Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples

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This cinnamon roasted sweet potatoes and apples recipe is a healthy and easy fall side dish. Made with only 6 nutritious ingredients including pure maple syrup and ground cinnamon, it’s a perfect dish to serve on Thanksgiving.

overhead view of Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples in a serving dish


When it comes to a meal (especially Thanksgiving) I am all about the sides. Sure turkey is great, but I’d rather fill up on dinner rolls, cranberry sauce, and delicious healthy sweet potato recipes, like these Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples!

This roasted sweet potato and apples recipe is a perfect healthy side dish that is made with only 6 ingredients and is ready in 40 minutes! It’s paleo, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and totally delicious!

front view of a bowl of Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples

Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples: Ingredients and Substitutions

I love discussing the ingredients in my recipes, which is why I chose them and possible substitutions! So let’s dish about these roasted sweet potatoes and apples!

overhead photo of the ingredients in this sweet potatoes and apples recipe
  • Sweet potatoes. Any variety of sweet potato works well in this recipe, classic orange is pictured here, but both purple and white sweet potatoes can be used! Yams are also a totally delicious substitution for sweet potatoes!
  • Apples. I have used many different apple varieties to make this roasted apple sweet potato recipe including: Pink Ladies, Gala, Granny Smith, and Honeycrisp. Really any variety works great in this recipe, however you need to choose what flavor profile you want – tart? sweet? a mix? The sky’s the limit!
  • Coconut Oil. Butter, olive oil, ghee and avocado oil can all be used in place of coconut oil. However, please be mindful of the way the taste/texture of the oil will change the overall taste of the dish!
  • Maple syrup. Pretty please, I implore you to only use pure maple syrup (no artificial substitutes). Honey can also be used; however, the maple syrup adds such a rich fall flavor that I don’t recommend switching it out!
overhead view of Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples in a serving dish

How to make Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples

Let’s get started by discussing how to make this sweet potato and apples recipe so you get a perfect result on the first try!

Roast Sweet Potatoes Alone

Sweet potatoes take longer to get fully cooked and browned than apples, which is why it is very important to roast the sweet potatoes alone first.

To do this, toss the cubed sweet potatoes with melted coconut oil and sea salt. Then, roast the sweet potatoes until they just start to become golden-brown (about 15-20 minutes), stirring once.

It’s important to roast the sweet potatoes alone so they become crispy. If added in the beginning, the liquid from the apples and maple syrup will cause the sweet potatoes to be soggy.

As you can see in the photo below, the baked sweet potato cubes are soft and some of them are browned on one side, which is exactly what they should look like before proceeding to the next step.

overhead view of a pan of sweet potatoes roasted alone which is the first step in making this Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples recipe

Add the Apples, Maple Syrup and Cinnamon.

While the sweet potato cubes are baking, toss the apples with the remaining coconut oil, maple syrup and cinnamon in a large bowl until everything is well combined.

Once the sweet potatoes begin to brown, remove them from the oven and add the rest of the ingredients to the pan, stirring to combine. Spread the sweet potatoes and apples evenly in the pan in a single layer so they cook quickly and brown nicely.

Use room temperature ingredients. 

This is an important note in this Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples recipe. Coconut oil is a solid at room temperature, which means that if the melted coconut oil comes into contact with a cold piece of apple, it will solidify almost instantly. This will result in an uneven distribution of ingredients!

photo showing how to make sweet potatoes and apples - adding apples

Bake the Cinnamon Sweet Potatoes and Apples until golden brown

Return the pan to the oven and bake until the sweet potatoes and apples are browned and the maple syrup has caramelized, or thickened. At this point, remove the pan from the oven and serve immediately!

Serve

I like to serve this apple sweet potato recipe as-is, they are just so delicious! However, for presentation I recommend putting them in a nice serving dish.

You could sprinkle them with pomegranate seeds and top them with fresh rosemary too, like I did with these maple cinnamon roasted sweet potatoes! 

I do recommend serving them fresh from the oven! Letting these Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples sit too long at room temperature might cause them to lose some of their crispiness!

Store

Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave or to restore crispiness in the oven.

Overhead view of Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples on a baking sheet after being roasted

FAQS about Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples

Here are some commonly asked questions about these Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples that I’d love to answer for you!

How do you make roasted sweet potatoes crispy?

