Basil Baked Sweet Potatoes with Bacon are a super fun sweet potato dish that everyone will love! One of my favorite savory sweet potato recipes of all time, this comforting, creamy and fresh recipe is lovely for a Thanksgiving side, or it can be a meal in and of itself -- any time!
Sweet potatoes and basil are a delicious flavor combination -- add to that, melting Gruyère cheese and bits of crispy bacon, and you seriously won't know what hit you.
While this might look like an intricate dish that takes time to prepare, it's actually an easy and straightforward recipe, that can partially be made ahead of time.
About the Ingredients
- sweet potatoes - I use orange sweet potatoes for this recipe. The most common orange sweet potato variety we see in U.S. grocery stores is the Beauregard. You can use any variety, including purple Okinawan or Stokes sweet potatoes, though cooking times will vary.
- fresh basil - Always choose deep green perky bunches of fresh herbs. Substitution: Fresh oregano would be my first choice if you have to substitute. If you use it, use about ½ the amount listed for the basil.
- Gruyère cheese - Gruyère melts beautifully and has a creamy texture and a nut-like falvor. Sbstitutes: Emmental, Comte, or Fontina.
- bacon - I like applewood smoked bacon -- it's a tad tad sweeter than other varieties. Use your favorite.
- honey - Just a drizzle on top. The bit of added sweetness enhances the sweet flavor from the potatoes.
- chile powder - I like using chipotle powder because it has a tasty smoky flavor, but use any chile powder you like, from mild to hot.
How to Make Them
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and drizzle it with olive oil. Then evenly sprinkle the oil with salt and pepper.
- Wash and dry the sweet potatoes, and then cut them in half, lengthwise. Place them on the oiled and seasoned parchment-lined sheet pan, round side up. Roast them in a preheated 375°F oven until they are super soft, about 35 minutes. Once you remove the sweet potatoes from the oven, use a fork to gently mash them inside of their skins. (Keep the oven on!)
- While the sweet potatoes are roasting, add a layer of paper towels to a plate and set aside. Then add the bacon to a large sauté pan, over medium heat, and cook until it's crispy, about 4 minutes per side. Let the bacon strips drain on the towel-lined plate.
- Once the bacon is cool enough to handle, crumble it and mix it with the basil.
- Top each sweet potato half with an equal portion of the basil-bacon mixture. Then, top each one with an equal portion of the cheese, drizzle with the honey and sprinkle with a touch of the chile powder.
Bake and serve. Place the sheet pan in the 375°F oven just to melt the cheese and bring the flavors together, about 5 minutes.
Serving Suggestions
- The sweet potatoes are a fabulous side dish alongside chicken and pork. I love them with Spatchcock Chicken, Lemon Roasted Chicken and Rosemary Pork Chops.
- And can you imagine what a hit these would be as part of a Thanksgiving spread!? They would be fabulous alongside Bacon Wrapped Turkey.
- This sweet potato recipe can be a totally satisfying main course on its own.
- A side salad is of course, also great with the potatoes.
Recipe Tips and Substitutions
- Vegetarian? Omit the bacon.
- Can you use other cheeses? Sure, try it with a cheese you love. Asiago, Pecorino Romano and Parmesan would also be delicious.
- The basil is aromatic and adds wonderful flavor to this dish. If however, it's not your favorite, you can use spinach.
Making it Ahead
You can bake the sweet potatoes and cook the bacon up to a day ahead. Everything else should be done the day you're serving them.
Other Must-Try Sweet Potato Recipes
I hope you love the Baked Basil Sweet Potatoes with Bacon as much as my family and I do.
Enjoy!
Basil and Bacon Baked Sweet Potatoes Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- olive oil for the pan
- 3 medium-sized sweet potatoes (about 12-ounces each)
- 4 strips bacon
- ½ cup (about 1-ounce) roughly chopped fresh basil
- 1 cup grated Gruyère cheese, (from about ¼-pound block)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- sprinkle of chile powder, mild or hot, depending on what you like
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven and prepare the pan. Preheat the oven to 375°F and adjust a rack to the center. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and drizzle it with olive oil. Then evenly sprinkle the oil with salt and pepper.
- Prepare the sweet potatoes. Wash and dry the sweet potatoes, and then cut them in half, lengthwise. Place them on the oiled and seasoned parchment-lined sheet pan, round side up. Roast them in the preheated 375°F oven until they are super soft, about 35 minutes. Once you remove the sweet potatoes from the oven, use a fork to gently mash them inside of their skins. (Keep the oven on!)
