Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Cinnamon Pecan Crunch
Sweet potatoes roasted with warm spices, tart cranberries, and a buttery crumb topping studded with maple-glazed pecans. Served straight from the oven with extra candied nuts scattered over the top for texture and sweetness.
Ingredients
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoon butter, cut up
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 3 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon orange juice
- ¾ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 ¼ cup pecans, chopped
Instructions
- 1
Preheat oven to 400°F.
- 2
Mix brown sugar, orange juice, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, and salt in large bowl.
- 3
Add sweet potatoes and toss to coat well.
- 4
Spoon into baking dish and sprinkle evenly with cranberries.
- 5
Dot with butter and cover with foil.
- 6
Bake 30 minutes.
- 7
While potatoes bake, add pecans to small bowl and stir in maple syrup and cinnamon until well coated; set aside.
- 8
Mix flour, remaining brown sugar, remaining cinnamon and ginger in medium bowl.
- 9
Cut in remaining butter with a fork until coarse crumbs form.
- 10
Stir in some of the maple cinnamon pecans.
- 11
Remove sweet potatoes from oven and stir gently.
- 12
Sprinkle evenly with pecan topping.
- 13
Bake uncovered 25 to 30 minutes longer or until sweet potatoes are tender and topping is lightly brown.
- 14
Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining maple cinnamon pecans.
Tips
Toss sweet potatoes gently when removing foil to avoid breaking pieces.
Reserve some maple pecans for garnish before folding into crumb mixture for better visual appeal and crunch.
Good to Know
Cover and refrigerate up to 3 days. Reheat covered at 350°F for 15-20 minutes.
Prepare crumb topping (flour, butter, sugar, spices) up to 1 day ahead. Store in airtight container. Mix with pecans just before baking.
Serve warm directly from baking dish as a side to poultry, pork, or at holiday tables.
Common Mistakes
Do not skip the foil cover during first 30 minutes to avoid dry, undercooked sweet potatoes.
Do not overmix the crumb topping to avoid dense, dough-like texture instead of loose crumbs.