I don’t think I’ve set eyes on a Shake and Bake box since the late ’90s but there’s absolutely no reason at all that we should relegate the trend to a bygone era. Or limit it to chicken, for that matter. These Shake and Bake Sweet Potatoes use the same shake-in-a-bag method with a delicious homemade coating that’s the perfect crunchy complement to tender cubes of sweet potato. It’s just a few ingredients and a simple preparation for a side that’s totally crowd-pleasing and crave-worthy.

For the coating here, I’m not going to tell you to go out and buy a box of pre-made coating, but this does use one store bought shortcut in the form of garlic herb dressing mix. That goes into a zip-top bag along with breadcrumbs and black pepper.

Then you add the cubed sweet potatoes and give everything a shake before adding some melted butter, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese and giving everything a good shake again. Now, while I’ll usually advocate for using freshly grated parm, this is a great place for that pre-grated shaker can. It sticks better and will give you a more even coating.

Bake until the sweet spuds are tender and you’ve got soft and sweet interior with a golden brown crispy exterior. It goes with steak, it goes with chicken… truthfully, you’re not going to care what you serve these with because they’re going to steal the show.

And the best news? While this coating goes incredibly with the subtly sweet flavor of a sweet potato, it also works wonderfully with chicken, regular potatoes, and even green beans, zucchini, and more. Give it a try and see what great combos you can come up with!