Cajun Spiced Sweet Potato Wedges

These Cajun Sweet Potato Wedges are mighty spicy, but also very tasty and they add spark to an otherwise ordinary meal. Plus sweet potatoes are very health and this is a good way to sneak some into your meals.

Cajun Spices

While not all Cajun cuisine is highly spiced and seasoned, alot of it is generously “hot” and easily might send you reaching for a glass of water. There are plenty of commercial spice blends that claim to be authentic “Cajun Spices.” One blend especially caught the eye of my mother-in-law who came to visit from Texas and she bought me a container. It is “Slap Ya Mama” from Ville Platte, Louisiana, in the heart of Cajun Country. The brand has a catchy name; I’ll occasionally add it to gift baskets.

From looking at the label on the back of the container, there are only four ingredients in the spice blend –salt, garlic, black pepper and cayenne pepper. It’s the cayenne pepper that makes this blend taste “hot.” No special concoction or voodoo spice, just a simple blend.

I set out to make my own Cajun Spice blend — perhaps I’ll call it “Voodoo Spice.” You can easily make it in your kitchen, too. However, don’t purchase such a large jar of cayenne pepper like I did. A tiny bit of cayenne pepper is all you need; this container will last for years!

Cajun Spiced Sweet Potato Wedges

This is a very easy recipe. The sweet potatoes are coated with olive oil and spices and roasted in a hot oven. And it really doesn’t take long for the sweet potatoes to bake when cooked like this.

I made this recipe a several times to get the cooking instructions correct. Here’s what I did. Peel and cut two large sweet potatoes (about 1-1/2 pounds) into wedges.

Place the sweet potato wedges into a large (gallon-size) zip lock bag. Mix the spices with olive oil to make a slurry and pour over the sweet potato wedges.

Use your hands to “massage” the bag to evenly distribute the olive oil and spices to coat all the wedges. I find that it is possible to use much less olive this way, rather than directly trying to drizzle the oil on the wedges.

Next, cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and add the sweet potatoes wedges in a single layer. Bake in a hot pre-heated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Turn the wedges once after 10 minutes or they will burn. The wedges may stick to the foil, use a spatula or tongs to gently turn. If the foil tears, don’t worry.

That’s it! Very easy and tasty. Serve along side a sandwich rather than french fries or chips, as an accompaniment for a meal or eat as a snack. Add a little voodoo spice to your meal.

Your friends will say, wow! Just reply, “It’s from Louisiana; the swamp.”

Here’s the swamp in South Louisiana!