Butter Pecan Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes and Thanksgiving go hand in hand. I love sweet potatoes any time of year, but at Thanksgiving they seem to taste better, or maybe they’re just more special. As much as I love sweet potatoes though I’ve never been crazy about the sweet potato casserole that always shows up on the buffet table. It’s overly sweet, and doesn’t tastes much like real sweet potatoes. If you feel the same way then you’ll love this recipe. It’s very simple to make so it’s easy to throw this together while all the other preparations are going on, yet it’s an elegant dish to serve at the table. It has all of the quintessential casserole ingredients, but they’re used in a different way. Roasting the sweet potatoes brings out their natural earthy sweetness – they just taste like a fall day. After roasting, the potatoes are simply tossed with a little butter, brown sugar, and pecans – easy, elegant, and delicious – exactly how I love sweet potatoes. This really is a perfect Thanksgiving side dish, but don’t reserve it for the holiday only. It’s also a quick and easy side dish for any meal.

Butter Pecan Sweet Potatoes

serves 8

8 medium sweet potatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons light brown sugar (or more to taste)

1/4 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Peel sweet potatoes and cut in half lengthwise. Slice each half crosswise into 1/2″ pieces. Place potatoes onto baking sheet in a single layer. You may need two baking sheets, depending on the size. Toss potatoes with olive oil and salt (dividing between the two baking sheets if necessary).

Bake for 25 minutes, or until potatoes are soft. Remove potatoes from oven. Sprinkle with butter, brown sugar, and pecans (dividing among baking sheets if necessary).

Return potatoes to oven and bake about 8 – 10 more minutes, until sugar is caramelized and crunchy. Serve warm.

adapted from Martha Stewart