Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Aniseed

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Aniseed—one–pan, sweet, tender and aromatic, oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Aniseed and star anise are so easy to make and extremely delicious.

This super easy one–pan sweet potato recipe is really delicious and takes 5 minutes to put together.

I find cutting the potatoes into cubes and roasting them caramelizes the starchy flesh, making it sweeter and giving it a silky smooth texture. The combination of star anise and aniseed (also know as anise) with the potatoes works really well and complements their sweetness.

I like to add, both, aniseed and star anise to intensify the flavor of the sweet potatoes. While the choice of the spice might sound a bit odd, I highly recommend trying this recipe out.

difference between aniseed and start anise

While both aniseed and star anise have anise in their names and used as flavoring agents, they are actually not related.
Aniseed or Anise are plant seeds with a distinctive sweet aromatic smell and taste, used widely in Asian, Middle Eastern and North African cuisines and deserts.

Star anise, on the other hand, is a spice that has more of a sweet licorice flavor and it is a key ingredient in five-spice powder. It is also widely used in different sweet and savory dishes.

You can use both or one of them as long as you are careful with the proportions. One Star Anise pod can be substituted by half a teaspoon of aniseed and the other way around.

Ingredients needed:

This recipe calls for 5 simple ingredients: sweet potatoes, olive oil, anise seeds, star anise and some salt flakes.

how to roast sweet potatoes

Preheat the oven to 400F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Wash and pat dry your sweet potatoes and cut them into cubes. Place them on the prepared baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Mix well to coat on all sides. Sprinkle with aniseed, flaky salt and place a couple of star anise in the middle. Roast for about 25–30 minutes, or until they are fully cooked and can easily be smashed when poked with a fork.

Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Sweet potatoes are the perfect side dish to chicken, fish and meat. They can also be a meal on their own due to the abundance of vitamins and nutrients in them.

For more healthy vegan side dishes, please try these recipes:
Easy Hummus
Garlic Green Beans
Lebanese Tabbouleh