Grilled Sweet Potatoes are easy to make and wonderfully crispy and charred on the outside and fluffy inside. Try these at your next cookout!
The smoky, sweet, and earthy flavor of grilled sweet potatoes makes them the perfect summer Side Dish! You can dress them up with toppings or serve them fresh off the grill. They can even be a main dish for a vegetarian dinner or topping for pasta. You will love this delicious, family friendly potato recipe! For more tasty sweet potato dishes, check out my Oven-Baked Sweet Potatoes or Sweet Potato Fries.
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Grilled Sweet Potatoes Recipe
My Grilled Sweet Potatoes are sure to be your new favorite cooking method for these tasty spuds! Preparing the sweet potatoes on the grill gives them a wonderful smoky flavor and enhances their natural sweet taste. Along with the bold flavor of the char and earthy sweetness, you get a crispy outer layer and fork tender inside. Plus you don’t have to boil them first so they are ready in just about 30 minutes and there is minimal cleanup. This sweet potato recipe is one you’ll be making over and over again!
Ingredients
- Sweet Potatoes: This recipe prepared four medium to large sweet potatoes. When you’re picking out the potatoes, look for ones with fairly smooth skin and firm texture. Make sure to avoid any with soft spots or dark marks. Scrub the potatoes clean, then slice them so that each piece is about 1/2″ thick.
- Olive Oil: The olive oil helps the potatoes cook to perfection. They crisp up on the outside, so they have a nice charred outer layer while the inside remains soft and fluffy. If you prefer, you can swap out the olive oil for another cooking oil like canola, grapeseed, or sunflower oil.
- Seasonings: To flavor the Grilled Sweet Potatoes, I used garlic powder, kosher salt, black pepper, and sage. The garlic adds a bold garlicky flavor while the sage adds an earthy, woody freshness. I used ground spices because fresh herbs will burn with the long cooking time. If you want to add fresh herbs, I recommend adding them at the very end before serving.
How to Make Grilled Sweet Potatoes
Time needed: 30 minutes.
- Set-Up
Preheat your gas grill to 350 degrees, and line a 9×13 inch baking dish with parchment paper. If using a charcoal grill, it will take about 15 minutes for it to heat up. Then wash four sweet potatoes under cold water and slice them into round pieces about a half-inch thick. You can also grease the grill grate to ensure the potatoes don’t stick.
- Season Sweet Potatoes
Add the extra virgin olive oil and sweet potato slices to a large mixing bowl. Then season with salt, coarse ground black pepper, garlic powder, and sage. Toss to coat the potatoes. Then place the potatoes in a single layer on the prepared baking pan.
- Grill
Place the baking sheet on the hot grill grate and cook for 6-8 minutes. Then use barbecue tongs to flip the sweet potatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes on direct heat. Remove the potatoes from the pan and brush them with the remaining seasoned olive oil from the mixing bowl.
- Finish and Serve
Carefully place the potatoes on the hot grill and cook for 2 minutes until they get grill marks. Then use tongs to flip the potatoes and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove the Grilled Sweet Potatoes from the heat and serve.
Can These Be Made Ahead?
Yes, you can make Grilled Sweet Potatoes ahead, but to have the crispiest texture it’s recommended to grill them and serve them the same day. They’ll last fresh in the fridge for a day or two if you’re wanting to make them for a party. Crisp up in the air fryer or toaster oven before serving!
Nutritional Facts
Packed with healthy elements like fiber and beta-carotene, sweet potatoes make the perfect side dish to start including in your weekly recipes.
What to Pair with Sweet Potatoes
Side Dish: Serve the grilled sweet potato slices on the side of Cilantro Lime Chicken, Grilled Pork Chops, or Smoked St. Louis Ribs at your next summer cookout.
Toppings: Grilled Sweet Potatoes taste wonderful with a dollop of sour cream, and diced green onions or chives sprinkled on top. Sauces like BBQ Sauce or Honey Mustard are also an easy way to enjoy crispy potatoes.
