26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (2024)

Sweet potatoes are one of the most delicious, comforting, and easy-to-use fall and winter ingredients — sweet and savory, they're versatile, to boot. Sometimes, there's nothing cozier than a simple baked sweet potato, piping hot out of the oven. For an easy weeknight dinner side dish, it's hard to beat the savory-sweet creaminess of mashed sweet potatoes. Here are our favorite sweet potato recipes for more inspiration — try a sweet potato gratin, sweet potato-coconut soup, and our best sweet potato pie to start.

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Roasted Hot Honey Sweet Potato Salad

26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (1)

This sweet potato salad makes a colorful, satisfying side dish. Seasoning the potatoes with smoked paprika creates a sweet and savory balance while the hot honey dressing adds a touch of tangy heat. Homemade pickled red onions, crunchy toasted pecans, and fresh parsley round the dish out.

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02of 26

Candied Sweet Potato Pancakes

26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (2)

This quick-fix recipe is the ideal breakfast for the morning after Thanksgiving — or any time you have leftover candied sweet potatoes on hand. The addition of mashed sweet potatoes gives the pancakes a beautiful color and keeps them extra moist and tender. Since the potatoes are already sweetened, 2020 F&W Best New Chef Douglass Williams cuts back the amount of brown sugar in the batter and plays up the warming cinnamon and clove.

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03of 26

Smoky Sweet Potatoes with Chorizo Butter

26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (3)

Smoky and spicy, cured Spanish chorizo infuses melted butter with its rich color and flavor, balancing the natural sweetness of these tender roasted sweet potatoes. Scoring baked sweet potatoes and then broiling them gives them a hint of smoke and lets the chorizo butter soak into every bite.

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04of 26

Spiced Sweet Potato Tater Tots

26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (4)

These homemade tater tots are easy to make. Simply par-boil the potato, then grate it and mix it with spices including cumin and smoked paprika.

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05of 26

Lamb, Sweet Potato, and Coconut Mafé Curry

26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (5)

Perfectly tender lamb shoulder and creamy sweet potatoes balanced by floral coriander, warming turmeric and cumin, and piquant ginger and ground mustard make this West African curry a cozy delight. Fonio is a tiny grain that packs a nutritional punch and provides the perfect base for soaking up the flavorful curry sauce.

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06of 26

Sweet Potato Honey Beer Pie

26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (6)

The different components of this pie can be prepared on different days. Here's a suggested order of steps you might find useful. Day 1: Roast sweet potatoes, reduce the beer, and prepare the pie crust, but don't blind (partially) bake yet. Day 2: Blind bake the pie crust, prepare the sweet potato custard, and bake the pie.

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Brussels Sprouts and Sweet Potato Hand Pies

26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (7)

Made with baker Lisa Ludwinski's Sister Pie All-Butter Pie Dough, the golden, crispy pastry encasing these savory hand pies shatters almost like a croissant. Lightly mashed sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, tangy sour cream, and aged cheddar make up the creamy, cheesy filling.

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08of 26

Sheet-Pan Tofu with Broccolini, Mushrooms, and Sweet Potatoes

26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (8)

A citrus-soy marinade adds zing to crisp roasted tofu in this easy sheet-pan dinner. Spreading the tofu and vegetables across two baking sheets ensures that they roast, rather than steam, in the oven. For the crispiest tofu and tender vegetables, space the ingredients evenly so hot air can circulate among them.

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09of 26

Curry Chicken and Sweet Potato Galette

26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (9)

Chef Alexander Hardy infuses flavor into each layer of this golden galette. The crust, seasoned with turmeric and garlic, surrounds a savory blend of green seasoning–spiked chicken thighs, roasted sweet potatoes, and sweet mixed bell peppers. Choose jarred sofrito for a shortcut, or make the piquant, herbal green seasoning from scratch.

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Sweet Potato Gyoza with Beet Puree

26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (10)

Sweet potato and hazelnut butter make up the filling for these inventive and satisfying gyoza.

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Sweet Potato Cheesecake Empanadas

26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (11)

Puerto Rico and the American South intersect deliciously in this unique dessert empanada from Boricua Soul in Durham, North Carolina, which combines the flavors of marshmallow-topped sweet potato casserole with spiced pumpkin cheesecake, encasing it all in caramel-drizzled, crisp pastry.

