Roast your sweet potatoes up like French fries, French fries with beta carotene, clearly a health food…

It took me decades to discover how amazing sweet potatoes can be. In my early years sweet potatoes came from a can. They were packed in sugar syrup. Then my mother added more sugar along with butter and marshmallow to plop on top. Even as a kid, that made no sense to me. Why is this served as part of dinner? That dish had at least as much sugar as dessert and was a gooey sweet mess!

Fresh sweet potatoes, on the other hand, offer a wide spectrum of possibilities. Forget the marshmallows! This simple dish has savory seasoning that sparkles when combined with the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes. Use a Cajun seasoning, either a commercial blend or one that is homemade. Of course, you can use your own favorite seasoning.

I baked these at 350 degrees rather than the higher temperatures associated with roasted vegetables. I wanted to keep the oil from reaching its smoke point. At our 4000 foot elevation it took about 40 minutes to get the sweet potato baked to the point of having a bit of an outside crust and very creamy insides. The edges of some of the slices were just beginning to caramelize, even at the low temperatures.

These sweet potatoes were in the oven in under ten minutes, including the peeling, slicing, and seasoning.

Roasted Sweet Potato Ingredients

• 3 large, glorious sweet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons oil of choice. (I used coconut oil.)
• 1 heaping teaspoon Cajun seasoning (or more)

Roasted Sweet Potato Steps

1. Peel the sweet potatoes and slice into 1/2 inch thick spears.
2. Place the spears on a large baking sheet.
3. Drizzle oil over the sweet potato spears and sprinkle with the seasoning.
4. Using a spatula or your hands (or both), toss the sweet potato slices until they are evenly coated with oil and seasoning.
5. Arrange the slices in a single layer on the baking sheet.
6. Bake for 30-40 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Make a mental note to bake two trays of these next time, after you see how quickly they disappear.