Smashed Sweet Potatoes
on Nov 19, 2025
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When you make these smashed sweet potatoes for the first time, you will immediately wonder why you haven’t been doing roasted potatoes this way sooner. They have lots of flavor thanks to a blend of basic seasonings you probably already have in your spice drawer. I love these potatoes for a holiday side dish, but it doesn’t have to be Thanksgiving because they are simple enough for a weeknight dinner.
Also, try this crispy smashed potato recipe made with “regular potatoes” (a.k.a. yellow potatoes).
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This is an easy no-peel potato recipe. Even though you have to boil the potatoes before you smash and roast them, it’s very quick to cut them into rounds. There’s nothing complicated about prepping and cooking them.
- Because they’re individual bites, this side dish looks fancy, but it’s simple. I like having variety on the table at holiday dinners. Not everything should be a casserole or spooned onto your plate.
- These roasted sweet potatoes deliver on flavor and texture. Dried spices are a low-effort way to give potatoes personality. Because they are smashed, you get soft, fluffy and creamy potatoes that are crisp on the bottom because it makes direct contact with the hot pan.
- They are a savory sweet potato recipe. No offense to lovers of sweet potato casserole, but you won’t find brown sugar or cinnamon here.
- These smashed sweet potatoes are vegan. I use olive oil and not butter.
The Ingredients
This is what you need:
- Sweet potatoes come in a range of sizes. Look for ones that are longer and thinner, about 2 inches in diameter at their widest point.
- Dried seasonings: I use a blend of dried thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt and black pepper. You will also need to salt the water when you boil the potatoes. I don’t use minced garlic because I don’t want it to burn.
- Walnuts give the potatoes nutty crunch for a finishing touch. Make sure to toast the walnuts ahead of time on a sheet pan in a 350-degree F oven for 5-7 minutes to boost their flavor. You can substitute with almonds.
- Chives are potatoes’ favorite fresh herb. I love that mild onion taste with any kind of potato. Chopped parsley would be my second choice.
How To Make Roasted Smashed Sweet Potatoes
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Evenly coat 2 baking sheets with a thin layer of oil.
1. Prep the potatoes. Cut them into 1-inch-thick rounds.
2. Boil the sweet potatoes. Put them in a large pot with a tablespoon of salt and fill it with cold water, covering the potatoes by 1 inch. Bring the water to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5-7 minutes until you can easily pierce the potatoes with a knife. They need to be just fork tender, so you can smash them.
3. Stir the oil and dried spices in a small bowl.
4. Smash the potatoes. Put the rounds in rows across both pans. Use a potato masher, the bottom of a glass or a fork to gently smash the potatoes. Drizzle the potatoes with the spiced oil.
5. Roast the potatoes. Give them 30-35 minutes. Rotate the sheet pans about halfway through roasting. The sweet potatoes should turn out lightly browned and crisp on the bottom and at the edges. Garnish the smashed potatoes with walnuts and chives.
Serving
This is a great fall-winter side dish all season long for a weeknight or holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Not everyone is a mashed potato person. These smashed sweet potatoes are for the roasted potato fans who want something different that the usual recipe. You can also serve them as an appetizer because they are bite-sized.
Leftovers & Storage
If you have leftovers, you can reheat them in a 350-degree F oven. They won’t get back the full crispness they had on the bottom when you first roasted them, but they will still taste good. I even eat them cold with a salad. This is something I discovered when I was too impatient to wait for the oven to preheat.
Recipe Tips
- Don’t overcook the potatoes when you boil them. Because the potatoes are sliced, they will soften pretty quickly. If you simmer them too long, they will take in too much water.
- Generously grease the pans. I like to take an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to spread a thin coating of oil all over.
- You can sprinkle the potatoes with finely grated Parmesan cheese. This would be in addition to the toasted nuts and chives.
More Roasted Potato Recipes
Roasted Yukon Gold Potatoes
Hasselback Sweet Potatoes
Roasted Potatoes and Carrots
Oven-Roasted Rosemary Potatoes
Garlic Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
Roasted Sweet Potato Salad
Fingerling Potato Kale Salad
Kale Sweet Potato Salad
Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Roasted Potato & Green Bean Salad
Roasted Sweet Potato and Cauliflower Salad
Looking for more roasted veggie inspiration? Check out my seasonal guide with recipes for pastas, salads, sides and more.
Smashed Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for greasing pans
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes*
- 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts
- 1 tablespoon minced chives
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Grease 2 sheet pans with a thin and even coating of olive oil.
- Slice the potatoes into 1-inch-thick rounds.
- Place the potatoes and 1 tablespoon kosher salt in a large pot. Fill it with cold water, covering the potatoes by 1 inch. On the stove over high heat, bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer the potatoes until they are just tender enough to be pierced with a knife, about 5-7 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes and place them on the pans, spacing them about 1-2 inches apart. Use a potato masher, the bottom of a glass or a fork to smash them down.
- In a small bowl, stir 1/4 cup olive oil, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and black pepper. Drizzle the tops of the potatoes with this oil mixture.
- Roast the potatoes for 30-32 minutes, rotating the sheet pans halfway through roasting, until the bottoms and edges are browned and crispy.
- Sprinkle the potatoes with walnuts and chives before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