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Sweet Potato, Balsamic Onion, and Soppressata Pizza

26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (12)

Soppressata tops this clever prebaked-crust pizza, along with mashed sweet potatoes, caramelized onion, and mozzarella cheese. Enjoy it with a juicy, medium-bodied Pinot Noir.

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13of 26

Cinnamon-Spiced Candied Sweet Potatoes

26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (13)

Inspired by camotes enmielados — a sweet and syrupy Mexican dessert often served in honor of Día de los Muertos — these spiced sweet potatoes are the perfect stand-in for candied yams with toasted marshmallows.

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Sweet Potato–Coconut Soup with Thai Curry

26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (14)

A trio of coconut — coconut oil, coconut milk, and toasted coconut flakes — makes its way into this fragrant and lovely twist on a classic soup from cookbook author Melissa Clark.

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15of 26

Sweet Potato and Feta Bourekas

26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (15)

Bourekas are crisp, savory little parcels filled with anything from vegetables and cheese to ground meat. Inspired by his grandmother's recipe, chef Michael Solomonov's version is stuffed with sweet potato, Bulgarian feta, dill, and olives.

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16of 26

Oxtail and White Sweet Potato Stew

26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (16)

A red wine braise, complete with other mulling ingredients like fresh orange and whole spices, makes the oxtails in this stew fall-apart tender and flavorful.

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17of 26

Sweet Potato Gratin with Chile-Spiced Pecans

26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (17)

Chef Jose Garces says this dish best exemplifies his Thanksgiving menu: traditional at its core but with unexpected Latin accents. The gratin is silky and sweet, topped with gooey marshmallows and delightfully crunchy pecans flavored with chile powder.

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Curried Shrimp and Sweet Potato Stir-Fry

26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (18)

This easy shrimp stir-fry garnished with peanuts and herbs comes together in less than 20 minutes and tastes delicious over simple jasmine rice.

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19of 26

Sweet Potato, Chipotle, and Apple Soup

26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (19)

This silky soup gets its smoky sweetness from pureed chipotle peppers, a Mexican staple, and the surprising addition of apples. It's served in shallow bowls and garnished with fried tortilla strips for crunch.

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Sweet Potato Hummus

26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (20)

Roasted sweet potato adds just a hint of sweetness to regular hummus. For a touch of heat and flavor complexity, blend in the optional cayenne pepper. This hummus keeps in the fridge for up to a month, so it's easy to keep on hand for all your dipping and spreading needs.

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Chicken, Sweet Potato, and Rice Casserole

26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (21)

The rice in this hearty casserole filling is cooked until it starts to fall apart, thickening the liquid. A generous amount of cheddar cheese and panko breadcrumbs make for a gloriously browned top.

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Sweet Potatoes with Apple Butter

26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (22)

Pro tip: Mash the sweet potatoes with a potato masher until creamy, then mash in the butter and apple butter. Season with a dash of salt and serve.

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Sweet Potato Meringue Pie

26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (23)

This dessert from 2000 F&W Best New Chef Andrew Carmellini looks like a pumpkin pie, but the filling is actually made with sweet potato. It sits on a spiced graham cracker-pecan crust and is topped with billowy meringue instead of the typical whipped cream.

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Sweet Potato Spoon Bread

26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (24)

Spoon bread, a cross between corn bread and soufflé, is a Southern classic. Chef Robert Stehling likes to add cooked spinach or fresh corn and chopped, sautéed bacon or ham to his plain sweet potato version.

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Vanilla Bean-Whipped Sweet Potatoes

26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (25)

The late New York chef Gerry Hayden created this flavorful side dish, a combination of creamy pureed sweet potatoes and fragrant vanilla.

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Maple-Baked Sweet Potatoes

26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (26)

Parboiling the sweet potatoes shortens the baking time and keeps them moist. Once tender, they can be broiled briefly to achieve a browned top.

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26 Simple Sweet Potato Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What can I add to sweet potato to make it taste good? ›

Salt, Pepper, and Butter – the OG classic way of serving your sweet potatoes. Greek Yogurt and Green Onion – one of my personal favorites! you can do sour cream instead of Greek Yogurt if you prefer. Maple Syrup, Cinnamon, and Butter – ok, I'm a big fan of savory but this combo is also a favorite!

