Name: Melting Sweet Potatoes with Maple Bacon Brown Butter
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients: 4 medium sweet potatoes (peeled and cut into 1-inch rounds, about 2 pounds); 2 tablespoon olive oil; ½ teaspoon salt; Pepper to taste; ½ teaspoon cinnamon; 3/4 cup low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; 3 tablespoons maple syrup; 1 tablespoon sage (chopped); ½ cup chopped cooked bacon; 2 tablespoons chopped pecans

These melting sweet potatoes with maple bacon brown butter elevate your Thanksgiving sweet potato side dish. The sweet potatoes are golden brown and tender and quite literally melt in your mouth. Then, they are finished with a sweet, savory, and nutty brown butter sauce filled with bacon, sage, and pecans. It’s a delicious and surprising take on sweet potatoes your family is sure to love!

Sweet Potatoes are my favorite Thanksgiving Side

What do you look forward to the most for Thanksgiving? For me, it’s always the sweet potatoes! So, imagine my surprise when, at my hubby’s Thanksgiving for the first time, I discovered they do not include a sweet potato side on their Thanksgiving menu. In fact, they aren’t even sweet potato fans. 😳

Now, the reason they do not believe in sweet potatoes dishes is they think they’re too sweet. They are more savory people. I totally get it! Sweet potato casseroles covered in marshmallow and loaded with sugar aren’t my thing either. But there are so many other great ways to utilize sweet potatoes, with their sweet but earthy flavor.

That’s why I’ve been on a mission to convince them to love sweet potatoes just like me. I definitely converted some last year with my Ultimate Sweet Potato Casserole – creamy honey sweetened and spiced sweet potato mash topped with a pecan, dried cranberry, and bacon crumble and finished with whipped honey goat cheese. It’s good!

I am confident this year, I will convert the whole family with this new recipe. Melting sweet potatoes with bacon maple brown butter. The sweet potatoes are roasted until golden brown and a little crisp around the edges. Then, you finish cooking them with a touch of vegetable (or chicken) broth, which makes the inside melt in your mouth tender. The sweet potatoes are finished with a nutty and perfectly sweet maple brown butter filled with crispy bacon, chopped sage, and crunchy pecans.

This spin on sweet potatoes takes them on a more savory route with the brown butter, sage, and bacon. But it brings a subtle sweet note to the party with the pure, rich maple syrup. The sweet and savory flavor notes help to create a balanced and unique sweet potato side dish!

Ingredients

Here’s what you need to make these melting sweet potatoes:

sweet potatoes, are cut into 1 inch rounds than baked and roasted.
vegetable or chicken broth, adding just a little at the end of cooking the sweet potatoes helps create a melt in your mouth tenderness.
butter, it’s browned which brings out its nutty aromas that goes beautifully with the maple syrup.
maple syrup, it’s rich and sweet, which balances the savory flavors. It also just screams Fall!
cinnamon, just a touch adds warm flavor notes and also brings this dish into the Fall realm.
bacon, adds a crispy, salty, and savory bite that makes these sweet potatoes irresistible.
pecans, adds a nice crunch factors and much needed texture to the dish.
sage, I love a fresh herb to finish the dish and sage and brown butter are foodie besties!

How to make the melting sweet potatoes + tips to perfecting the dish

Steps to making this dish

Crisp up the bacon; whether in the skillet, oven, or in the microwave, make sure the bacon is fully rendered and crispy. Once cooked, chop the bacon.
Prepare the sweet potatoes; peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 1 inch rounds. Then toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, and cinnamon and arrange in a single layer in a 19×13 pan.
Roast the sweet potatoes; roast the sweet potatoes in a 450 degree oven. The super hot oven helps achieve that golden brown crust. Roast for 25-30 minutes, flipping half way through, until golden brown.
Add in the broth; This allows us to create the melting effect. For the last 5 minutes of cooking, add 3/4 cup low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth. The roasted sweet potato rounds basically drink up the broth, which makes the inside flesh moist and tender.
Make the brown butter; in a small skillet, add the butter and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until it starts to brown.
Flavor the brown butter; lower the heat to medium low and add in the maple syrup and cook for another 30 seconds.
Throw in the extras; add in the bacon, chopped sage, and pecan pieces and stir until all combined.
Drizzle on that brown butter goodness; spoon the maple brown butter over the roasted sweet potatoes right before serving.

Tips to perfecting this dish!

Use a metal pan (not glass): this allows the sweet potatoes to get super crispy, Plus, a glass plan could break at this high of a temperature.
Buy similarly sized sweet potatoes; I look for longer, medium sized sweet potatoes (not super fat or too skinny) so you get nice medium sized rounds. You also want them to be similar sized so all the rounds are about the same diameter and cook evenly.
Arrange the sweet potatoes in a single layer: If you pile them on top of each other, they will steam and not brown.
Brown the butter in a small metal skillet: NOT a sauce pan. Use a light colored metal skillet instead as this allows you to see the butter actually brown. see picture above.
Brown the butter on medium heat: if too hot, the butter will cook too quickly and likely burn instead of brown. It’s also a small amount of butter, so it will brown pretty quickly.
Spoon on brown butter right before serving: if servings these for Thanksgiving, you can roast the sweet potatoes in advance. But make the maple brown butter and add it to the dish right before serving for the best taste!

other Thanksgiving recipes

enjoy!

You need these melting sweet potatoes with maple bacon brown butter on your Thanksgiving table! It takes sweet potatoes to a whole new level and explodes with flavor!

If you make these melting sweet potatoes with maple bacon brown butter, please leave a comment below. I absolutely love to hear from you guys and your thoughts on my recipes. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram or pin it on pinterest, cuz sharing is caring!