White Sweet Potatoes Roasted with Miso

About This Recipe

This recipe guides you through a few simple steps in terms of achieving the desired texture for roasted white sweet potatoes - crispy exterior with a soft inside.

The miso based dressing (marinade) we demonstrate gives an enjoyable umami taste complemented by subtle acidity and balanced by salt to taste. You can change it up any way you want to impart different flavor porfiles (see our suggestions listed below).

What is the Difference Between a White Sweet Potato and a Yam?

The white sweet potato contains less moisture than its orange counterpart, the yam potato, which translates to a drier, denser, but still creamy texture.

The flavor of white sweet potato has a milder sweetness than that of a yam with a subtle nuttiness to it. These qualities make it receptive to a variety of added tastes, both savory and sweet.

Overall you can substitute white sweet potatoes for regular sweet potatoes when you are looking for less pronounced sweetness.

How to Cook a White Sweet Potato?

There are two main types of white sweet potato commonly sold at stores like Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and others. They taste very similar and can be substituted for each other.

Hannah white sweet potato - shown above, this variety has pale brown skin and white flesh similar to that of Russet potatoes. Similar varieties include Bonita, Jersey and DS White.

Japanese white sweet potato - has a purple skin and white flesh and tends to be starchier than Hannah. This variety of sweet potato is known as Murasaki. Not to to be confused with Japanese purple sweet potato with intense purpe flesh known as Okinawa.

You can roast (as we do here), bake, boil to mash, fry or braise white sweet potatoes. Take a look at our recipe for beer braised potatoes in which one rendition is braised Hannah potatoes with rosemary.

Ingredients

White sweet potatoes - one medium-sized potato of about 5-6 ounces is considered enough as a side serving per person.

Corn starch - a dusting of corn starch over the peeled and cut potatoes ensures that they will be crispy once roasted.

Miso paste - derived from fermented soy beans, miso paste is a source of delectable umami taste. You can use any type you'd like, we used white miso paste which is a bit milder.

Olive oil and lime juice - mildly flavored olive oil and a bit of lime juice acidity form a good base to absorb the miso paste.

Salt and pepper - depending on how intense the miso paste is you can season the dressing with a bit of kosher salt if needed. We prefer white pepper as it has a more subtle flavor but you can always use ground black pepper instead.

Step-by-step Process

Prep. Begin by pre-heating your oven to 425 F and lining a quarter baking sheet with parchment paper. Peel and cut the white sweet potatoes into pieces of about an inch, as shown below.

Dust, mix and coat. Dust the cut potatoes with corn starch and mix them a little to make sure they are well coated. Then mix the miso, oil, lime juice and salt and pepper into a homogenous thin paste, pour it over the potatoes and mix to coat them well.

Roast. Transfer the coated potatoes to the lined sheet and roast for about 15 minutes, then flip them with a spatula and continue to roast for another 10 minutes or so, until the potato cubes are crispy.

How to Make White Sweet Potatoes Crispy?

Below are our best tips for roasting crispy potato cubes, we suggest you consider all of them.

Cut in even pieces - the more similarly sized and shaped the potatoes are, the more evenly they will cook through and crisp up on the outside.

Coat in starch - always (at least lightly) coat with a starch such as corn starch or if you have it on hand potato starch. It helps the dressing stick to the surface better and absorbs extra moisture giving you that coveted crisp.

Space evenly / use a baking sheet / flip - good exposure to the hot heat of the oven matters a lot. Always space the potato pieces as evenly as you can. A baking sheet is perfect because its low sides allow for better air flow. Flipping allows the individual pieces crisp up evenly.

High Oven Temperature/Convection Oven or Air Fryer - oven roasting happens at above 400 F temperature. Be sure to pre-heat the oven to the guideline of 425 F and only place the coated potatoes inside once it has been reached. If you have a convection oven (aka air frying option) definitely use it as the fan assisted air curculation will produce extra crispy exterior.

More Flavoring Ideas for Roasting White Sweet Potatoes

If you do not want to prepare miso sweet potatoes as shown above, you can follow the same exact process and steps but mix a differently flavored dressing/marinade to coat with. Below are some tasty suggestions.

Olive oil and herbs (fresh or dried) - this combination alone allows for so many possibilities. Use rosemary, thyme, oregano, chives and olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper to taste to make the dressing. Compose it to your liking.

Parmesan crusted - take about ¼ to ½ cup of finely grated parmesan cheese, mix it with olive oil and toss the starch coated potatoes in it before you roast them.

Black pepper or cayenne pepper - when you want to create a pronounced spicy profile, add (to taste) the seasoning of your choice along with some kosher salt (to taste) to olive oil and coat the potatoes.

Curry powder - a wonderful fit, simply mix a neutral oil with a bit of lime juice (to taste) and curry powder (to taste) and toss the starch coated potato pieces in it.

Spices - use any spice combination from garlic powder to cajun seasoning to mix a dressing with.

Serve

Serve the white sweet potato side dish with pork roast, braised beef, chicken dishes, sausages and other proteins or enjoy as a brunch meal with two fried eggs on top.

How to Store and Reheat

After they have cooled down store leftover roasted white sweet potatoes in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

To reheat them use a skillet with a little olive oil over medium-high heat. They will taste much better than if you simply placed them in the microwave.

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