There are a few key elements in making baked sweet potato cubes crispy:
Roast with only oil and salt first. Like I mentioned earlier, it’s important to roast sweet potatoes with only oil and salt before adding any other ingredients. You don’t want to compromise bake time by introducing a wet ingredient (like in these peanut butter sweet potato fries) before it’s time.
Flip and stir during baking. To ensure that all sides of your roasted sweet potatoes are browned, it’s crucial that you stir/flip them during roasting. Sometimes I even use tongs to individually flip sweet potato cubes to ensure I didn’t miss any!
Cut the sweet potatoes in small, thin pieces. The more surface area of the baked sweet potato cubes that are exposed to the surface of the baking sheet, the higher the ratio of browned, crispy outside to soft inside. Plus, using smaller pieces decreases baking time!

Do you peel sweet potatoes before roasting?

No. I mean, you can, but I do not recommend it! The skin is loaded with nutrients (see below) and adds a great texture and flavor to roasted sweet potatoes! I always recommend roasting sweet potatoes with the skin on!

Do you peel apples before roasting?

Same answer as above! Plus, without the skin the apples in this recipe may fall apart and not hold together as well!

Are roasted sweet potatoes healthy?

Yes. Here are some amazing health benefits of sweet potatoes:
High in nutrients such as Vitamins A, C & B, manganese and potassium – which helps regulate blood pressure!
Sweet potatoes are high in antioxidants and have amazing anti-inflammatory properties
They are high in fiber, which means they do not cause blood sugar spikes, like regular potatoes do!
Help boost fertility. I ate so many sweet potatoes and yams when I was trying to conceive to help my body be as healthy as it could be!

up close front view of a bowl of cinnamon roasted sweet potatoes and apples ready to be served

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Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples

Laura
This cinnamon roasted sweet potatoes and apples recipe is a healthy and easy fall side dish. Made with only 6 nutritious ingredients including pure maple syrup and ground cinnamon, it's a perfect dish to serve on Thanksgiving.
4.90 from 46 votes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 8 Servings
Calories 148.1
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time50 minutes

Ingredients 
 

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
  • Grease a large baking pan, set aside.
  • In a large bowl, toss cubed sweet potatoes with 2 TBS of melted coconut oil. Stir until coated.
  • Add sea salt and stir until evenly distributed.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for 20 min, stirring halfway through, until sweet potatoes just barely start to brown.
  • While the sweet potatoes are baking: stir the remaining 1 TBS of coconut oil into the apples. Add maple syrup and cinnamon and stir to combined.
  • After 20 minutes, or the sweet potatoes have begun to brown, remove the sweet potatoes from oven and add the apple mixture and stir to combine.
  • Return to the oven and bake for 20 more minutes, stirring halfway through.
  • Once the sweet potatoes and apples are browned and the maple syrup has caramelized on them remove them from the oven and serve immediately!

Video

Notes

Store

Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave or to restore crispiness in the oven.
Ingredient Substitutions
  • Sweet potatoes. Any variety of sweet potato works well in this recipe, classic orange is pictured here, but both purple and white sweet potatoes can be used! Yams are also a totally delicious substitution for sweet potatoes!
  • Apples. I have used many different apple varieties to make this roasted apple sweet potato recipe including: Pink Ladies, Gala, Granny Smith, and Honeycrisp. Really any variety works great in this recipe, however you need to choose what flavor profile you want – tart? sweet? a mix? The sky’s the limit!
  • Coconut Oil. Butter, olive oil, ghee and avocado oil can all be used in place of coconut oil. However, please be mindful of the way the taste/texture of the oil will change the overall taste of the dish!
  • Maple syrup. Pretty please, I implore you to only use pure maple syrup (no artificial substitutes). Honey can also be used; however, the maple syrup adds such a rich fall flavor that I don’t recommend switching it out!

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cup | Calories: 148.1kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 1.2g | Fat: 5.5g | Saturated Fat: 4.9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 274mg | Potassium: 171.4mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 9.3g | Vitamin A: 13360IU | Vitamin C: 23.3mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 0.6mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Recipe Rating




19 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This is really one of my favorites… made this many times, love to enjoy this at night when I am craving something sweet, thank you!

  2. Do these sweet potatoes and apples in the picture actually have their skins on? Want to make this dish over the weekend but want to make it right.

  3. 4 stars
    SO…I roasted at 425 as written but the coconut oil set off every smoke detector in the house! Maybe roast at a lower temp for a longer time? Hubby loved this recipe regardless of the smoke. The cats, well, not so much…

    1. Different coconut oils have different smoke points. Refined coconut oil has a smoke point of 450f but extra virgin coconut oil has a smoke point of 350f. That might have been the problem