Baked Sweet Potato Cubes with Butter and Bourbon
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. Makes 6 servings.
Love sweet potatoes? You’re need to check out Bourbon Sweet Potato Casserole and Vegan Sweet Potato Sage Olive Oil Biscuits!
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 we would lose another family friend to suicide later that month, making November 2016 a miserable one for my family.
In my original post, I called for decency and kindness.
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 words here, I’ve moved it to its own post. Why? Because this one should focus on sweet potatoes.
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.
They’re perfection, whether you’re looking for a standout side for the holiday table or you want to jazz up the sweet potatoes from 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) and then bake everything when it’s go time.
Oh, they’re 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 this recipe:
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- Sheet pan or a large baking dish
- Large bowl
- Nonstick baking mat.
- Tongs for serving.
Let’s talk ingredients!
In addition to the tools above, you’re going to need some ingredients to make this recipe, too! Chances are, you might already have some of them in your fridge or pantry. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full measurements and instructions.
Here’s what you need:
- Sweet potatoes — you’ll need about 3.25 lbs. Go by the weight, not the number of sweet potatoes! I like to get ones that are not oddly shaped, as they are easier to slice.
- Unsalted butter — this is what’s going to keep the sweet potatoes from sticking to the pan. You could use honey butter for additional sweetness, if desired. If you don’t eat butter, you could substitute with a neutral oil.
- Bourbon — use your favorite! It should be drinkable but certainly not fancy since the alcohol is going to bake off.
- Fresh thyme — to add some pops of freshness! If you can’t find fresh thyme, dried thyme works, too. You’ll want to use half of what the recipe calls for since dried herbs are more potent than fresh.
- Kosher salt and black pepper — for additional seasoning! I like to use a medium grain kosher salt and to grind my own pepper.
How to make Baked Sweet Potato Cubes with Butter and Bourbon
Preheat the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
Cube the sweet potatoes with a sharp knife.
Pro tip!
You don’t have to peel the sweet potatoes, 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.
Transfer the sweet potato cubes to a large bowl.
Melt the butter in a small bowl, and stir in the bourbon.
Pour the bourbon-butter over the sweet potato cubes. Toss with tongs or your hands.
Season with salt, pepper and thyme, then turn out onto the prepared baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven uncovered for 45 minutes. Please note that the cook time will vary from oven to oven, depending on how hot yours run.
Turn on the broiler, and broil the sweet potatoes for 5-10 minutes, or until crispy and browned. Keep an eye on them because they can burn if you are not careful!
Remove from the oven, transfer the perfect roasted sweet potatoes to a serving bowl, and enjoy warm.
Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips
These cubed Sweet Potatoes in Oven with Butter and Bourbon are great to everyday entertaining or holiday entertaining. This recipe makes 6 servings and they’re super simple.
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 russet potatoes, sweet potatoes won’t brown if you chop them early and keep ’em in a food storage container in the fridge.
- Similarly, you can purchase pre-cubed sweet potatoes at the store. No shame in taking this shortcut if cubing sweet potatoes will stress you out. While it costs more, 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
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.
You can do either with sweet potatoes! For these Roasted Sweet Potato Cubes with Butter and Bourbon recipe, we’re going to bake them.
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.
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.
The sweet potatoes, butter and spices are obviously gluten free. The bourbon is *technically* considered GF because the distillation process removes the gluten. There is also bourbon made from 100% corn. (You can read about gluten free whiskeys here.) If you’re serving someone with celiac or need this recipe to be gluten free, I suggest omitting the bourbon and adding extra butter to the potatoes.
What can I pair with these sweet potatoes?
- Browned Butter Sage Turkey
- Honey Ham
- Green Chile Cornbread Stuffing
- Shredded Cheesy Potatoes
- Creamed Cornbread Casserole
- Green Bean Skillet Casserole
Other sweet potato recipes to try:
- Hasselback Sweet Potatoes
- Bourbon Sweet Potato Casserole
- Sweet Potato Hash with Fried Egg
- Sweet Potato Bisque
Now who’s ready for this recipe?
Here’s how you can make it for you and yours…
Baked Sweet Potato Cubes with Butter and Bourbon
Ingredients
- 4 sweet potatoes cubed (~3.25 lbs.)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 oz. bourbon
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme chopped (or ½ teaspoon dried thyme)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
- Cube the sweet potatoes. Transfer them into a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a microwave-safe dish, heat the unsalted butter until melted. Add the bourbon to the butter.
- Pour the bourbon butter over the sweet potatoes. Using a spoon, toss the potatoes with the bourbon butter until all are coated.
- Season the sweet potatoes with the thyme, salt and pepper.
- Transfer the potatoes to the prepared baking sheet. Spread them until evenly distributed.
- Place the baking sheet into the preheated oven. Bake for 45 minutes.
- Turn on the broiler. Broil the sweet potatoes for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are golden brown and delicious.
- Serve warm, and enjoy.
Nutrition
About the Author:
Erin Parker is a Southern gal living in Texas with her husband and two daughters. She started The Speckled Palate to share what she was cooking as a newlywed… and over the years, it’s evolved to capture her love for hosting. Specifically, the EASIEST, lowest key entertaining because everyone deserves to see their people and connect over good food. Learn more about her…
Erin, I’m so sorry for your loss. I can’t imagine how difficult this time must be for you and your family. And know that you’re not alone in wanting to make people feel loved, whole, heard, important, understood. I am with you.
I’m so sorry to hear about your friend. Everything you said was worded so well; I had a similar debate as to whether or not I should say anything on my own blog, but in the end I realized I just couldn’t put the way I was feeling into words. Now let’s all go out and do something to make the world a better place today.
Erin, I’m truly sorry to hear about your friend. It saddens me to think that anyone would feel that kind of hopelessness that they’d need to end their life. I’ll be praying for healing for you and her other loved ones as you all grieve this loss. On a positive note, these sweet potatoes look amazing and I’m tucking this recipe away for Thanksgiving this year. Thanks for sharing your heart! <3
I just love you so much <3
I just love you so much, too! <3