When you are looking for the perfect sweet potato side dish look no further than our Healthy Mashed Sweet Potatoes recipe. Sweet potatoes are full of vitamins and minerals and are super tasty. They are ready in under an hour and could not be simpler to prepare. This recipe is kosher, gluten free, pareve, dairy free, and vegan. Take a break from plain mashed potatoes and read on to learn how to make the best Healthy Sweet Potato recipe from scratch.
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Why This Recipe Works
We love sweet potato recipes but you can't always have Sweet Potato Medallions and Easy Sweet Potato Soup, sometimes you gotta switch it up. This Healthy Mashed Sweet Potatoes recipe is great for something different and just as healthy. Some of the things we love about this dish are:
- Easy to make. Put the sweet potatoes into the oven, cut them open, add the seasoning blend, mash. Super simple!
- Only 3 ingredients. Sweet potatoes, spice blend, brown sugar. We experimented with adding butter, olive oil, cream and other fats but we found that none of those improved the flavor. Who would have thought that so much flavor could come from so little.
- Ready in under an hour. The most time intensive part of this recipe is baking the sweet potatoes. Other than that you are looking at under 5 minutes prep and cooking time.
- Great for people with dietary restrictions. Besides being kosher, sweet potato mash is gluten free, pareve, and vegan. Serve this to almost any guest or family member.
Making Mashed Sweet Potatoes step by step:
Step 1: Bake the sweet potatoes.
Place the sweet potatoes into a 400º oven for 45 minutes. You don't need to boil sweet potatoes for this recipe. You don't even need to peel them or pre cut them. Make sure that you put the sweet potatoes on to a baking sheet or in a baking dish. The first time I made this recipe I just put the potatoes right into the oven on the rack and one of them exploded. Not fun…
Step 2: Let them cool and then slice.
Take the sweet potatoes out of the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes. When you take them out they should be soft to the touch (use a fork for this and not your finger…they are really hot). Slice the sweet potato down the middle lengthwise. To peel sweet potatoes just slide the peel off, it's that easy.
Step 3: Add the seasoning blend.
The seasoning is similar to a pumpkin pie spice which we love around here. Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, black pepper.
Step 4: Mash, Sprinkle on the brown sugar, and broil.
Mash with a potato masher and make sure the pumpkin pie seasoning is well incorporated. No food processor necessary here. Use a spatula to get the sweet potato mash into a baking dish. Sprinkle brown sugar over the top of the mashed sweet potatoes and put under a broiler for 1-2 minutes or until the brown sugar has melted over the top.
Recipe FAQ
Yes, they are very healthy. For more specifics about the health benefits of mashed sweet potatoes, check out our Sweet Potato Soup recipe post.
Store them in an airtight container for up to 7 days in the refrigerator. As much as we like to use plastic bags for storage, this recipe does not store well in a plastic bag. If you want to keep the mashed sweet potatoes longer than 7 days, you can freeze them for up to 6 months in the air tight container.
While they have similar flavors they are different plants. In American recipes the names yam and sweet potato are sometimes used interchangeably but are usually referring to sweet potatoes. Yams should also work with the spice blend in this recipe to give you a healthy yam recipe but may require more or less cooking time.
Serving suggestions
- Make it maple flavored. Instead of brown sugar, use ¼ cup of maple syrup. This works best when you stir it into the mashed sweet potatoes.
- Add ginger. Add ½ teaspoon of powdered ginger to your spice blend.
- Turn leftover mashed sweet potatoes into a pie. Add ¼ cup of milk, 3 tablespoon butter, and 2 eggs into the sweet potato mash along with the seasoning blend. Pour into a pie crust and bake for 35 minutes at 350ºF. Healthy Mashed Sweet Potato Pie!
- Creative dessert. Mix the fully cooked Healthy Mashed Sweet Potato with some greek yogurt or sour cream for a healthy protein packed snack. Even better, freeze for a super healthy dessert.
- A great side dish. When October or November rolls around, serve alongside your favorite comfort foods such as Chicken Marsala or Slow Cooker BBQ Beef.
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Recipe
Healthy Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 5 sweet potatoes 2-3 pounds sweet potatoes
- ½ cup brown sugar to be sprinkled over the top
Spice Blend
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
- Bake sweet potatoes for 45 minutes at 400ºF.
- Peel the sweet potatoes and mash together with the spice blend.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar over the top and place under the broiler for 1-2 minutes.
Notes
Serving suggestions
- Make it maple flavored. Instead of brown sugar, use ¼ cup of maple syrup. This works best when you stir it into the mashed sweet potatoes.
- Add ginger. Add ½ teaspoon of powdered ginger to your spice blend.
- Turn leftover mashed sweet potatoes into a pie. Add ¼ cup of milk, 3 tablespoon butter, and 2 eggs into the sweet potato mash along with the seasoning blend. Pour into a pie crust and bake for 35 minutes at 350ºF. Healthy Mashed Sweet Potato Pie!
- Creative dessert. Mix the fully cooked Healthy Mashed Sweet Potato with some greek yogurt or sour cream for a healthy protein packed snack. Even better, freeze for a super healthy dessert.
- A great side dish. When October or November rolls around, serve alongside your favorite comfort foods such as Chicken Marsala or Slow Cooker BBQ Beef.