Easy Maple Pecan Sweet Potatoes Recipe

The Dish

The calendar is slowing inching towards the holidays, and as usual, my mind is swirling around meal plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Fall menus are my favorite, as they are loaded with autumn favorites like homemade apple pie, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes. My children always come home for Thanksgiving, and we have family favorites that are always on the table.

My sweet Sarah insists on green bean casserole; you know the one–with french fried onions on the top! Amanda loves her grape salad, which we will have to do in an upcoming post. I absolutely love sweet potatoes. This year we are going to have Maple Pecan Sweet Potatoes, which is a big change from the usual whipped potatoes with a crumble top. This recipe for sweet potatoes is so delicious, your guests won’t believe they took mere minutes to prepare. They are so delicious, I bet you add them to your rotating cycle of side dishes!

These sumptuous discs of sweet potato are crispy on the outside, yet are melt in your mouth amazing on the inside. The maple pecan sauce that they are covered in will make you wonder if they really shouldn’t be served as a dessert!

Amber comments: Seriously this looks so much better than canned yams and fake marshmallows that people eat. I love that these are crispy and have wonderful sweetness and texture without all of the questionable ingredients.

This recipe will serve 4, so multiply as needed. You will need to shop for sweet potatoes that are uniform in size. Long slender ones work much better than short, pudgy or misshapen potatoes. Look for sweet potatoes that are slender, about 2-3 inches across and that taper down quickly at each end. This will make your finished discs uniform in size and they will cook more evenly as well. You will need one potato for 2 servings. 
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Ingredients and Timing

Before you begin prepping the ingredients, preheat the oven at 425 degrees, because this works up quickly! *During the holidays, I have even prepped the potatoes the night before and left them on the roasting pan in the refrigerator, so I could just pop them in the oven the next day. 

You will need:

2 large slender sweet potatoes

1/4 cup butter (half a cube)

sea salt 1/2 tsp

1/2 cup of real maple syrup

1/2 cup of coarsely chopped pecans

Directions

1. Wash and peel the sweet potatoes and trim ends.

2. Slice into 1-inch slices. Slice the potato rather than just pushing the knife through them so the slices don’t crack. You want pretty round discs.

3. Melt the butter and add the salt, stirring to mix. 

4. Dip the potatoes, one at a time, in the butter mixture and place on a roasting pan or cookie sheet.

5. Place in the oven and back for 20-30 minutes or until they are tender when poked with a fork, and crispy brown on the outside. I like to turn them over with tongs the last 5 minutes, as the side of the potato next to the pan gets a nice golden brown color. 

6. While the potatoes are baking, mix the syrup and pecans together in a small saucepan and simmer over low heat. You want the pecans to cook in the hot syrup so they are tender. 

7. Place the cooked potatoes on a serving dish, crispiest side up and drizzle the maple pecan mixture over the top and serve.

The Result

I told you these were easy! And as you can see they are quite stunning when they are served. I hope you will consider trying this delicious side dish at your holiday meals this year! This one side dish will save you enough time to enjoy your friends and family more before dinner, and isn’t quality time with friends and family what it’s all about?

Have an awesome week~ April