Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Carrots with Crispy Sage Butter
Roasted sweet potatoes and carrots are a simple, savory side dish that pair perfectly with a protein for an easy weeknight dinner but also round out special holiday dinners. The root veggies are naturally sweet and the browned sage butter adds a delicious savory layer that’ll have you going back for seconds!
- 1 Erica’s Notes:
- 2 Simple Ingredients You’ll Need:
- 3 How to Make Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Carrots:
- 4 Variation ideas:
- 5 What to Serve With Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Carrots
- 6 FAQs
- 7 If you love this sweet potato side dish you’ll love these other veggie-centric recipes:
- 8 Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Carrots with Crispy Sage Butter
Erica’s Notes:
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, my favorite way to eat veggies is roasted. Roasting vegetables brings out their natural sweetness, creates a crispy and charred exterior that is totally addicting.
Today we’re going on a Vitamin A and beta-carotene extravaganza! Both sweet potatoes and carrots are nutrition powerhouses, full of micronutrients and fiber and a fabulous addition to your diet.
I’m already brainstorming what to make for Thanksgiving dinner and this recipe is top of mind. Traditional Thanksgiving dishes like turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing are my jam but when it comes to sweet potatoes… I am not a marshmallow gal. I like to keep my veggie side dishes pretty simple and let the vegetables shine through without a lot of extra sugar and fluff…literally. Instead of green bean casserole, I go for simple sauteéd green beans with lemon and almonds and instead of honeyed carrots or sweet potato casserole I make these roasted sweet potatoes and carrots!
The recipe is made a little extra special and indulgent with the browned butter sage drizzle. The roasted veggies are delish without the drizzle of course, but it does add that extra oomph that makes it a perfect side dish for a holiday dinner party.
You’re gonna love it, enjoyyyyy!
Simple Ingredients You’ll Need:
Carrots: I used whole, medium-sized carrots for this recipe. You can use orange, white or purple carrots or a mix of all three! The tricolor carrots from Trader Joe’s are super fun.
Sweet potatoes: sweet potatoes are rich in vitamin A, beta-carotene and fiber. As a registered dietitian on a mission to get a wide variety of micronutrients in my diet, sweet potatoes are an almost daily fall and winter-must!
Olive oil: oil provides moisture for the veggies to caramelize while roasting. I recommend a good quality extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil.
Maple syrup: maple syrup helps complement the natural sweetness of the vegetables and provides a little extra depth of flavor. You can substitute brown sugar or honey if desired.
Salt and pepper: this recipe is seasoned simply with a pinch of sea salt and some cracks of freshly ground black pepper. The browned butter sage drizzle adds that extra punch of seasoning at the end!
Butter: I recommend salted butter for a bit of extra flavor.
Sage: fresh sage gets nice and crispy in the sizzling butter and adds lots of herbaceous flavor to the veggies. You could substitute fresh thyme for a different, but equally great flavor. You can find sage in the fresh herbs section of the produce department at any regular grocery store.
How to Make Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Carrots:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a large baking sheet or line with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Arrange the root vegetables in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, maple syrup and sprinkle all over with salt and pepper. Use your hands to toss the vegetables in oil and seasonings, making sure get all the veggies well coated.
Place sheet pan on the top rack in the preheated oven and roast carrots and sweet potatoes for 27 minutes, until tender and slightly caramelized. Switch the oven to broil and broil for 1-2 minutes (watch closely!) to deepen the caramelization and golden brown color. If you lined your pan with parchment paper, beware the broiler! It can burn the paper and even catch on fire if you’re not careful.
While the sweet potatoes and carrots are roasting, melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat and add the sage leaves. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the sage is crispy and butter is golden brown with some browned bits at the bottom. Remove from heat.
Drizzle the sage butter over the veggies and serve warm.
Variation ideas:
- Add more veggies! Red onion, shallot, red potatoes, Brussels sprouts, beets, parsnips, broccoli or cauliflower, all work beautifully with this method and take about the same amount of time to cook.
