Sweet Potatoes Archives

11 Delicious Sweet Potato Recipes

By Christine Pittman

Sweet potatoes are in season! This healthy root vegetable is so versatile and delicious! Check out these amazing recipes featuring hearty sweet potatoes.

Crispy Oven Sweet Potato Fries

African Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew

Baked Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows

Classic Sweet Potato Casserole

Healthier Sweet Potato Casserole

What’s The Best Way To Cook A Sweet Potato?

By Maria Siriano

We tested slow cooking, baking, and microwaving sweet potatoes to find the best way to cook a sweet potato. Here’s our verdict.

Baked sweet potatoes are arguably one of the best things that can grace your dinner table. Actually baking them in the oven is a tried and true method, but we wondered if the microwave and slow cooker could yield similar (or better) results. So we put all the techniques to the test to find out which appliance will give you the best baked sweet potato.

Oven Baked Sweet Potato

Our control sweet potato was pricked with a fork and baked in a 400°F on a foil-lined baking sheet oven for about an hour. The results were reliable: a soft, sweet interior, dry exterior. Pretty much what you’ve come to expect from a sweet potato.

Microwave “Baked” Sweet Potato

For our microwave sweet potato, we poked it with a fork a few times and popped it in the microwave on high for about 6 minutes. It could take several minutes longer depending on your microwave and the size of your sweet potato, but regardless, this is still the fastest way to get a sweet potato on your plate.

Unfortunately, the results were a bit lackluster. The interior is starchier, and the flavor is not as deep or sweet. Still, once you load it up with condiments, it’s completely edible. If it weren’t for comparing it to the other two potatoes, we would have liked it just fine. It’s a great way to make Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows for an easy weeknight side dish.

Slow Cooker Baked Sweet Potato

The slow cooker method took a couple tries to perfect, but once we got the right technique down, it was superior to both the microwave and the oven. To get the most out of the slow cooker, you really need to wrap the sweet potatoes in foil. Leaving them unwrapped puts your sweet potato at risk for burning and drying out, whereas the foil will keep the moisture trapped inside.

You can cook them for 4 hours on a high temperature or 8 hours on low—perfect for if you want to come home to baked sweet potatoes right after work. The long and low method helps caramelize the starches in the sweet potato, creating a beautifully soft interior with a deep, sweet flavor.

So the verdict is, if you have the time, the slow cooker will give you the softest, most flavorful sweet potato around. But the oven and microwave are perfectly decent options, too, so don’t sweat it if you don’t have 4-8 hours.

How to Cook a Sweet Potato in the Slow Cooker

Contributor: Maria Siriano

Slow cooking sweet potatoes is an easy way to have a healthy side dish on the table after a long day at work.

Author: Maria Siriano
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 4 hours 2 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 1x

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Ingredients

Scale

4 sweet potatoes

Instructions

Wrap each sweet potato in foil. Put them in a single layer in your slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

Sweet Potatoes in the Slow Cooker. Sweet! #TheCookful

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African Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew

By Christine Pittman

African Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew is a hearty dish that makes a perfect meatless dinner. It may sound like an interesting flavor combo but it’s delicious. Really. So. Good.

A few years ago I had this amazing sweet potato and peanut soup at an Ethiopian restaurant. It was strange, actually, because it was called Western African Peanut Soup on the menu, but Ethiopia is not in Western Africa. I was intrigued and ordered it anyways. I’ve been wanting to try to recreate it ever since then.

I couldn’t wait for a chance to share it with you, and our Sweet Potato Series seemed like a good place, especially as a great reminder that sweet potatoes aren’t just for pies and casseroles. You can include them in soups and stews, and even in quesadillas. Yes, we totally did that!

red bowl sweet potato, greens and peanuts in a thick stew; beige and red cloth under bowl; larger bowl of stew in background

Can You Make This Soup Vegan?

Yes, very easily! While I use chicken broth in it, you can totally substitute it out for vegetable broth instead.

Can You Add Protein?

If you are worried about getting enough protein in your meal, you can add chicken or cooked chickpeas. If you add chicken, cube it into 1-inch pieces and sauté the chicken until almost cooked through then remove from the pan and set aside and add back into the pan after adding the ginger and garlic.

If you want to add chickpeas, add 2 cans of chickpeas that you’ve drained and rinsed when you add the kale.

I really think you’re going to love this soup. It’s creamy and a bit sweet but also spicy too. I love that sweet-spicy thing. Enjoy!

African Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew

Contributor: Christine Pittman

African Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew is a hearty dish that makes a perfect meatless dinner. It may sound like an interesting flavor combo but it’s delicious. Really. So. Good.
Garnish with cilantro and roasted peanuts.

