Za'atar Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Tahini and Silan are a festive, beautiful, and delicious side dish that looks perfect on holiday tables! You’ll find yourself making it all winter long and craving it constantly.
There is no shortage of sweet potato recipes to make and love around the holidays, but we think this one rises to the top! These Za'atar Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Tahini and Silan are easily among the best of the best. We elevated this recipe with pistachios and fresh pomegranate seeds to make a colorful and festive dish that just shines on the table. Do you want to make this side dish even sweeter? Add some Candied Pecans ,yum!
Sweet, buttery sweet potatoes roasted with a bit of sea salt and the tastiest toppings? It’s a holiday side dish must-have, and it's also easy enough to make during the week. This recipe is an absolutely delicious vegan and gluten-free side dish that everyone will enjoy!
What is Tahini? What is Silan?
Tahini and silan make a great flavor combo. It’s kind of like the PB&J of the Middle East: the nuttiness of tahini with the sweetness of silan create a perfectly balanced bite! Tahini is a paste made with crushed sesame seeds, and it’s a staple in Mediterranean and Middle East cooking. Silan is date syrup made with 100% dates. It’s sweet, syrupy, and the perfect match for tahini and sweet potatoes! In our cookbook Tahini and Turmeric we have a great eggplant appetizer topped with tahini and silan that even people that don’t love eggplant really enjoy this dish. It’s such a good combination, you’ll want to try it on everything!
How to Roast Sweet Potatoes
For perfect oven-roasted sweet potatoes that are a little crispy on the outside and perfectly soft on the inside, try these tips. This is how we make the best baked sweet potatoes:
- At the grocery store or farmer’s market, choose a sweet potato that’s red or orange in color without any growths or soft spots.
- Cut the ends off and decide if you don't want to peel your sweet potatoes. Wash them well. It’s a personal preference; many people don’t mind the skins on, we prefer a more uniform look and taste without skins.
- Cut the sweet potato into uniform pieces. You can do rounds, fries or strips, or square cubes. The most important thing is to get the pieces as equally sized as possible for even cooking!
- Toss the sweet potato pieces in olive oil and spread them on a pan lined with parchment paper. Arrange them so they aren’t touching or overlapping. When the sweet potatoes are covered or piled on they’ll steam instead of roast, which isn’t the texture we want. Sprinkle them with sea salt and they’re ready to go.
- Cook at 425 degrees Fahrenheit, tossing every 10-15 minutes to prevent burning or uneven cooking.
- Pull them out of the oven when they reach your preferred texture. Some people like blackened bits, but we prefer a few light brown spots and a sweet potato that’s easily pierced with a fork.
How to Season Your Sweet Potato Fries?
For more or varied flavor, boost your sweet potatoes with one of these spice combinations:
- Crazy Good Shawarma Spice Mix
- Sumac and Oregano
- Garam Masala
- Pumpkin spice or cinnamon and ginger
- Cayenne
- Chili Lime seasoning
- Everything bagel seasoning
More Sweet Potato Recipes
- Sweet Potato Fries
- Vegan Sweet Potato Biscuits
- Sweet Potato Meatballs
- 3-Bean Sweet Potato Chili
- Lentil & Sweet Potato Vegan Chili
- Sweet Potato Brownies with Halva Glaze
- Beet & Roasted Sweet Potato Tacos
- Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Tahini and Silan
- Tortilla de Patatas - Potato Omelette
- Tahini Mashed Potatoes
DID YOU ENJOY OUR ROASTED SWEET POTATOES?
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Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Tahini and Silan
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 5 cups 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Tahini and Silan is a festive, beautiful, and delicious dish that looks perfect on holiday tables! You’ll find yourself making it all winter long and craving it constantly.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs of sweet potatoes (about 4 large ones)
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ tbsp za'atar
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 tbsp tahini
- 2 tbsp silan (date syrup)
- 1 cup pomegranate seeds
- ¼ cup shelled pistachios
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line one or two large baking sheets with parchment paper. The goal here is not to crowd the pan and to have the sweet potatoes in a single layer
- Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into ½" slices, and then cut each slice into cubes, by making 2-3 vertical cuts and 2-3 horizontal cuts (make sure the cubes are similar in size, so they cook evenly)
- Place the cut sweet potatoes in a large bowl, add olive oil, za'atar and salt and mix well to evenly coat
- Spread evenly and in a single layer on the lined baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are tender and slightly brown on the edges.
- Right before serving drizzle the tahini and silan on top, and sprinkle with pomegranates seeds and shelled pistachios
Notes
- At the grocery store or farmer’s market, choose a sweet potato that’s red or orange in color without any growths or soft spots.
- Cut the ends off and decide if you don't want to peel your sweet potatoes, wash them well. It’s a personal preference; many people don’t mind the skins on, we prefer a more uniform look and taste without skins
- Cut the sweet potato into uniform pieces. You can do rounds, fries or strips, or square cubes. The most important thing is to get the pieces as equally sized as possible for even cooking!
- Arrange them in your baking sheet so they aren’t touching or overlapping. When the sweet potatoes are covered or piled on they’ll steam instead of roast, which isn’t the texture we want when roasting!
- Pull them out of the oven when they reach your preferred texture! Some people like blackened bits, but we prefer a few light brown spots and a sweet potato that’s easily pierced with a fork.
- Prep Time: 25
- Cook Time: 45
- Category: Side
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ½ cup
- Calories: 226
- Sugar: 8.3
- Sodium: 195
- Fat: 8.3
- Saturated Fat: 1.2
- Unsaturated Fat: 7
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 35.4
- Fiber: 5.3
- Protein: 3.8
- Cholesterol: 0
Rebeca
This side dish makes your dinner table super colorful and really nice.
The combination of the tahini,silan, pomegranades seeds and pistachios is really amazing.
Linda
It tastes as beautiful as it looks