Be still, my bourbon-, butter-, and sweet potato-loving heart! Baked Sweet Potato Cubes with Butter and Bourbon make a DELICIOUS, flavorful side for the Thanksgiving table this year and are SO simple to make! This bourbony, buttery side is holiday perfection.

Love sweet potatoes as a side dish? You’re gonna want to check out Bourbon Sweet Potato Casserole, Vegan Sweet Potato Sage Olive Oil Biscuits and Sweet Potato Bisque!

When I first shared this post in November of 2016, I spoke about avoiding politics and not wanting to alienate anyone because of them. I also spoke about the recent death of a family friend.

Little did I know that another dear family friend would commit suicide later days before Thanksgiving, making November 2016 a miserable month for my family.

In my original post, I called for decency and kindness… but if the last four years have taught me anything, it’s that food is political; decency is measured on a sliding scale and kindness isn’t enough to make our world a better place.

So instead of keeping my original post here, I’ve moved it over to its own post. Why? Because this post should focus on sweet potatoes.

In fact, this recipe was a bright spot in November 2016, which was a pretty dark month for me personally.

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Why I love this recipe:

Baked Sweet Potato Cubes with Butter and Bourbon are a decadent and simple side dish to make for any occasion, whether you’re looking for a standout for the holiday table or you want to jazz up the sweet potatoes in your pantry on a weeknight.

Not only is this recipe simple, but you can cube the sweet potatoes in advance (and let ’em hang out in your fridge in a food storage container) and then bake everything together when it’s go time.

Oh, it’s also delicious. I mean… how could the combination of bourbon and butter and sweet potato be bad?

Other easy side dishes that are great for holidays or a weeknight: Roasted Lemon Brussels Sprouts | Honey Roasted Whole Carrots | Roasted Broccoli with Lemon and Garlic | Lemon Pepper Green Beans

Need more side dish inspiration? Head on over to my Side Dish Recipe Index to see what we love to cook up!

What you need to make Baked Sweet Potato Cubes with Butter and Bourbon

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• Sheet pan
• Large bowl
• Nonstick baking mat.
• Tongs for serving.

In addition to these tools, be sure to get the following ingredients, too:

• 4 sweet potatoes (about 3.25 lbs. Go by the weight, not the number of sweet potatoes!)
• Unsalted butter
• Bourbon
• Fresh thyme (can also substitute dried thyme)
• Kosher salt and black pepper

How to make Baked Sweet Potato Cubes with Butter and Bourbon

Preheat the oven, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

Cube the sweet potatoes using a sharp knife. (No, you don’t have to peel them, but make sure that you’ve scrubbed the skin well before chopping so they’re clean.) Try to cut them into even cubes, but know that they don’t have to be perfect.

Place the sweet potato cubes in a large bowl.

Melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl, and stir in the bourbon.

Pour the bourbon-butter combination over the sweet potato cubes, and toss with tongs or your hands. Season with salt, pepper and thyme, then turn out onto the prepared baking sheet and pop into the preheated oven.

Bake the sweet potato cubes uncovered for 45 minutes, then turn on the broiler and broil them for 5-10, or until they’re crisp and browned on the outside.

Remove from the oven, transfer to a serving bowl, and enjoy warm.

Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips

Baked Sweet Potato Cubes with Butter and Bourbon are great to everyday entertaining or holiday entertaining because the recipe makes 6 servings and they’re super simple to put together.

Here are some suggestions about making them for a crowd and how to make it as stress-free as possible:

• Cube the sweet potatoes in advance. Unlike white potatoes, sweet potatoes won’t brown if you chop them up early and keep ’em in a food storage container in the fridge.
• Similarly, you could purchase pre-cubed sweet potatoes from the store. No shame in taking this shortcut if cubing sweet potatoes is gonna stress you out. While it costs more than a regular sweet potato, it’ll make this dish take less time.
• Prep the thyme early, too. Store it in the fridge in a small food storage container.
• Put it all together before dinnertime. That means, melt the butter and add the bourbon, then toss it with the pre-cubed sweet potatoes and thyme (and add the salt and pepper, too!) and bake ’em to perfection.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you cube sweet potatoes?

Sweet potatoes can be challenging to cube if they’re extra large or if you’ve got a dull knife. I tend to try to get smaller sweet potatoes from the store because I know they’ll be more manageable.

What I like to do is slice off a piece from the side, long-ways, and use this to create a stable base. Once the sweet potato is stable, you can then cut long strips from the sweet potato that way. (Make ’em about ½”.)

When I’ve sliced the sweet potato long ways like this, I’ll stack the slices up and cut them into sticks, then from the sticks, cubes.

Is it best to boil or bake sweet potatoes?

You can do either with sweet potatoes! For this Baked Sweet Potato Cubes with Butter and Bourbon recipe, we’re going to bake them.

Do sweet potatoes take longer to bake than regular potatoes?

No, they do not take longer to bake than a white potato. In fact, since sweet potatoes are slightly softer than a white potato, they might bake for less time, though this is all dependent on the size of the sweet potato and how you’re roasting it.

Do you cook sweet potatoes the same as normal potatoes?

You certainly can! These Baked Sweet Potato Cubes with Butter and Bourbon are obviously baked, and you can cube russet or gold potatoes and bake ’em exactly like this recipe, too.

What recipes can I pair nicely with these Sweet Potatoes at a holiday meal?

• Browned Butter Sage Turkey
• Honey Ham
• Green Chile Cornbread Stuffing
• Shredded Cheesy Potatoes
• Creamed Cornbread Casserole
• Green Bean Skillet Casserole

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