Listen to our editor-in-chief, Christine Pittman, briefly talk about how to make this recipe, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:

Author: Christine Pittman
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 6 servings 1x
Category: Entrée
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: African

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Ingredients

Scale

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 lbs. (about 6 medium) sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch ginger piece, grated
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 cup chunky peanut butter
1 tsp. cumin
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
3 cups chopped kale
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup shelled salted peanut halves

Instructions

In a large pot, heat vegetable oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft, 3-4 minutes.
Add the sweet potatoes. Cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
Add garlic and ginger. Cook 30 seconds.
Add broth, tomatoes, peanut butter, cumin, salt, and red pepper flakes. Stir and heat to a boil.
Add kale. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, until potatoes are very soft. Mash some sweet potatoes with a spoon to thicken the soup.
Garnish with cilantro and peanuts.

Notes

If you want to add chicken, cube 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken thighs or chicken breast into 1-inch pieces and sauté the chicken until almost cooked through then remove from the pan and set aside and add back into the pan after adding the ginger and garlic.
If you want to add chickpeas, add 2 (16 oz.) cans of chickpeas that you’ve drained and rinsed when you add the kale.

Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes

By Ilona Orzechowska

Air Fryer Baked Sweet Potatoes get nice and crispy. Plus, you don’t have to start the oven just to bake a few potatoes.

Baked sweet potatoes are delicious and they taste amazing, plus they’re so nutritious. They’re the perfect side with our Basic Baked Chicken Thighs . Best of all, you can have potatoes with perfectly crispy skin baked right in your Air Fryer. This keeps the oven free for your entree or allows you to skip turning it on.

Do you really need to pierce them before cooking?

To make the most delicious air fried sweet potatoes, first you need to wash them very well. Then, pierce them with fork all over. This will shorten the time of cooking and it will also prevent them from potentially bursting while they cook. No one wants to clean up that mess! After that, using your hands or a brush, lightly coat each sweet potato with olive oil then season with salt.

How do you make sweet potatoes in air fryer?

Place sweet potatoes in the air fryer basket or on a rack if you have an air fryer oven. We like this air fryer. The potatoes usually take 45-50 minutes to cook but cook-time may vary depending on the size of your sweet potatoes.

How do you get the skin nice and crispy?

The circulating air of the air fryer works together with the oil on the outside of the potato to cook the skin to a nice crisp. Be sure to flip the potatoes over halfway through cooking to ensure a nice even crisp on all sides.

How do you know they’re done?

Simply insert a toothpick or fork into the center of the potato to check if it’s soft inside. When the potato is cooked through there will be no resistance and it will feel soft.

Air Fryer Baked Sweet Potatoes

Contributor: Ilona Orzechowska

Air Fryer Baked Sweet Potatoes get nice and crispy. Plus, you don’t have to start the oven just to bake a few potatoes.

Author: Ilona Orzechowska
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: 2 servings 1x

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Ingredients

Scale

2 large sweet potatoes
2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt

Instructions

Pierce sweet potatoes with fork several times, all over.
Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt.
Place sweet potatoes in air fryer basket, set the temperature to 400°F, and bake for 40-50 minutes. After 20 – 25 minutes flip the potatoes so the skin on both sides gets crispy.
If your potatoes are very large you may need to cook them few minutes longer.

Baked Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows

By Christine Pittman

Sweet Potatoes with marshmallows are an easy way to jazz up your side dish. Plus, they’re a delicious alternative to boring baked potatoes.

If you’re in a sweet potato casserole mood like we are, this is a quick and easy “cheat” for any night of the week. Sure, you can totally make our Classic Sweet Potato Casserole recipe, this healthier version, and these adorable bite-sized appetizers. Now we have a quick weeknight idea for when you’re craving sweet potato casserole but don’t have the time to make it.

You can bake your sweet potatoes with whatever method you like, but I make them in the microwave because it saves a ton of time and sometimes you just need dinner on the table quickly. They cook through in about 6-8 minutes.

Then I add some marshmallows and pop them under the broiler just until they’re browned. Super-quick, fun, tasty, and easy. We all love them, and I hope you do too. Have a great day!

Baked Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows

Contributor: Christine Pittman

Sweet Potatoes with marshmallows are an easy way to jazz up your side dish. Plus, they’re a delicious alternative to boring baked potatoes.

Listen to me explain briefly about how to make these fun sweet potatoes, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:

Author: Christine Pittman
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 1x

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Ingredients

Scale

2 medium sweet potatoes
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
20 mini marshmallows

Instructions

Preheat broiler.
Pierce sweet potatoes with a fork. Put on plate and microwave 6-8 minutes.*
Meanwhile, mix butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
Test if sweet potatoes are done with a fork. It should pierce through easily in a couple of spots. Cut sweet potatoes in half. Score with knife. Pour butter mixture into scores. Transfer sweet potatoes to a baking sheet. Top each with 10 marshmallows.
Put sheet far from the broiler and watch carefully until marshmallows are lightly browned.

Notes

*Alternatively, you can bake the whole sweet potatoes in a 375°F oven for 1 hour to 1 and 1/4 hours, until pierces easily with a fork.