How to Store
- Store: After the cooking time, don’t leave Grilled Sweet Potatoes out at room temperature for more than 2 hours. To keep leftovers fresh, wait for the potatoes to cool, then transfer them to a ziplock bag or an airtight container to store in the fridge for 3-5 days.
- Reheating Tips: You can easily reheat these guys in the toaster oven or air fryer on 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes.
- Freeze: You can also package the sweet potatoes to freeze them for up to 3 months. To serve them, let the Grilled Sweet Potatoes thaw in the fridge overnight, then reheat them in a preheated oven.
Alternative Cooking Methods
Stovetop Grilled Sweet Potatoes
To get the same charred flavor without outdoor cooking, you can cook the sweet potatoes in a grill pan on the stovetop.
- For this cooking method, start by seasoning the sweet potatoes according to the original recipe instructions.
- Then add the potato pieces to your grill pan and cook over medium heat to medium-high heat.
- Cook until charred on one side, then flip and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender.
- Because there’s less space in a grill pan than on an outdoor grill, you’ll likely have to grill the sweet potatoes in batches.
Frequent Questions
The shape you slice your sweet potatoes into doesn’t matter. Whether you prefer sweet potato wedges, rounds, or planks, any of these shapes can work for this recipe. But, you will want to be careful to cut all the sweet potatoes with a relatively similar thickness so that they cook at an even speed. The thicker the potato slices, the longer they’ll take to cook, and if you slice them too thin, they’ll be quick to burn.
No. It’s up to you if you want to peel the potatoes or leave the skin on. Many people enjoy the texture of grilled sweet potato skin, in which case you should absolutely leave them on. If you don’t peel the potatoes, just be sure to scrub any dirt off the potatoes before grilling.
Although the terms sweet potato and yam are sometimes used interchangeably, there are some big differences. You can tell the difference by looking because sweet potatoes have a reddish brown, thin skin, and bright orange flesh. Yams have dark brown, thicker skin and white flesh. Yams are also usually larger than sweet potatoes. As far as how they taste, sweet potatoes have a sweeter, more buttery flavor, whereas yams are more similar to white potatoes.
No. The reason to poke holes in regular potatoes is so that steam can escape from the center when you’re cooking them whole. However, the sweet potatoes are already sliced into pieces for this recipe so the steam won’t get trapped in the same way.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 4 sweet potatoes , cut into 1/2" thick slices
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
Instructions
- Preheat grill to 350 degrees
- Mix together all ingredients in a large bowl.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the potato slices on the baking sheet skin side down to allow for even cooking.
- Grill for 6-8 minutes.
- Flip the potatoes, cook about 3-4 minutes.
- Remove from the pan, brush with remaining oil from the bowl and place onto the grill.
- Cook for 2 minutes until the potatoes get grill marks, flip and cook for another 2 minutes.
Notes
- Change Serving Size: Click on the yield amount to slide and change the number of servings and the recipe will automatically update!
- Timer: Click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.
Nutrition
Want to save this recipe? Create a free account to easily save your favorite recipes
Variations on Sweet Potatoes
- Spicy Grilled Sweet Potatoes: If you like the flavor contrast of spicy and sweet, then you can add some hot, bold flavors to this recipe with the spice coating. Try tossing the sweet potatoes in chili powder or cayenne pepper. Just be careful to only add a little at a time, you can always add more spice later, but you don’t want to make the potatoes too spicy to enjoy.
- More seasoning options: You can also add other herbs and spices to the seasoning blend for this recipe. Onion powder, sweet paprika, ground mustard, cumin, or rosemary would all taste delicious.
- Citrusy flavor: Another addition you can try is whisking a little lemon or lime juice with the olive oil to give a zingy, bright flavor perfect for this delicious summer dish. You can also serve the grilled potatoes with lime wedges, so you can squeeze fresh lime juice over the top while eating them.
- Brown sugar grilled sweet potatoes: You can also add a rich, caramelized flavor to the Grilled Sweet potatoes by tossing them in 2 tablespoons of brown sugar along with the spice mixture. The brown sugar coating tastes especially wonderful with garlic, you can add a little extra garlic powder to the blend or use freshly minced garlic cloves to flavor the dish.
More Delicious Sweet Potato Recipes
