Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Apples + Cranberries

Hello and happy Thanksgiving weekend to my fellow Canadians! xo Hope you are all having wonderful celebrations with family and friends. Last night, we had a Thanksgiving dinner at our condo with Jesse’s family. And, as tradition goes, we made too much food and ate way too much. But it was perfect. It was nice to spend time all together and catch up. Tonight, we are attending Thanksgiving dinner at my parents’ house. My mom is in charge of making turkey and the pumpkin pie. Mmmm! Pumpkin pie :) I will be bringing vegetarian meatballs and some side dishes including these roasted sweet potatoes. My sister just informed me that she is making a special salad for the vegetarians in the family. I’m excited to see what she brings!

My favourite side dish to make for Thanksgiving is roasted sweet potatoes with all sorts of yummy additions. The sweet potatoes are tossed with ground cinnamon, brown sugar and nutmeg then roasted with fresh apples and dried cranberries. Right before the sweet potatoes are finished roasting, I add buttery some pecans for texture and added protein. And well, I love pecans. The best part of this dish is that you can put it in the oven and allow it to roast while prepping all of your other Thanksgiving dishes. 

This is the perfect special side dish for the holidays. It’s always a huge hit. My family always comments that it tastes more like dessert than a vegetable side dish. :) Dessert for dinner? I’m sold!

Do you have a tried-and-true recipe that you make everything Thanksgiving? I always make these roasted sweet potatoes and fresh, homemade cranberry sauce. Yum! :)
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons of canola oil or olive oil
  • 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 2 medium apples, peeled an cubed
  • 1/2 cup of dried cranberries
  • 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
  • 2 tablespoons of firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup of pecans
  • salt to taste

Note: you can substitute butternut or acorn squash if you don’t have sweet potatoes on hand.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 425’F. Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and a pinch of salt in a small bowl.

2. Place the sweet potato, apple and cranberries in a 1 and 1/2 quart baking dish. Drizzle with canola oil or olive oil. Sprinkle the sugar/cinnamon mixture over top and mix well to coat.

3. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and add the pecans. Mix well and bake an additional 15 minutes (or until the sweet potato is tender).

Yield: about 6 side dish portions

Source: adapted from Canadian Living Magazine

Comments

  1. says

    This looks so delicious! The sweet potato dish is always the best part of any holiday dinner. I’m sad that I will miss my own Thanksgiving in the US since I will be abroad in Moscow :(

  2. says

    Oooh, this sounds so good! Seems like a nice healthier option, too… sweet, but not as rich as a lot of the other thanksgiving fare. Speaking of which, happy Thanksgiving! I keep forgetting so many people I know are in Canada… can’t wait for November here in the states!

  3. says

    You know what the traditional sweet potato dish is for US Thanksgiving? Mashed sweet potatoes combined with LOTS of brown sugar, topped with piles of marshmallows. (Do you do that in Canada too?!) This is SO much better! No marshmallows (so I can eat it!), only 2 tablespoons of sugar, and delicious cranberries and pecans added for good measure!

  4. says

    Totally in love with your version of sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving – it is such a nice change up from the traditional mashed, love it! I love making homemade cranberry sauce, then with the leftovers smother my sandwiches with it and any leftovers I can cram in roll for lunch the next day! Hooray for Tday, it is the best time of year!!

  5. Pete McCartney says

    Beautiful fall day with gold and red leaves falling , Flaming Pie in the background and the aroma of Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Apples filling the house.
    Seems the perfect way to spend an afternoon.

  6. Juliana says

    It’s been a year since I first saw your posting this delicious dish and I must say, I have made it many many times during the past year requested by my fam. who love it and can’t get enough of it. I especially like the sweet and savory combination. Thank you for sharing a wonderfully flavored but yet easy side dish.

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