This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Sweet Potato Quesadillas

By Christine Pittman

Quesadillas are made insanely healthy with sweet potatoes and black beans. And whoa, are these ever delicious too!

I took the above picture for Produce for Kids (now knowns as Healthy Family Project) a couple of years ago. I didn’t create the recipe though. They did. When I first read the recipe, I was skeptical of the flavor combination: sweet potatoes, black beans, and cheese.

Sweet Potato and black bean Quesadillas stacked on a plate.

Sweet Potatoes And Black Beans

Honestly, it sounded like a weird combo. I was so wrong. These are some of the best quesadillas I’ve ever had. I couldn’t stop eating them. Those guys have good instincts on flavor and on making things healthy.

I think it’s the creaminess of the sweet potatoes that makes these quesadillas so good. It somehow seemed like they had way more cheese than there was because of it. Mmmmm. I think you’re going to love these.

Having Multiple Quesadillas Ready At The Same Time

This recipe makes four quesadillas, but they are cooked one at a time in a skillet. If you want everyone to be able to eat at the same time, there are two things that you can do.

Making Quesadillas In The Oven

Quesadillas made in the oven can get nice and crisp on the outside, while being gooey and melty on the inside if you follow these three rules:

Make sure your filling is at room temperature. If it is hot, it will steam the tortillas in the oven and make it harder for them to crisp up. If it is cold, it will not heat up enough in the time it takes the quesadilla to crisp.
Heat the baking sheet with some oil or cooking spray on it before you add the quesadillas. By having the oil and the pan hot, the underside of the quesadilla will start crisping more quickly and will then be less likely to get soggy.
Use high, but not too high, heat. I set my oven to 425F for oven-quesadillas. Any hotter and the edges of the tortillas start to burn before the middles are browned and the cheese is melted. Any cooler and the crisping up doesn’t happen as well.

So, if you want to have all your quesadillas ready at once, prep the filling, make sure it’s room temperature, heat your oven to 425F, and put an oiled baking sheet in there for 5-7 minutes. Assemble your quesadillas and then arrange them on the hot baking sheet.

Bake the quesadillas for 8 minutes. Take the pan out of the oven and use two metal spatulas or egg flippers to flip the quesadillas over. Return the pan to the oven and cook until the underside is brown and crispy, 5-10 more minutes.

Keep Quesadillas Warm In The Oven

The other way to have all of your quesadillas ready at once is to cook them in the skillet but then keep them warm in the oven. To do this, put an oven-safe metal cooling tray over a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 250F.

After the first quesadilla is cooked, transfer it to the rack and transfer the baking sheet with rack to the oven. Using a rack allows the air to circulate under the quesadilla so that it is less likely to get soggy.

As you cook each quesadilla in the skillet, transfer it to the rack over the baking sheet in the oven to stay warm.

If you’re a sweet potato lover like we are, be sure to check out our whole Sweet Potato Series. You’ll find more reasons than ever to love sweet potatoes with our recipes, tips, and how-tos.

Sweet Potato Quesadillas

Contributor: Christine Pittman

Quesadillas are made insanely healthy with sweet potatoes and black beans. And whoa, are these ever delicious too! See the article above for cooking these quesadillas in the oven so that multiple quesadillas can be ready at the same time.

Listen to our editor, Christine Pittman, explain briefly about how to make these quesadillas, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:

Author: Christine Pittman
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 1x
Category: Entrée
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: American

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

1 large sweet potato
1 can low sodium black beans, drained, rinsed
¼ cup chopped cilantro
1 Tbsp. low sodium taco seasoning
8 whole wheat tortillas
1 cup shredded low-fat Monterey Jack cheese

Instructions

Prick sweet potato with fork, place on microwave-safe plate, and microwave for 5 minutes on high power. Let cool slightly.
Cut in half lengthwise and scoop flesh into large bowl. Mash with a fork until smooth.
Add beans, cilantro, and taco seasoning to sweet potato and mix well.
Heat skillet over medium heat.
Spread sweet potato mixture evenly on one side of a tortilla, sprinkle with 1/4 of the cheese and place second tortilla on top.
Put into the skillet and cook until lightly browned underneath and cheese is starting to melt, 3-4 minutes. Flip and cook until other side is browned and cheese is fully melted, 2-3 more minutes. Remove from skillet and cut into quarters.
Repeat steps 5-6 with remaining tortillas and mixture.

Disclosure: We have not been compensated in any way by Produce for Kids for today’s article. They have given us permission to use their recipe with no conditions. However, our senior editor and the author of this article, Christine Pittman, has worked with them on other compensated projects in the past and will continue to do so.

Air Fryer Sweet Potato Chips

By Sam Ellis

Air Fryer Sweet Potato Chips are going to be your family’s new favorite snack. They only take a few ingredients and are so good.