How many sweet potatoes for 20 servings? ›

“A general guideline to estimating how many sweet potatoes you need when hosting friends or family for a meal is one medium sweet potato per person,” Burgess says, as if she's done this many times before.

How many cups does 2 sweet potatoes make? ›

1 1/4 cups

Is it better to wrap sweet potatoes in foil when baking? ›

Wrapping sweet potatoes in foil helps in a few ways. It prevents the exterior of the tuber from drying out and overheating too quickly, which would minimize enzymatic activity; it also results in a more evenly cooked texture.

How many potatoes do I need for 25 adults? ›

How Much Food to Serve at a Party
FOODSERVE 25SERVE 50
Meats
Peas (fresh)12 pounds25 pounds
Potatoes9 pounds18 pounds
Potato salad3 quarts1–1/2 gallons
35 more rows
Apr 1, 2024

How many potatoes to feed 25 people? ›

For a big spread with lots of side dishes, you'll want to have about four ounces (125 grams) of potato (that's precooked weight) per person. If you're serving fewer sides, you can up it to about eight ounces (250 grams) per person.

How many sweet potatoes do I need for 24 people? ›

Potatoes or sweet potatoes: 5 to 6 ounces per person, which equals about 1 large Yukon Gold or white potato, or half of a large sweet potato.

What does 1 serving of sweet potato look like? ›

Nutrition Facts Serving size: 1 medium (4.6 oz / 130 g) Calories 100 Calories from Fat 0 *Percent Daily Values (%DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Sweet potatoes are one of the best sources of vitamin A; a medium one contains more than 100 percent of the daily recommended intake, according to the USDA.

Is eating 2 sweet potatoes too much? ›

If you enjoy sweet potatoes, you can absolutely enjoy them daily. However, eating multiple sweet potatoes every day could cause a harmless condition called carotenodermia, where your skin turns yellow-orange. You may also want to be cautious about your sweet potato intake if you have a history of kidney stones.

Why freeze sweet potatoes before baking? ›

The science behind using frozen sweet potatoes

“Freezing sweet potatoes before baking them results in a nice and charred exterior and the most fluffy inside, because freezing the potatoes allows their interior flesh to macerate from the inside out,” says Chin. (FYI, “macerate” is the chef word for soften.)

Is it better to boil or bake sweet potatoes? ›

Baking can also cause an 80% drop in vitamin A levels, twice as much as boiling. Therefore, from a nutritional standpoint, boiling rather than baking should be recommended for cooking sweet potato.

Should you poke holes in sweet potatoes before baking? ›

Recipe Tips

Don't forget to poke: Poking holes in the sweet potatoes is crucial. It allows steam to escape, ensuring the insides become perfectly soft while preventing any oven mishaps from over-pressurized potatoes. Oil evenly: When rubbing oil onto the potatoes, make sure it's evenly distributed.

Are sweet potatoes better baked or microwaved? ›

Can You Cook Sweet Potatoes in the Microwave? Yes, you can! In fact, the shorter cook time will help the sweet potatoes retain more nutrients that are often lost in the long oven-baking process. It's not all that different than baking a sweet potato in the oven, except it's a whole lot faster.

What do Americans put on sweet potato? ›

The American tradition of cooking sweet potatoes with marshmallows is a bit of a leap for the European reader.

What does baking soda do to sweet potatoes? ›

Baking Soda – boiling the potatoes in baking soda draws out the starch and allows the outside to get brown and crispy. Sweet Potatoes – yams work fine too. Extra Virgin Olive Oil – gets infused with rosemary and garlic and is the key to getting that crispy exterior.

How do you prop a sweet potato? ›

Here's one way to do it:
  1. fill up a tray with about 2 inches of potting soil.
  2. place the sweet potato sideways in to the tray so it is about half buried.
  3. water it and wait until it creates sprouts.
  4. remove those sprouts with scissor and cut the sprouts in to multiple sprouts at each node.
Feb 23, 2023

What makes sweet potato a super food? ›

Of the thousands of vegetables available today, sweet potatoes are considered one of the most nutritious. The orange- (or sometimes purple) fleshed vegetables are loaded with minerals and A, B, and C vitamins. This has led to sweet potatoes being called a superfood by many.

References

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