Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Name: Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 pounds sweet potato (about 2 medium to large); 3 tablespoons butter (plus extra for garnish); 1/4 cup heavy cream (or milk); salt and pepper (to taste); dried parsley flakes (for garnish)

Sweet Potato Mash Recipe

This Sweet Potato Mash Recipe takes only 4 main ingredients to make and is the perfect side dish to any meal. Plus this recipe is just as easy to make as regular ol’ mashed potatoes. Here’s what you’ll need:

Sweet Potatoes – you can either bake or boil these bad boys to make them soft enough. Go for a sweet potato (or sometimes referred to as yams, depending on the grocery store) with the darker appearance with the orange insides.
Salt and Pepper – to taste!
Butter – for flavor
Heavy Cream– to get the consistency you want.
Parsley – for garnish.

How to Make Mashed Sweet Potatoes

I like to peel and cut my sweet potatoes and boil them, just like I would with a regular mashed potato. I find its quicker and easier this way. Though feel free to roast your sweet potatoes whole, scoop out the flesh and mash.

Peel 2 pounds of sweet potatoes. Cut into 1-inch cubes.
Add sweet potato to a large pot and cover with water.
Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer until fork tender. Drain.
Add butter, salt and pepper as you mash. Stir in heavy cream (or milk) as desired to get the texture where you want it.
Spoon into serving bowl, top with more butter and parsley and serve.

Lets talk Mashing

I love using a metal potato masher for these sweet potatoes. It gives you more control over the consistency and texture (and lasts forever because it’s metal). It’s harder to get a completely smooth texture when you hand mash, so a hand mixer or immersion blender would work as well. Just be sure to not over mix.

Sweet vs Savory

The beautiful thing about these mashed sweet potatoes is you can customize it to be more savory or more sweet. If you’re serving as a side dish with a roast or piece of chicken, you might want your potatoes to be more savory whereas if you’re making this for Thanksgiving, sweet potatoes are classically made sweeter with brown sugar and cinnamon. Here are my guidelines going one way or the other:

Savory: try boiling and mashing the potatoes with one or two cloves of garlic. Add in the butter and cream and enjoy that sweet yet savory flavor.
Sweet: when mashing your fork-tender potatoes, add in 1/4 cup packed brown sugar with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. (Adjust sugar as desired.)

Leftovers

If you happen to have leftover mashed sweet potatoes, here’s how to store everything:

Fridge: Cover tightly in a container or with plastic wrap. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave in 30-second intervals, adding butter/milk as needed for texture.

Freezer: Scoop cooled potatoes into a plastic freezer bag. Seal the bag then spread the potatoes out so that they lay in a flat square (this helps with defrosting time). Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, add butter/milk as needed and warm in the oven/microwave.

More Side Dishes to Try!