Sweet potato chips are a tasty snack and are a great side dish alternative to Oven Sweet Potato Fries if you’re looking for something to freshen up your dinner menu. But first, we have a few helpful tips to ensure crispy chip success.

Do you need to peel the potatoes?

You don’t have to peel the sweet potato. The slices are so thin that you don’t really even notice the skin on the chip anyway.

Why do you need to soak the sweet potato slices before putting them in the Air Fryer?

Soaking the sweet potato slices helps remove excess starch to ensure that your sweet potato chips are crispy. It takes a little extra time, but once you have a bite of crispy sweet potato chips, you’ll know it was worth it.

Be sure to dry off the slices so they don’t have excess water on them when frying. This will ensure that any extra water doesn’t steam the potato and that the oil can stick to the potato.

How should you cut the potatoes?

Using a knife can work to make the sweet potato slices, but it’s harder to make them thin and consistent.

A mandoline is the easiest way to cut consistent and very thin slices. This Oxo Slicer is our favorite. Please be sure to use the guard anytime you use a mandoline though because they are super sharp and can give you a serious injury.

Whichever way you choose to the cut the potato, you’ll want to make sure that they are really thin. Thin slices are key to cooking them to ensure that they’re crispy like a chip rather than burnt or chewy.

What should you season the sweet potato chips with?

Sweet potato chips can be seasoned with just about anything. First, you can never go wrong with salt and pepper.

However, if you’re looking for more spice, chili powder or cayenne are also great options. Savory spices like garlic powder or smoked paprika also add great flavor.

How do you ensure the sweet potato chips remain crispy after cooking?

Have a rack prepared so you can place the chips on it in a single layer. The sweet potato chips will still be very hot when you remove them from the basket so be careful handling them.

The air circulation from cooling them on a rack and keeping them in a single layer will allow the heat (steam) to escape rather get trapped in the layers. If they are layered together with no air flow under them the extra steam would make your chips soft. No one wants soggy chips.

Be sure to season the chips immediately after removing them from the air fryer so that seasoning sticks. Serve as-is or with a side of our Sriracha Mayo for dipping. This mayo is both spicy and creamy which is a perfect pairing.

Air Fryer Sweet Potato Chips

Contributor: Sam Ellis

Air Fryer Sweet Potato Chips are going to be your family’s new favorite snack. They only take a few ingredients and are so good.

Author: Sam Ellis
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Yield: 2 servings 1x
Category: Side Dish
Method: Air Fryer
Cuisine: American

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Ingredients

Scale

1 sweet potato, unpeeled and sliced thinly
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Cooking spray
Salt, to taste

Instructions

Preheat air fryer 360°F.
Soak sliced sweet potatoes in a bowl of water for at least 30 minutes. Pat dry with paper towels.
In a large bowl, toss sweet potato slices with olive oil.
Coat the air fryer basket with cooking spray. Lay out one layer of sliced sweet potatoes in the basket.
Cook for 15 minutes, flipping each sweet potato when there are 5 minutes of cook-time left.
Season with salt as soon as they come out of the air fryer.
Set aside on a rack in a single layer while cooking the rest of the batches.

Sweet Potato Pie

By Christine Pittman

Sweet Potato Pie is like pumpkin pie except you can easily get sweet potatoes and enjoy it any time of year.

Before embarking on our big Sweet Potato Series, I had never had sweet potato pie. I wasn’t even entirely sure what it was. I did some research and found out that it is typically very similar to my basic pumpkin pie recipe (totally the best pumpkin pie out there. I swear. I got the recipe from my mom and she knows things), but with sweet potatoes instead of pumpkin.

I therefore experimented with that pumpkin pie recipe, swapped out the pumpkin for sweet potatoes and did a few other tweaks to get it just right.

For the pureed sweet potatoes, there are a few things you can do. First, you can roast whole sweet potatoes (use 2-3 medium ones) in the oven with the peels on. Go with 375°F for about 1 hour to 1 and 1/4 hours, until a fork pierces right through easily. Then scoop out the insides.

Alternatively, you can peel them, cut them into cubes and boil them until tender. This takes more work but is quicker.

Finally, you can totally buy already-mashed sweet potatoes at the grocery store in the refrigerator section. These already have butter and sweetening in them but that won’t matter at all. I tried it and it worked just great.

Sweet Potato Pie

Contributor: Christine Pittman

This should be an easy sell. Three words — Sweet Potato Pie. Better yet? It’s super easy to make.

Author: Christine Pittman
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: 8 servings 1x

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Ingredients

Scale

1 (8″ or 9“) pie crust
3 eggs
2 cups pureed sweet potatoes
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425⁰F. Line an 8″ or 9″ glass pie plate with the pie crust. Flute edges.
In a large bowl, whisk eggs. Add sweet potatoes, brown sugar, evaporated milk, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt.
Pour into pie plate. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350⁰F and bake 35-40 minutes, until knife inserted in middle comes out clean or almost clean. Cool on a rack.

