Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Asparagus, a simple sheet pan roasted vegetable recipe with only 5 ingredients and ready in 40 minutes. A delicious, healthy side dish that you can also use as a salad topper!
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Love asparagus? Love sweet potatoes? Roast them together! There’s no need to choose between these delicious vegetables: their flavors are the perfect pair when roasted.
👉 Here’s why you should be baking sweet potatoes and asparagus together:
- It’s easy. This recipe requires just a few simple ingredients that you likely already have on hand. All you need to do is combine the veggies with oil and seasonings, put them on a sheet pan, and roast in the oven until golden brown.
- You can make it ahead. Whether you need to bring a side dish to your next party or holiday, simply roast sweet potatoes and asparagus a couple days in advance so they’re ready to go when you need them. Simply re-heat them when you’re ready to share and enjoy!
- It’s tasty. Between the delicate, earthy flavors of asparagus and natural sweetness of sweet potatoes, you won’t be able to get enough of this dish. We added extra flavor with garlic, salt, and pepper, but you can add your own favorite seasoning combination.
Ready to learn how to make roasted sweet potatoes and asparagus? Let’s do it!
🥣 How to roast sweet potatoes and asparagus together (step-by-step photos)
1️⃣ Step One: Preheat oven + prepare veggies
Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees F (200 C). Give the sweet potatoes and asparagus a quick wash to remove any dirt, then cut them for roasting.
- To cut asparagus: Trim the tough ends off of the asparagus, then cut into small 1 inch pieces. You can also leave them in longer pieces if you’d like (we left them long in the photos), but making them smaller makes it easier to eat them with sweet potatoes.
- To cut sweet potatoes: Cut off the ends, then cut potatoes into small 1/2 inch cubes for roasting (you do not need to peel them before roasting).
Pro tip! Make the sweet potatoes and asparagus easier to eat by cutting them into similar sized pieces. If they’re the same size, they will have similar cooking times and add extra crunch.
2️⃣ Step Two: Arrange veggies on a sheet pan
Place the cut sweet potatoes and asparagus on a baking sheet. To make sure they cook evenly, spread them out evenly on the pan.
Tip! We like to keep the vegetables separated on the roasting pan. Sweet potatoes can take longer to bake and you can easily scoop the asparagus off the pan when it’s done and keep cooking the potatoes.
Cover the veggies with a small amount of olive oil and mix until they are completely coated. Season with sliced garlic, as well as salt and pepper to taste.
3️⃣ Step Three: Bake vegetables until golden brown
The last step is to roast the veggies in the oven. You’ll cook them until they’re tender and brown around the edges. Depending on your oven, this will take about 35 minutes.
To make sure the sweet potatoes and asparagus cook evenly, give them a toss halfway into cooking. If the asparagus is cooking faster than the sweet potatoes, remove it to a plate and continue to cook the potatoes until they’re done.
Take the veggies out of the oven when they are finished. You can serve immediately if using as a side dish. If serving on top of salads and bowls, let the veggies cool to room temperature before using.
❓ Recipe questions + quick tips
Sweet potatoes can be enjoyed alongside just about any other vegetable. They taste great with broccoli, brussels sprouts, zucchini, green beans, bell peppers, and asparagus. They can be served with meat, fish, or plant-based proteins like beans, lentils, and tofu. You can enjoy them in soups, salads, and other mixed dishes. Sweet and savory flavorings, from cinnamon, to garlic, onion, and rosemary taste great with sweet potatoes.
Moist heat cooking methods, like steaming and boiling, can make asparagus mushy. Roasting it typically solves this problem, but it can become mushy if you add too much oil. Make sure to drizzle just a small amount of olive oil over the asparagus before you roast it, and the end product should come out crispy and delicious (not mushy!).
Before roasting, you should cut the ends off asparagus. The ends are difficult to eat, and can cause the asparagus to become stringy when roasted. You can cut just the ends off and roast long pieces of asparagus, or cut the asparagus into smaller pieces.
Roasted sweet potatoes are healthy. They are high in fiber and antioxidants, which have a variety of health benefits. Additionally, sweet potatoes are a source of vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium, and many other nutrients.
🌿 Herb + spice combination flavor ideas
We used a simple combination of garlic, salt, and pepper to season this recipe. You can add your own take to roasted sweet potatoes and asparagus by combining them with your own seasoning blends. Here are some ideas:
- Fresh parsley and parmesan cheese: Roast veggies with fresh parsley, then combine with parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast when done cooking.
- Paprika, chili powder, and red pepper flakes: Spice it up by combining vegetables with paprika and chili powder before roasting, then sprinkle some red pepper flakes over the top.
- Chopped red onion, garlic, and pepper: Add a burst of flavor by roasting sweet potatoes and asparagus with chopped onion, garlic, and black pepper.
- Balsamic vinegar, olive oil, sea salt, and pepper: Make an elegant glaze with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, sea salt, and pepper that will complement the flavors of the veggies perfectly.
♻️ Sustainable kitchen + cooking tips
Are you trying to live a green lifestyle? Us too! Here are some ways to get the most out of this recipe’s ingredients:
Make this recipe while sweet potatoes and asparagus are in season. Stock up on the veggies during the height of their growing season. Sweet potatoes are in season July through December in California, while asparagus is in season spring to early summer. Click here to find out when they are in season in your area.
Use the veggie scraps in another recipe. Keep the asparagus ends, as well as the peels and ends from the potatoes, to use in homemade food scrap broth, which you can use to flavor soups and as a cooking liquid for grains and other dishes.
Toss sweet potato sprouts in compost. They might not be edible, but that doesn’t mean they belong in the garbage. Do the environment a favor by adding them to your compost bin.
🧡 More roasted sweet potato and asparagus recipes
Want more sweet potato and asparagus recipes? Check out our other easy baked vegetable recipes:
- Maple Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Sweet Potatoes
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Carrots
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Asparagus
- Baked Asparagus and Sweet Potatoes
- Roasted Asparagus and Carrots
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Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Asparagus
Ingredients
- 1 pound asparagus, or one bunch
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 2 whole garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
Instructions
- Prep oven: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (200 C).
- Prep vegetables: Wash asparagus and sweet potatoes. Cut the ends off of the asparagus, then cut into small 1 inch pieces for roasting. Slice the ends off sweet potatoes, then cut into small 1/2 inch cubes (you do not need to peel them before roasting).
- Roast vegetables: Place the sweet potatoes and asparagus on a sheet pan and combine with a drizzle of olive oil. Toss the vegetables to completely cover with oil and sprinkle with sliced garlic, salt, and pepper. Roast in the oven for about 35 minutes, flipping the vegetables halfway through cooking to brown on all sides.
- Serve vegetables: Remove pan from oven, arrange vegetables on a plate, and serve as a side dish or let cool and use as a salad topping.
Recipe Notes
- Tools needed: sheet pan, knife set, cutting board
- Prep ahead: Wash and cut vegetables ahead of time to reduce prep time before cooking. If serving cold on salads or bowls, you can make this recipe up to three days ahead of time.
- Leftovers + storage: Vegetables should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. For best taste and texture, do not freeze and reheat.
- Nutrition notes: Nutrition information is estimated for only ingredients in the recipe, not the additional spice options given. This simple roasted vegetable recipe is a good source of fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, and potassium.
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