- Cook the bacon. While the sweet potatoes are roasting, add a layer of paper towels to a plate and set aside. Then add the bacon to a large sauté pan, over medium heat, and cook until it's crispy, about 4 minutes per side. Let the bacon strips drain on the towel-lined plate. Crumble the bacon and mix it with the basil.
- Assemble. Top each one with an equal portion of the basil-bacon mixture. Now top each one with an equal portion of the cheese, drizzle all of them with the honey and sprinkle each with a touch of the chile powder.
- Bake and serve. Place the sheet pan in the 375°F oven just to melt the cheese and bring the flavors together, about 5 minutes. Serve!
NOTES
NUTRITION
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David
I ask you, what could be better than this? Mark is a baked sweet potato junky now (wouldn't touch them when we met 22 years ago!!). Dinner one night this week! (Really, I am not kidding!)
valentina
Love it, David! If Mark likes them, I'll be happy. 🙂
Mimi
OMG. This would be like perfect Super Bowl food for me. And they're beautiful! Wish I could get fresh basil....
valentina
Thanks so much, Mimi! You could also use sage -- about half the amount. 🙂
maria Long
I never thought of making sweet potatoes this way. You had me at bacon
valentina
Yay! Hope you try them and thank you!
Roberta
I ran across this recipe and I decided to try it although I didn’t want use the chili powder and I used mozzarella instead and it served very well with my meal, bake stuff and asparagus. My husband loved it.
Valentina
Hi Roberta, Thanks so much! I bet the mozzarella was fantastic with it. So happy you both loved it. 🙂 ~Valentina
Veena Azmanov
I LOVE the color of those sweet potatoes. This looks so perfect. I love the sound of bacon and cheese.... yumm
valentina
Thanks so much, Veena!
Kristina @ love & zest
Yum. Now I know what I want for dinner.
valentina
Yay! Enjoy! 🙂
Raia Todd
Sweet potatoes + bacon + gruyère = what dreams are made of. 🙂
valentina
If only I'd thought of that. 😉 Love it!
Kaye Kittrell
Now you have seriously blown my mind! Got to get some bacon!
valentina
Kaye, you must! My favorite bacon is Nueskes (applewood smoked). They have it at Gelson's. 🙂 xo
sippitysup
I wouldn't even need a fork and knife to plow through this one. GREG
valentina
oooh messy! i like it. 😉
Anna Wright
Thank you for sharing this excellent recipe. The ingredients listed are such high-quality. Can’t wait to try it.
valentina
Thank you Anna! Hope you love it!
Aquaria
Had a ton of fresh basil to get rid of (Trader Joe's gets me in trouble, every time), so I tried these.
Made them without the honey--sweet potatoes are plenty sweet on their own, so this was probably much more savory in comparison to the original recipe, but savory is how we like food in our house.
valentina
So happy you enjoyed this recipe. Sweet, savory or a little bit of both. Thanks for sharing and Happy Holidays! 🙂 ~Valentina
2pots2cook
It will definitely make one perfect week dinner for us ! Thank you Valentina !
valentina
Thank you, Davorka! Enjoy and hope you have a lovely weekend. 🙂 ~Valentina
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Well, if these don't look good, I don't know what does! What a lovely pairing with the basil and bacon! Such a fun and delicious side, perfect for the holidays. Heck, I'd even have a couple of these and call it dinner 🙂
valentina
Thanks so much, Dawn! The are definitely dinner over here sometimes. 🙂 ~Valentina
John / Kitchen Riffs
This is terrific! I've made baked acorn squash in the past with rather similar flavors, but not sweet potatoes. Terrific recipe! Thanks.
valentina
Thanks so much, John. Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂 ~Valentina
Ron
A perfect sweet potato side dish for our American Christmas in Sweden celebration. Unfortunately, this year, it'll be Zoom Christmas dinner with our family, but this will be on the menu. Have a great and safe Thanksgiving...
valentina
Thanks, Ron. I wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving! We're doing zoom holidays as well. Interesting times! Good thing they can be delicious times, too! -) ~Valentina
Kim Lange
These sound incredible!! Can't wait to try them! Pinned!
valentina
Thanks, Kim! 🙂 ~Valentina
Chef Mimi
These are fabulous, and just gave me an idea to pass along to my daughter. She’s doing a Christmas Eve brunch and These would be perfect! You know, somehow I quit receiving your blog posts. Hope I’ve rectified this now. Merry Christmas!
valentina
Thanks so much, Mimi. I hope your daughter loves them! Happy Holidays to you and your family! 🙂 ~Valentina