Sweet Potato Casserole Bites

By Christine Pittman

We love sweet potato casserole. Making it bite-sized is just right to serve as an appetizer.

Sweet potato casserole is a tradition at American Thanksgiving. Because of that, we were a little bit reluctant to mess around with it or change it too drastically (you can see our nice and normal, deliciously classic version over here).

It didn’t seem like a big deal to make it smaller though. These little casserole bites are perfect for an appetizer or dessert party. The best thing about them is that they are ridiculously easy to make.

Here’s what you do…

Make up a batch of sweet potato casserole filling. Any recipe. But skip the eggs since the cups don’t bake for long enough for the egg to cook through. You can use leftover sweet potato casserole as well. That works great.

If you don’t want to make a filling and you don’t have leftovers and you want your life to be easier, you can buy a tub of mashed sweet potatoes from the refrigerator section of your grocery store. The mashed sweet potatoes come with butter and sweetening in them already so they’re ready to use.

Get some mini phyllo shells. These are found in the frozen department near the frozen pie crusts and other pastry. The brand I use is Athens. To see what the package looks like so you know what you’re looking for, go here.

Now you’re all set. Simply scoop sweet potato filling into the cups. Put the cups on a baking sheet and arrange 3 mini marshmallows on each one. Bake in a 350ºF oven until marshmallows are lightly browned, 10-12 minutes.

You can serve these immediately as a warm item. Or let them come to room temperature and serve. But don’t wait too long to serve them (not more than 2 hours) because the fillo shells will get soggy.

Mini Sweet Potato Casseroles

Contributor: Christine Pittman

We love sweet potato casserole. Making it bite-sized is just right to serve at parties.

Author: Christine Pittman
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 6 servings 1x
Category: Appetizers
Method: Bake
Cuisine: American

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Ingredients

Scale

15 phyllo dough cups
1 cup store-bought mashed sweet potatoes*
45 mini marshmallows

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350⁰F.
Put phyllo dough cups on a baking sheet. Fill each with 1 Tbsp. sweet potatoes. Top each with 3 marshmallows.
Bake until marshmallows are lightly browned, 10-12 minutes.
These are good warm or at room temperature. Serve soon, though. They get mushy in the refrigerator.

Notes

*Or cook and mash your own sweet potatoes or use any sweet potato casserole filling that you like (leftover sweet potato casserole works great!). If you’re making a new filling, don’t put raw eggs in it since these cups don’t cook for long enough for the eggs to cook.

How To Make Sweet Potato Toast

By Elena Szeliga

Sweet potato toast is a gluten-free, nutrient-dense and delicious bread replacement and an amazing way to start the day. It couldn’t be easier to make! Just toast sweet potato slices in your toaster and top them with one of these delicious sweet or savory toppings.

Have you ever heard of sweet potato toast? It’s exactly what it sounds like: a slice of sweet potato, popped in the toaster and topped with your favorite toppings, like peanut butter or avocado. This technique spread widely across social media a couple years ago, offering something new to clean-eating trends such as cauliflower “rice” (see how to make our Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice here) and smoothie bowls.

With more people following gluten-free and paleo diet, sweet potato slices are a good substitute to gluten-packed toasted bread. It also offers a flavorful alternative if you’ve given up your favorite Avocado Toast.

Why Eat Sweet Potatoes

Besides the fact sweet potatoes are delicious, they are also loaded with nutrients — from vitamins A, B6, and C to minerals like manganese, copper, potassium, and fiber. It is believed these vitamins and minerals help regulate your blood sugar levels, protect against the effects of aging, help you cope with stress, as well as have anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting properties.

Being one of the most nutritious vegetables around, sweet potatoes are also delicious in both sweet and savory dishes. Make sure to include them in your diet throughout the year and not just for your Thanksgiving dinner. Making a sweet potato toast for breakfast is surely a great way to enjoy them and to take advantage of their unique health benefits.

How to Make Sweet Potato Toast in a Toaster

To make sweet potato toast, take a large sweet potato and cut it into 1/4 inch thick slices. Toast them in the toaster two or three times on high, to get it toasted and cooked through. As every toaster is different, you’ll need to play around with yours to get it just right. It should be crisp and slightly browned on the outside and soft and cooked through on the inside.

