the skins on our sweet potatoes, but you can peel them if you like.

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
318	Calories
13g	Fat
47g	Carbs
5g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories	318
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 13g	17%
Saturated Fat 8g	39%
Cholesterol 32mg	11%
Sodium 490mg	21%
Total Carbohydrate 47g	17%
Dietary Fiber 6g	22%
Total Sugars 20g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 33mg	167%
Calcium 88mg	7%
Iron 1mg	8%
Potassium 871mg	19%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Roasted Sweet Potatoes With Miso Butter and Maple Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why do you soak sweet potatoes before baking? ›

The cold water bath helps rinse the starch off the sweet potatoes so they're a bit more crispy. That said, if you do not have the time, you can still get crispy baked sweet potato fries by using high heat and a little drizzle of olive oil.

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What is the difference between Japanese and Caribbean sweet potatoes? ›

The two most common white-fleshed sweet potatoes are Boniato, also called batata, or Cuban sweet potato, and the Japanese sweet potato, also called the satsuma-imo. The big difference between the two is the skin color: Japanese sweet potatoes have a pinkish brown skin and the outer skin of a boniato is light tan.

Explore More ›

Why boil sweet potatoes before baking? ›

First, it's key to par-boil the potatoes in salted water mixed with a little baking soda. The baking soda breaks down the potato's surface, creating a rough texture that enhances crispiness upon roasting. Then, before roasting, the par-boiled potatoes are tossed with olive oil, seasoning, and potato starch.

Is it better to roast or boil sweet potatoes? ›

The takeaway. If you want to eat sweet potatoes and maintain blood sugar balance, Sapola suggests boiling rather than roasting them. This method will take the glycemic index impact down a few points and maybe even challenge your cooking creativity.

Explore More ›

Can you overbake a sweet potato? ›

Mushy Texture: Sweet potatoes contain a lot of moisture, and overcooking can cause them to become mushy and overly soft. Instead of a firm and slightly tender texture, they may turn into a puree-like consistency. Loss of Flavor: Overcooking can lead to a loss of flavor in sweet potatoes.

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Why are roasted sweet potatoes so good? ›

The salt and pepper accent the potatoes' sweetness, creating a delectable sweet and savory flavor. I also love how the cubes puff up as they bake, becoming lightly crisp and caramelized on the outside and tender in the middle. And third, they're just so versatile.

Does roasting sweet potatoes make them sweeter? ›

The longer and slower you cook a sweet potato, the more maltose is formed and the sweeter it will taste. So if you want a much less sweet potato try steaming it, or cut it into small pieces and roast on a higher heat.

Tell Me More ›

Should sweet potatoes be soaked before cooking? ›

No, there is no need to soak sweet potatoes before roasting. What temperature should I bake my sweet potatoes? Bake sweet potatoes at a high temperature. We find that anything between 400°F and 450°F works well.

Keep Reading ›

How long to soak sweet potatoes in water before cooking? ›

Give them a cold water bath: Once your fries are chopped, toss them into a large bowl. Then cover the fries completely with cold water and let them soak for at least 30 minutes (or up to overnight). This will help to rinse off the excess starch and help the potatoes crisp up beautifully in the oven.

Discover More ›

Should sweet potatoes be soaked in water? ›

If they are fresh then there is no need for soaking them. If you soak them the water will be absorbed by the sweet potatoes as they are root part and will soften them faster while being roasted.