Rooibos Chai Glazed Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes roasted in a sticky rooibos chai glaze with the warming spices—an aromatic, naturally sweet side dish that's both cozy and caffeine-free.
Rooibos chai's sweet, spiced character translates beautifully into savory cooking. Reduced into a glaze, the honeyed rooibos and warming chai spices cling to roasted vegetables, adding aromatic depth that feels both festive and comforting.
Sweet potatoes are the ideal canvas. Their natural sweetness echoes the rooibos, while their soft, caramelizing flesh soaks up the cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and clove. The result tastes like an autumn holiday side, but it comes together with almost no effort.
The trick is brewing the rooibos chai very strong and reducing it with a little maple syrup and butter until syrupy. This concentrated glaze caramelizes on the sweet potatoes in the oven, giving glossy, spice-flecked edges.
Serve these as a side to roast chicken or pork, or pile them into a grain bowl with greens and toasted seeds. A scatter of fresh thyme and flaky salt at the end keeps the dish from leaning too sweet and rounds out the spice.
Ingredients
- 3 medium sweet potatoes, cut into wedges
- 2 cups strong rooibos chai (3 tea bags or 3 tbsp loose blend)
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- Salt and black pepper
- Fresh thyme and flaky salt, to finish
How to make it
- 1Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Toss the sweet potato wedges with the olive oil, salt, and pepper, and spread on a baking tray.
- 2Roast for 20 minutes until starting to soften.
- 3Meanwhile, brew the rooibos chai strong, then simmer it in a small pan with the maple syrup, butter, cinnamon, and ginger until reduced to a syrupy glaze, about 8 minutes.
- 4Brush half the glaze over the partially roasted sweet potatoes and return to the oven for 15 more minutes.
- 5Brush with the remaining glaze in the last 5 minutes so it caramelizes without burning.
- 6Finish with fresh thyme and a pinch of flaky salt, and serve warm.
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