Toppings For Sweet Potato Toast

The next step is to choose a topping. As with normal toasted bread, sweet potato toasts are really versatile. You can choose between sweet and savory toppings, whatever it is that you are craving. Here are some ideas to fuel your culinary creativity:

Sliced Avocado + Poached Egg + Sriracha

Cut the avocado in half, pit, and remove the skin. Slice and top your toast with it. Not sure about the poaching thing? No worries. We’ve got you covered. Head over here to learn how to poach a perfect runny-yolked egg every time. Place your poached egg on top of the avocado and drizzle it with Sriracha. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Soft Goat Cheese + Figs + Fresh Sage

Spread some soft goat cheese on your sweet potato toast and top it with sliced dried or fresh fig and a couple of fresh sage leaves. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Sliced Avocado + Lemon Juice + Salt + Black Pepper

Cut the avocado in half, pit, and remove the skin. Slice and top your toast with it. Drizzle with lemon juice. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Cream Cheese + Grapes + Walnuts

Spread some cream cheese on your sweet potato toast. Top it with halved grapes and roughly chopped walnuts. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Other savory topping ideas for sweet potato toast:

Chicken salad
Pesto and Gouda cheese
Hummus and tomatoes or cucumbers
Smoked salmon or tuna with onions and dill

Other sweet topping ideas for sweet potato toast:

Coconut cream and sliced fruits
Peanut butter, banana and cinnamon
Nutella and berries or banana
Cream cheese and jam

We’re really having so much fun with this idea and we hope that you are too. So go ahead and give us some of your topping ideas in the comments below. Can’t wait to see what y’all are up to!

Sweet Potato Toast

Contributor: Elena Szeliga

Sweet potato toast is a gluten-free, nutrient-dense and delicious bread replacement and an amazing way to start the day.

Author: Elena Szeliga
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 12 minutes
Yield: 2 servings 1x

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

1 large sweet potato

Instructions

Slice the sweet potato into 1/4 inch slices.
Put a slice into your toaster and toast it 2-3 times until browned on the outside and soft and cooked through in the middle.
Top with your favorite toppings (see topping ideas above).
Repeat with remaining slices.

How To Make Crispy Sweet Potato Fries In The Oven

By Maria Siriano

Baked sweet potato fries can easily end up a limp mess, but amazing oven fries are totally possible when you follow these steps.

It takes a little bit of preparation, but you can achieve oven fries that are crispy on the outside and soft and sweet on the inside.

How should you prepare the potatoes?

You’ll want to start by cutting your peeled sweet potatoes into ¼-inch thick sticks. Thinner sticks are key to crispy fries, and uniformity is important so that all the fries cook to the same texture and crispiness.

Do you really have to soak the potatoes?

Possibly, the most important step for these fries is soaking them in cold water. This tip from the restaurant world draws the starches out of the potatoes, which helps them achieve crispiness.

You’ll want to soak the sweet potato sticks for at least an hour, and up to 24 hours. It’s a great idea to start soaking them in the morning so they’re ready when you want dinner! Just pop the sweet potato sticks in a bowl of cold water, cover, and chill in the fridge until you’re ready to bake.

How do you get the crispy exterior?

When frying in oil, the chemical process pulls starches to the exterior of the potato and forms a crust. Since we don’t get that reaction during the baking process, we have to add our own starch to the exterior of the sweet potatoes. We used a blend of corn starch and tapioca starch (and some spices for flavor).

Bonus: using this blends of starches means your fries are still gluten-free. Just be sure to use gluten-free spices.

When should you salt the fries?

Finally, we reserve salting for after the fries come out of the oven, since salt draws out moisture and adding it early on can make the fries soggy. Be sure to salt them immediately after removing them so they are still nice and hot and the salt sticks.

No more excuses for floppy fries. Follow this advice and you’ll have perfect crispy oven fries by dinnertime.

Crispy Oven Sweet Potato Fries

Contributor: Maria Siriano

Baked sweet potato fries can easily end up a limp mess, but amazing oven fries are totally possible when you follow these steps.

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

Author: Maria Siriano
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 1x
Category: Side Dish
Method: Bake
Cuisine: American

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Ingredients

Scale

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into uniform ¼-inch thick sticks
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
3 Tbsp. tapioca starch
¼ tsp. smoked paprika
⅛ tsp. cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp. canola oil
Salt, to taste

Instructions

Place sweet potato sticks in large mixing bowl and cover in cold water. Cover with plastic wrap and place the bowl in the refrigerator for at least one hour and up to 24 hours.
When ready to bake, place your oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Line two baking sheets with foil and coat with cooking spray.
Drain and rinse the sweet potatoes, then blot with paper towels (they should still be a little damp).
Place the sweet potato sticks in a large container with a lid, a large zip-top bag, or a clean, dry mixing bowl.
In a small bowl, whisk together both starches, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper. Sprinkle the starch mixture over the sweet potato fries. If using a lidded container or zip-top bag, seal and shake to coat the sweet potatoes. Otherwise, toss them in the mixing bowl to coat evenly. Tap out any excess starch.
Drizzle canola oil over the sweet potatoes and toss to coat.
Spread the sweet potatoes evenly onto the baking pans, being careful not to overcrowd the pans (the fries shouldn’t touch each other).
Bake for 15 minutes, then flip the fries over. Rotate the pans from top to bottom and back to front and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, until the fries are brown on the outside, but not burnt.
Cool on the pan placed a wire rack for 5 minutes, then sprinkle with salt.

Healthier Sweet Potato Casserole

By Christine Pittman

Sweet potato casserole gets a healthy makeover without losing any of the flavors we love in a sweet potato casserole.

