Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Butternut Squash

Roasted sweet potatoes and butternut squash, tossed with cinnamon and garlic and roasted hot until the edges caramelize and the centers turn tender. Cooks in 30 minutes.

Ingredient Notes

Here’s what goes into this roasted sweet potatoes and butternut squash recipe and what each ingredient does.

Butternut squash: The heartier half of the pair. It roasts into soft, sweet cubes that hold their shape better than the sweet potato does. Use a 2-pound squash, peeled and seeded, which gives you about 1.5 pounds of cubes once it’s cleaned. Peeling and cubing a whole squash takes a few minutes, so if you want to skip that step, the pre-cubed squash in the produce section works well.

Sweet potatoes: These bring the softer, creamier texture and a deeper sweetness. Cut them the same size as the squash so both are done at the same time. Use three medium sweet potatoes, peeled or unpeeled.

Olive oil: You want enough to coat every piece, since that’s what helps the spices stick and the edges brown. I use extra virgin because I like the flavor, but a lighter olive oil works too.

Ground cinnamon: This is the seasoning that defines the dish. Use ground so it coats the cubes evenly when you toss everything together.

Garlic powder: I use garlic powder so it coats every piece evenly when you toss it all together. For soft, sweet cloves you can eat whole, toss in 4 or 5 whole peeled garlic cloves along with the seasoning.

Kosher salt and black pepper: I keep the salt on the light side and let everyone add more at the table.

Recipe Variations

Here are two more tested ways to season these roasted sweet potatoes and butternut squash, one savory and one warm-spiced.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato with Rosemary

For a savory version, leave out the cinnamon and garlic powder and toss the cubes with 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, along with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. It comes out more herbal than the main version and goes well next to roast chicken or pork.

Warm Curry-Spiced Version

This is the version I first made years ago. Keep the cinnamon, leave out the garlic powder, and add 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon curry powder, and 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger. Keep the salt and pepper the same. It tastes earthier and a little warmer.

How To Make Roasted Sweet Potatoes And Butternut Squash

Roasted butternut squash and sweet potatoes need about 25 to 28 minutes to bake at 425°F. The prep is quick, and the main thing is cutting the vegetables to an even size so they finish roasting together.

How to Peel and Cut Butternut Squash

Use a sharp knife and a stable cutting board. A squash is firm, and cutting it into smaller pieces first gives you flat surfaces to work against, which makes the whole job easier.

1. Cut off the top stem and the bottom end so both ends sit flat.
2. Cut the squash in two where the narrow neck meets the round base. Now you have two pieces that each stand steady on a flat end.
3. Stand the round base up and cut it in half. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon.
4. Peel all the pieces with a sharp vegetable peeler or a knife. With each piece sitting flat, the peel comes off in clean passes. Go back over any spots that still look green or waxy, since the skin is thick.
5. Lay the peeled pieces flat side down and cut them into 1 to 1½-inch cubes.

Cut the Sweet Potatoes

Peel the sweet potatoes or leave the skins on, whichever you prefer, then cut them into the same 1 to 1½-inch size as the squash. Matching the pieces is what lets the squash and the sweet potatoes get tender at the same time, so keep them close in size.

Season and Toss

Put all the cubes in a large bowl. Add the olive oil, cinnamon, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and toss until every piece is coated. Your hands work better than a spoon here, since you can feel when the oil and spices have reached everything. If you’re adding the whole garlic cloves, toss them in now so they coat along with the rest. The cubes should look lightly coated and glossy, with no dry, powdery spots. If some pieces still look dry, add another tablespoon of oil and toss again, since a larger squash or bigger sweet potatoes can need it.

Roast Until the Edges Brown

Spread the cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet with a little space between them. Roast at 425°F for 25 to 28 minutes, until the undersides are browned and a fork slides easily into a piece of squash. The squash runs a little denser than the sweet potato, so once it’s tender, both are done. For color on more than one side, turn the cubes once about halfway through.

Expert Tips

Give them room to roast. Use a large rimmed baking sheet and spread the cubes into a single layer with space between them. If they don’t all fit without crowding, reach for a second pan. Crowded cubes trap steam and stay soft, so that space is what browns the edges when you’re not flipping.

Cut the squash no larger than the sweet potato. Squash is denser and takes a little longer, so if the pieces aren’t even, keep the squash on the smaller side. Then it’s tender by the time the sweet potatoes are, and nothing comes out underdone in the middle.

Roast on a bare pan for the best color. I roast these right on the metal, since a bare sheet browns the undersides better than a lined one. Parchment is an option if you want easier cleanup, and you give up just a little of that browning for it.

Flip them if you want all sides caramelized. Left alone, the cubes brown on the bottom where they meet the pan, which is how I make them. If you’d rather have color on more than one side, turn the vegetables once about halfway through roasting.

Leave them a few minutes longer if you like crisp edges. They’re done at 25 to 28 minutes, but a few extra minutes deepens the color and the sweetness. Keep an eye on them so they don’t dry out.

Frequently Asked Questions