Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes
These maple roasted sweet potatoes with bacon, pecans and pomegranate seeds will be a showstopper at this year's Thanksgiving dinner! The perfect side dish to compliment your beautiful bird and traditional sides.
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 4 medium sweet potatoes (about 8 cups)
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup butter or ghee
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 cup pecans
- 5 strips bacon or turkey bacon
- 1/2 cup pomegranate arils
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash and peel sweet potatoes. Using a sharp knife, cut sweet potatoes into 1 inch cubes.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the maple syrup, butter or ghee, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the cubed sweet potatoes to the bowl and toss until the sweet potatoes are completely coated in the maple mixture.
- Pour sweet potatoes and all of the maple mixture into a greased baking dish. The maple mixture may seem thin at first, but as the sweet potatoes roast, the mixture will thicken into a glaze and adhere to the sweet potatoes.
- Roast sweet potatoes for 25-30 minutes, or until fork tender. Toss the sweet potatoes a few times while they are roasting to keep them coated in the maple glaze.
- While the sweet potatoes are roasting, heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add bacon or turkey bacon and cook until desired crispiness is reached. Drain bacon on paper towel and then crumble or cut into bits. Set aside.
- Turn heat down slightly and add pecans to pan with remaining bacon fat. Drain excess bacon fat if there is too much. If there is no rendered fat, a dry pan works as well. Toast pecans for 5 minutes, or until they are golden brown and fragrant.
- Add chopped bacon, toasted pecans and pomegranate arils to the roasted sweet potatoes. Toss well to ensure everything is coated in the maple glaze. Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200 degree oven.