Just the other day we shared our Classic Sweet Potato Casserole recipe with you. Today, we’ve turned to our friends over at Produce for Kids for a healthier twist. It’s also quicker since they boil their sweet potatoes instead of roasting them.

Their recipe has less butter and no added sugar (except in the marshmallows, which are optional). It still tastes great though and we know you’re going to love love love this classic done healthy.

Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole

Contributor: Christine Pittman

Sweet potato casserole gets a healthy makeover without losing any of the flavors we love in a sweet potato casserole.

Author: Christine Pittman
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 6 servings 1x

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Ingredients

Scale

6 sweet potatoes, peeled, cubed
1/4 cup fat free milk
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
2 cups mini marshmallows

Instructions

Place sweet potatoes in large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer 20-25 minutes, or until tender; drain.
Place potatoes, milk, butter and pumpkin pie spice in large mixing bowl. Beat with electric mixer until smooth.
Add sweet potato mixture to shallow baking dish, top with pecans and marshmallows. Place under preheated broiler 5 inches from heat; broil 2-3 minutes, or until marshmallows are lightly browned.

Notes

Recipe from Produce for Kids.

Disclosure: We have not been compensated in any way by Produce for Kids for today’s article. They have given us permission to use their recipe with no conditions. However, our senior editor and the author of this article, Christine Pittman, has worked with them in the past on other compensated projects and will continue to do so.

Classic Sweet Potato Casserole

By Christine Pittman

This Thanksgiving classic, Sweet Potato Casserole is really good any time of year.

This is a pretty classic Sweet Potato Casserole recipe. We’ve gone with both pecans and marshmallows in the topping so that everyone is happy. The sweet potato part is really amazing because of the way we prepare the potatoes.

Are yams and sweet potatoes the same thing?

True yams are a totally different root vegetable and you don’t want to use them in this dish. That being said, the yams that come in a can are often actually sweet potatoes. You can learn more about the differences between sweet potatoes and yams here.

How To Prepare The Potatoes

Some recipes call for boiling the sweet potatoes or using canned potatoes. We chose a different method because it makes all the difference in the flavor of your potatoes. We roasted them! Cooking them this ways ensures none of the flavor cooks out so you keep all the sweet potato goodness in the dish where it belongs.

Do you need to add sugar?

There isn’t a ton of sugar in here because the sweet potatoes are already pretty sweet. If you like it on the sweeter side, you can double the sugar. Or, if you want it a little less sweet, you can cut the sugar down or totally skip it. The best thing to do is to make the sweet potato mixture adding everything except the eggs. Then give it a taste and decide if you want more sugar or not. I think you’ll find that it’s just about right with the amount listed.

Why is there egg in this casserole?

Egg is an important binder to help the casserole hold together. If you need to skip the eggs, you can, but know that the casserole won’t stick together well and will be more like baked mashed sweet potatoes with toppings instead. It will still taste good though!

Can you prepare this ahead of time?

Definitely! There are two options for preparing the casserole ahead of time. The first option is that you can pre-bake the potatoes and refrigerate them until you’re ready to make and serve the dish.

The second option is to pre-make the whole casserole then cover with foil and reheat in an oven that’s been preheated to 300°F oven for 20-30 minutes, until heated through. You want to keep it covered while reheating so you don’t burnt he marshmallow and pecan topping.

If you try this recipe, please leave a comment below letting us know how you liked it or how you changed it up (we totally know you’re gonna do that!).

Classic Sweet Potato Casserole

Contributor: Christine Pittman

Get our delicious recipe for a classic sweet potato casserole. It’s loaded with toasted marshmallows and chopped pecans.

Author: Christine Pittman
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Yield: 8 servings 1x

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Ingredients

Scale

5 medium sweet potatoes with peels on
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped
1/2 cup mini marshmallows

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Put the sweet potatoes whole on a baking sheet. Bake until very tender when pierced with a fork, 1 to 1 and 1/4 hours. Remove from oven. Let them cool a bit until you can handle them or wear oven mitts to handle them. Turn oven down to 325ºF.
Cut each sweet potato in half and scoop insides into a large bowl. Add the butter, milk, sugar, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon. Mash it all together and then stir until smooth. Stir in the eggs.
Transfer sweet potato mixture to a 9×13″ baking dish. Sprinkle with the pecans and marshmallows. Bake for 30 minutes. Keep your eye on it. If the marshmallows start to get too dark, cover with foil.

The Difference Between Sweet Potatoes and Yams

By Lyndsay Burginger

What are yams? What are sweet potatoes? Are they the same thing? What on earth are we eating?

I first came across this conundrum in a Whole Foods Market in their produce section. Sitting side-by-side were two distinctly different potatoes, one white fleshed and one orange. The sign above them read “Yams and Sweet Potatoes.” I picked up both potatoes and wondered which was which.

