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Grilling sweet potatoes is easy and makes a delicious and healthy addition to any barbecue spread. Their natural sweetness and smoky flavor make them a crowd-pleasing side dish. From slicing and seasoning to serving suggestions and storage tips, I’ve got you covered.

Grilled sweet potato slices make an excellent side dish for BBQ season.

BBQ Meal Idea: Dry Rub BBQ Pork Chops, Grilled Asparagus, Jazzed Up Condiments, Cucumber Salad

I love when I can make a whole meal on the BBQ. In the photo below we had pork chops, asparagus and sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes actually take the longest to grill so put them on first while you get organized and gather all your equipment and grab a drink to enjoy while grilling!

bbq dinner with sliced pork chop asparagus and sweet potatoes with sauce — This BBQ dinner took less than 30 minutes to prep and grill! The sauce is BBQ Mayo as you’ll find in the 15 ways to jazz up condiments.

How to Cut and Prepare Sweet Potatoes for Grilling

Choose medium-sized sweet potatoes with firm texture and unblemished skin.
Wash the sweet potatoes thoroughly and scrub off any dirt. Keep the peels on for added nutrition.
Slice the sweet potatoes into ¼-inch rounds for even cooking.
You do not need to pre-cook sweet potatoes before grilling.
Brush the sweet potato slices with oil and sprinkle them with Cajun Seasoning or salt and pepper.

sweet potatoes just put on bbq grill — Cut sweet potatoes in even slices about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick to prepare for grilling. Keep the peel on for extra nutrition – it gets nice and tender.

How to Grill Sweet Potatoes

Preheat your grill to medium-high heat.
Place the sweet potatoes directly on the hot grill grates and cook for 3-4 minutes per side until grill marks appear. Because of the natural sugars in sweet potatoes, grill marks will appear quickly, before the sweet potato is cooked through. Keep an eye on them to get your desired amount of charring.
Flip the slices using tongs for uniform cooking.
When you get the desired amount of charring, move the sweet potatoes to a cooler spot on the BBQ over indirect heat so they can continue to cook without over-charring.
Cooking time varies based on your desired level of tenderness, BBQ temp and thickness of slices.

tongs flipping sweet potato slices on BBQ — Use tongs to flip sweet potatoes on the grill.

How to Serve Grilled Sweet Potatoes

Here are a few suggestions for the best tasting grilled sweet potatoes and prevent them from ever tasting dry.

Brush with a little melted butter or oil and sprinkle on some thyme, lemon thyme, oregano or cilantro.
Squeeze a fresh squirt of lemon or lime juice over the grilled sweet potato slices. If that’s too much citrus, make a little vinaigrette by mixing the citrus juice with a little oil, salt, pepper and cumin.
Want to bring out their sweetness? Mix a little honey with lime juice and lime zest and brush the slices with that. Then top it with fresh cilantro, parsley or lemon thyme. Or just a sprinkle of cumin or paprika.
Get saucy! My two favourite sauces for sweet potatoes are avocado lime sauce (with or without cilantro) and BBQ Mayo (from 15 ways to jazz up condiments).
Of course, you CAN serve them just the way they are, straight from the grill.

grilled sweet potato with sauce on it on plate — BBQ Mayo sauce on top of the grilled sweet potatoes.

How to Store and Use Leftovers

Store leftover grilled sweet potatoes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Reheat in a skillet or microwave when ready to enjoy again.
Cut the leftovers into cubes and add them to salads for a nutritious and satisfying meal. For example try them instead of butternut squash in this whole grain salad.
I would not recommend freezing these.

Recipe for Grilling Sweet Potatoes

grilled sweet potatoes with grill marks on serving platter

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Grilling Sweet Potato Slices

Grilling sweet potato slices is easy and makes a great side dish for your BBQ dinners. Ideal for when you are preparing other food on the grill as well.

Prep : 10

Cook : 15

Total Time: 25

Servings: people

Author: Getty Stewart

Ingredients

3-4 medium sweet potatoes
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 tsp Cajun Seasoning

Instructions

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
Wash and scrub sweet potatoes well. Remove any blemishes but keep peel on.
Cut into uniform slices about 1/4 inch or 6mm thick.
Coat slices evenly with oil and season Cajun seasoning or salt and pepper.
Place slices on grill over direct heat for 3-5 minutes depending on desired amount of charring (it doesn't take long for grill marks to appear). Flip and repeat on other side for another 3 minutes.
To test for doneness cut or poke into a slice to test tenderness. If not tender enough, move slices to indirect heat and let them continue to cook through without further charring.
Remove from grill and serve as is, with a garnish of fresh herbs (cilantro, thyme, parsley, oregano) or see some of the sauce ideas in the blog article.

Video

Notes

Seasoning Alternatives:

-salt and pepper

-cinnamon, cumin, nutmeg and ginger

-smoky paprika

-garlic, cumin, lime

Nutrition Analysis assumes 1 sweet potato per person! Depending on your sweet potatoes – that could be a lot!

Tried this recipe?Mention @GetGettyS or tag #GetGettyS

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: BBQ, BBQ side dish, grilled sweet potato, sweet potatoes

grilled sweet potato sliced lengthwise with grilled asparagus on plate — Here’s the time I sliced the sweet potatoes lengthwise! Works too!

Will you try grilling sweet potatoes this BBQ season? If you do, take a photo, post it on Instagram and tag @getgettys so I can see it and like it!

Grilling Sweet Potatoes: A Tasty Side Dish