Herb & Parmesan Crusted Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are not only sweet, but also warm and stick-to-your-bones healthy. I love them prepared in all the ways: fries, roasted, casseroles, sweet, savory ... you name it! My daughter introduced me to a recipe that she says turns out every time and everyone loves! I've adapted it to create Herb & Parmesan Crusted Sweet Potatoes and my love for sweet potatoes has expanded even further!

Sweet potatoes vs. yams

Are they the same thing? Not all. They aren't even from the same type of plant.

• Sweet potatoes come from the morning glory family and yams come from the palm tree and grasses family.
• Sweet potatoes are grown in the US, primarily in North Carolina. Yams originated in Africa, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and Central America.
• Sweet potatoes have tapered ends and smooth skin and flesh. The flesh can be beige-ish, orange, or even purple. Yams are usually white-beige (there is a kind of purple variety, too), and they have a rough, dark exterior.
• Sweet potatoes are sweet and soft. Yams are starchy and dry.

All of that clarification still leaves us perplexed at the grocery store or farmers market because the terms are often used interchangeably even on the signage! But if we know what to look for in terms of appearance, we'll probably make the right choice. In fact, yams are imported and it's often hard to find a true yam outside of specialty grocery stores.

The secret for crispy baked herb & parmesan crusted sweet potatoes

The secret is to toss the sweet potatoes with a starch. This starch could be corn starch (GMO free and organic, of course!), potato starch, arrowroot ... it all works.

And then, drizzle over some oil. I use avocado oil because of its high heat point. We're roasting at 450!

Let's talk about herbs!

You can use any herb that you want, of course. I like to match the herb to the other things I'm serving for dinner. That said, thyme is my absolute favorite! Always and forever. However, I think a mix of thyme, sage, and rosemary would be awesome.

And don't forget the salt and pepper! I love the coarse gray Celtic salt on these and you get the additional benefit of all those minerals.

Finally, toss the rounds with some Parmesan cheese ... freshly grated, of course.

Stick the Herb & Parmesan Crusted Sweet Potatoes in the oven at 450F for about 50 minutes. If you have a chance, turn them over about half way through. If not, don't sweat it.

When you bring them out, they'll be inexplicably crispy on the outside and soft on the in. So amazing and delicious.

Recipe