I did some research and learned that they were both sweet potatoes. What’s going on here? Where’s the yam?

What color is a sweet potato?

We all know sweet potatoes are orange, right? Well, not quite. Sweet potatoes can have a variety of different colors; ranging from white to orange and even to purple. You definitely have to try a purple sweet potato sometime if you haven’t already.

Sweet Potato Texture

Sweet potatoes also have two different textures. One being firm (which has paler flesh) and the other being softer (which has an orange flesh). But essentially the thing that many of us grew up calling a yam is really a sweet potato. Wait, was my mom’s sweet yam pie a lie? Not really. There’s more to this story.

Where do sweet potatoes come from?

The first sweet potato introduced into the U.S. was the firmer paler one. When the softer orange one was later introduced there was concern that it would cause confusion. And with that, a new name, yam, was adopted. It might have something to do with the fact that it looks a bit like a true yam. But it was never a true yam. In fact, sweet potatoes and yams are not even related.

So what is a yam?

Yams are grown in Africa and Asia and you don’t usually find them in regular grocery stores here in the United States. They are starchy and drier than sweet potatoes and require different preparations than their orange counterparts. These tubers look less like potatoes and more like small logs from a tree. If you put a (sweet potato) yam next to a real yam, you won’t mistake the two.

In conclusion, a yam and a sweet potato are two totally different vegetables unless you are in the States, where yams and sweet potatoes have a little bit of an identity crisis with some sweet potatoes sometimes, but not always, being called yams. In truth, most Americans have never seen or eaten a true yam. But don’t tell my mom that. I don’t want her thinking I think she’s a liar; I need her to keep making me that pie!

Hello Sweet Potatoes!

By Christine Pittman

Give a warm welcome to our newest topic, Sweet Potatoes. Follow along for the next two weeks to get sweet potato recipes, tips, how tos and so much more.

For the next two weeks we’ll be bringing you all kinds of sweet potato bliss. There are tons of recipes, from Classic Sweet Potato Casserole to Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes, and lots of sweet potato tips and how tos.

Here’s a sneak peek at the recipes:

Crispy Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Sweet Potato Quesadillas
Baked Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows
Sweet Potato Toast
African Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew
Sweet Potato Pie
Classic Sweet Potato Casserole
Healthier Sweet Potato Casserole
Sweet Potato Casserole Bites
Slow Cooker “Baked” Sweet Potatoes
Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes
Air Fryer Sweet Potato Chips

It’s going to be such a delicious couple of weeks!

Have a great day!

Christine 🙂

Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries

By Emily Dingmann

You’re gonna love this tip for getting a crispy sweet potato fry and it uses less grease. How’s that for a win?

If you’ve ever made sweet potato fries before, you know it’s almost impossible to get them crispy. This is because they lack the starch that a white potato like a russet has. Their unique makeup when it comes to starch and moisture levels makes them a bit tricky to crisp up into a French fry.

Tips for Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries

After a little research, we found the best tips for air fryer sweet potato fries and it only requires one more step than our Air Fryer French Fries.

Toss them in starch before cooking. The starch helps to create a rigid structure on the outside of the fry so the inside is nice and soft and the outside is crispy.
Don’t overcrowd the air fryer basket (this one comes highly recommended). Sweet potato fries are especially sensitive to over-crowding, so when you arrange them in the air fryer basket, make sure you are leaving plenty of space between the fries. You may have to cook them in batches, but if you want them crispy, it’s a must!
Cut them into thin strips. This is key if you have large sweet potato wedges because it’s really difficult to get them crispy. Keeping a small and uniform shape is important.
Oil the basket. Make sure you’ve oiled the air fryer basket so the sweet potato fries don’t stick. Tossing them in the oil isn’t enough because of the naturally occurring sugars. A basic vegetable oil is fine.

Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries

Contributor: Emily Dingmann

You’re gonna love this tip for getting a crispy sweet potato fry and it uses less grease. How’s that for a win?

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

Author: Emily Dingmann
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield: 2 servings 1x

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Ingredients

Scale

1 medium sweet potato
1 tsp. corn starch
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/8 tsp. salt (or to taste)

Instructions

Wash and peel potato. Cut potato in half lengthwise and then cut each half in half again, so that you end up with 4 strips of potato, about 1 /4 – 1 /2 inch thick. Then cut the strips into fry shapes. If your potato is longer, you may want to cut it down the middle crosswise and then cut lengthwise.
Place cut potato strips in a bowl of cool water. Soak for at least 40 minutes. Carefully lift the potatoes out of the bowl, so that you don’t disturb the starch that has settled at the bottom of the bowl. Pat dry with a paper towel and place sweet potatoes into a zip top bag. Add starch to bag and shake until combined. Add oil to bag and shake again.
Spread out fries in the air fryer basket. An average size sweet potato will take two batches. Cook at 370°F for 8 minutes. Shake basket and increase temperature to 400°F for another 6 minutes. Season with salt to taste.