Grilled sweet potato slices drizzled in olive oil and paprika seasoning. This easy side recipe takes only minutes to prepare and is the perfect dish for any table platter.
Looking for a side dish that will perk up your whole spread for the barbecue? Look no further than these grilled sweet potatoes.
Sweet, savory, easily customizable, and perfectly charred, this simple but effective preparation method allows the natural flavors of sweet potatoes to shine. Both prep and cooking time only take a few minutes, so you can whip these up quickly while you focus on the main meal. Just be careful: These sweet potatoes are so tasty that they could outshine your main dish.
Simple but addictive, it’s easy to see how this is one of our most popular grilled appetizers or sides. Here’s how to grill sweet potatoes from scratch. Let’s get grilling.
Quick Tips
- Before you start your grill, line the grates with a thin layer of canola oil. This will help stop the potato slices from sticking to the grill as they cook. It’s important to use canola oil instead of other types of cooking oil because canola oil has a high smoke point of nearly 400°F (204°C), allowing it to withstand high grilling temperatures.
- Buy sweet potatoes that are similar in size and color. This will ensure that they cook at the same rate and taste just as good as each other.
- Don’t forget to parboil the potatoes before slicing. This is the best way to ensure that your potato discs have a caramelized outside and soft and sweet inside.
Grilled Sweet Potatoes
Equipment
- canola oil
Ingredients
- 4 sweet potatoes
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder optional
- 1 tsp smoked paprika optional
- 1 tsp dried thyme optional
Instructions
- Before firing up your grill, apply a thin layer of canola oil to the grill grates (this will stop the potatoes from sticking to them)
- Fire up your grill to medium, about 350°F (180°C)
- Heat water in a large saucepan over high heat. Add whole sweet potatoes and bring to boil, then reduce to simmer. Heat until potatoes are close to cooked through, about 5-10 minutes. Remove sweet potatoes and rest until cool enough to handle.
- Once cooled, slice the potatoes into rounds. You can peel them if you prefer skin-off potatoes, but it’s not necessary and skipping it saves you plenty of time.
- Put the sweet potato discs into a bowl and drizzle the olive oil over it. Toss with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and dried thyme. Toss until sweet potatoes are evenly covered.
- Place potatoes directly on the grill. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side, or until the potatoes have charred grill marks on them.
- Toss with more kosher salt and serve
