Smoky Charred Sweet Potatoes Are An Underrated Star of Grilling Season!
Grilled vegetables are the highlight of summer in the PWWB House. 🔥 It’s a true gift that grilling season aligns with summer’s abundant harvest of gems like bell peppers, broccoli, and sweet onions. Potatoes are more of an all-year staple crop than a summer harvest but trust us, they definitely deserve a spot on your grill!
You can use this recipe with many kinds of potatoes, but grilled sweet potatoes are our absolute fave. Their charred, smoky crust and creamy sweet interior pair beautifully with other BBQ staples like burgers, chicken, and baby back ribs. You can also use smoky grilled sweet potatoes to elevate tacos, bowls, and salads galore.
Learning how to grill sweet potatoes is seriously simple (3 ingredients, 10 minutes max!) but a few easy seasoning boosts take things even further. Grilled sweet potatoes love a smoky spiced BBQ dry rub and a drizzle of your favorite BBQ sauce. Marinating the potatoes in a little extra sweetness also helps them caramelize beautifully over high heat. They’re an underrated star of grilling season!
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Sweet Potato vs. Yam
Many Americans use sweet potatoes & yams interchangeably since they’re both starchy root vegetables. The reality is that they’re completely different!
Part of the confusion between sweet potatoes & yams might be that in the 1930s, Louisiana sweet potato growers marketed a new breed of orange-fleshed sweet potatoes as “yams” to help them stand out. It stuck around, which is why you might see some sweet potato-looking roots labeled as yams at the grocery store. 🤷
True yams are more like yuca in texture & flavor, with starchy white flesh & tough, gray-brown skin that needs to be peeled before being eaten. They are a staple in Caribbean & West African cooking & are often boiled or steamed. Cooked yam flesh is what’s used to make fufu, a starchy staple in many African cuisines.
Sweet potatoes have a more naturally sweet flesh & tender skin that can be easily eaten. You may be most familiar with orange-fleshed sweet potatoes like Garnet & Jewel, but there are lots of other varieties out there! White sweet potatoes often have ruby-colored skin & are great for making gnocchi. Purple sweet potatoes like Stokes or Hawaiian Okinawan potatoes add a stunning hue to lots of dishes.
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This grilled sweet potato recipe is simple to make & way faster than baking or roasting potatoes. You gotta love the high heat of the grill!
Prep the sweet potatoes for the grill. Peel the sweet potatoes as desired & slice them into 1/2-inch rounds or planks. Finish with a drizzle of avocado oil & some S&P or any other spice blends you’d like. Tip! → Try our BBQ dry rub for extra smoky spiced goodness!
Grill. Add the sweet potatoes to a 450-500 degree F grill, cooking for 4-5 minutes per side until tender & charred. Tip! → Sweet potato rounds can rest easily on the grill. If you’re using planks or wedges be sure to place them perpendicular to the grates so they don’t fall through.
Serve. Serve the potatoes whole or chop them into thin strips or bite-sized pieces, adding a sprinkling of fresh herbs as desired. Enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
Here are a few more things to keep in mind when learning how to grill sweet potatoes:
- Peeling is optional! The thin sweet potato skin is loaded with lots of good nutrients, so feel free to leave it on if you don’t mind the extra texture.
- If your sweet potatoes are very small, consider cutting them lengthwise into planks rather than into rounds. This help prevents them from falling through the grates.
- Or try grilled sweet potato wedges! Just be sure to place the wedges on the grill so they’re perpendicular to the grill grates & increase the grill time by 1-3 minutes per side.
- This recipe also works well with other kinds of red & yellow potatoes! Learn More → A-Z Grilled Vegetables
- Add a BBQ dry rub to the sweet potato rounds before grilling. This easy homemade spice blend pairs perfectly with all things BBQ, especially grilled sweet potatoes!
- Marinate for extra flavor. The only thing better than grilled veggies is marinated veggies. Check out our Marinade Roundup for TONS of savory-sweet options. Our Shawarma & All-Purpose marinades are our favorites with grilled sweet potatoes!
Serving Suggestions
You won’t have any trouble coming up with ways to enjoy grilled sweet potatoes! We always serve them as a side with BBQ favorites like burgers, BBQ chicken, ribs, or brats. Add a sprinkle of fresh herbs or drizzle of BBQ sauce & dig in!
Grilled sweet potatoes also make an easy add-in to tons of other dishes. Here are some of our favorite recipes to serve with grilled sweet potatoes:
- Tacos! The smoky grill adds next-level flavor to our Sweet Potato Cauliflower Tacos or Chorizo Sweet Potato Tacos.
- Chipotle Turkey Burger Bowls – Trade the roasted sweet potato fries for smoky grilled sweet potatoes instead!
- Veggie Shawarma Bowls – Made even better if you soak the sweet potatoes in the shawarma marinade before grilling!
- Burritos or Veggie Burrito Bowls with our favorite creamy avocado green rice.
- Grilled Vegetable Platter – Pair your grilled sweet potatoes with an abundance of other grilled veggies & serve with a zippy, herbaceous sauce or dressing.
Need more grilling inspiration? Be sure to check out our Grilling 101 Guide and Must-Have Grilling Equipment for all your summer needs.
I can’t wait for you to try these Perfect Grilled Sweet Potatoes! They’re such a versatile addition to any summertime meal.
If you do give them a try, be sure to let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo and tag @playswellwithbutter on Instagram. I LOVE hearing about and seeing your PWWB creations! ♡ Happy grilling!
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10-Minute Savory-Sweet Grilled Sweet Potatoes
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: serves 2-4 1x
- Category: Side Dish Recipes, Techniques & How-Tos
- Method: Grilling & Smoking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These 10-Minute Savory-Sweet Grilled Sweet Potatoes will change how you think about this humble root vegetable! Smoky grilled sweet potatoes have a caramelly charred crust and sweet and creamy inside that’s pure perfection. Enjoy them as a summer side with BBQ chicken, ribs, and burgers, or toss grilled sweet potatoes into your favorite grain bowls, tacos, and salads. Ready in 10 minutes with 3 simple ingredients. Naturally vegetarian, vegan, dairy, and gluten-free.
Ingredients
- 3 small to medium sweet potatoes
- Avocado oil, or other neutral, high smoke point oil of choice
- kosher salt and ground black pepper, to season
Instructions
- Preheat the grill: Prep your grill for medium-high direct heat grilling. My ideal grill temperature for sweet potatoes is about 450-500 degrees F.
- Prep the sweet potatoes: Peel the sweet potatoes as desired, then slice 1/2-inch rounds or planks. Place the sweet potato on a small baking sheet or in a large bowl. Drizzle with just enough avocado oil to coat, then season generously with kosher salt, ground black pepper, and any spice blends you’d like.
- Grill the sweet potatoes:Grill 4-5 minutes per side until tender and charred as desired.
- Serve! Enjoy your grilled sweet potatoes immediately, served on their own or alongside your favorite grilled meals. Refer to the blog post, above, for more serving suggestions.
Notes
- Wedges: You can also grill sweet potato wedges. Be sure to place the sweet potato wedges on the grill such that the wedges are positioned perpendicularly to the grill grates (which helps prevent from slipping between the grates as it cooks). Increase grill time by 1-3 minutes per side, until tender and charred as desired.
- Peeling sweet potatoes: Sweet potatoes have a thin skin that is easy to eat, so it’s totally fine to skip the peeling. We think they’re a little prettier without their skins, but that’s just a personal preference.
- Variations: This recipe also works well with other kinds of red & yellow potatoes! Learn More → A-Z Grilled Vegetables