- Add more spices! I like letting the sage shine through as the predominant herb here, but you can of course add a teaspoon ground cinnamon, dried thyme, dried oregano or pinch of red pepper flakes to the veggies before roasting.
- Finish things up with some citrus! Feel free to add a squeeze of lemon juice or pinch of lemon zest to the veggies along with the sage butter.
- You might have to work in batches but you can make this recipe in the air fryer! Place carrots and sweet potatoes in an even layer in the air fryer basket and air fry at 400 degrees for 14-16 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through.
What to Serve With Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Carrots
Pair this savory side dish with any of the following main dish + salad/veggie combos for a complete meal:
FAQs
Yup! (Although you may need to work in batches). Refer to the notes section in the recipe card for instructions.
Store the sage butter and roasted vegetables in separate airtight containers in the fridge for up to 4 days. I’d recommend reheating the vegetables in an air fryer or under the broiler to return them to their former crispy glory. Warm the butter in the microwave or in a skillet and drizzle it on the veggies.
Up to you! I personally prefer peeled veggies for this particular recipe. But you can leave the peel on, just make sure to scrub them clean and dry with a towel before adding oil and seasonings.
Yes absolutely! Refer to the ‘variation ideas’ section for other vegetables that would be delicious and take about the same amount of time to cook.
If you love this sweet potato side dish you’ll love these other veggie-centric recipes:
If you try and like this recipe please don’t forget to leave a comment and star rating down below! If you love more lifestyle, behind the scenes and ‘eating in real life’ type of content come find me over on Instagram, @itsaflavorfullife, I love connecting with you all there!
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Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Carrots with Crispy Sage Butter
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Roast
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Perfectly roasted sweet potatoes and carrots with golden brown caramelization and a crispy sage butter drizzle, muah! This will have you craving your veggies.
Ingredients
- 4 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch thick coins
- 1 extra large or 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 12 sage leaves
- flaky sea salt, optional, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease a large sheet pan or line with a silicone baking mat. Arrange the carrot coins and cubed sweet potatoes on the baking tray in a single even layer. Drizzle with olive oil, maple syrup and sprinkle all over with salt and pepper. Use your hands to toss the vegetables in oil and seasonings, making sure get all the veggies well coated.
- Place on the top rack in the oven and roast for 27 minutes, until tender and slightly caramelized. Switch the oven to broil and broil for 1-2 minutes (watch closely!) to deepen the caramelization and golden brown color.
- While the sweet potatoes and carrots are roasting, melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat and add the sage leaves. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the sage is crispy and butter is golden brown with some browned bits at the bottom. Remove from heat.
- Drizzle the sage butter over the veggies, sprinkle with flaky sea salt and serve warm.
Notes
Air fryer instructions: you will likely need to work in two batches in order to avoid overcrowding the air fryer. Arrange carrots and sweet potatoes in an even layer and air fry at 400 degrees for 14-16 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through. Prepare sage butter as described and drizzle over the air-fried veggies.
Refer to above post for serving ideas and answers to frequently asked questions.
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 recipe
- Calories: 135
- Sugar: 4.9 g
- Sodium: 189.4 mg
- Fat: 10.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 10.6 g
- Fiber: 1.8 g
- Protein: 0.8 g
- Cholesterol: 15.3 mg
As mentioned, I strongly recommend a silicone baking mat but if someone doesn’t have that, parchment paper is an option. Just a warning to keep an eye out on it. 🙂
GM :
The recipe looks inviting will have to try love sweet potatoes & carrots. I usually cook carrots n skillet w/cinnamon & a little brown sugar till caramelized add butter/margarine of choice ty for sharing.
I made these as a side for Christmas dinner and they were an absolute hit! Everybody loved them and by the end of the night I was texting the recipe to multiple people. The only dish there were no leftovers for! So so good and really easy, hardest part was just cutting the sweet potatoes.
Yaaaay so happy to hear this, I am also SO obsessed with this recipe, no leftovers over here either!