Sweet Potato Recipes

Foodie With Family’s Guide to Sweet Potato Recipes

I can honestly say that sweet potato recipes are go-tos for me when I want to create a delicious and impressive meal. I always feel good about serving them because sweet potatoes pack so much nutritional punch, even if I do end up covering them in Herculean quantities of butter or bacon.

What is it about sweet potato recipes that makes me turn to them so often? It must be that they are just so very versatile and filling.

Whether you’re a seasoned home chef or completely new to the game, you can master the art of cooking sweet potatoes. These are forgiving spuds that are easy to cook with the right recipe and a few tips and tricks.

SELECTING SWEET POTATOES

It’s hard to find a sweet potato that will do you wrong, but for the absolute best sweet potato recipe results look for sweet potatoes on the small to medium size. These tend to be sweeter and creamier than their large counterparts. Pick sweet potatoes with the deepest color to get the best nutritional benefits, including significant amounts of beta-carotene and vitamin A.

STORING FRESH SWEET POTATOES

Sweet potatoes have a higher sugar content than other types of spuds meaning they spoil more quickly. Keep whole sweet potatoes in a cool and dry place like a cellar, garage or behind a closed pantry door to keep them from rotting or bruising.

Wait to wash sweet potatoes until just before you’re about to use them, otherwise the moisture left on the skin may result in mold growth and rapid spoilage. If you must clean them up a little, you can use a dry cloth to remove excess dirt before storage and save the rinsing for later.

Stored correctly, fresh sweet potatoes should keep for several weeks!

PREPARING SWEET POTATOES

When you’re ready to whip up a mouthwatering sweet potato dish, it’s time to rinse and scrub those tubers! Rinse each sweet potato in cold water, scrub to remove any remaining dirt, and pat dry.

How to Peel Sweet Potatoes

Lots of sweet potato recipes, such as my Guaranteed Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries call for peeling the potatoes prior to cooking. Unless you want to make life harder for yourself, peel your sweet potatoes after washing but before chopping or slicing.

While any vegetable peeler will do, a serrated peeler makes the job easier and faster. Use the peeler to make even strokes from root to tip, turning the potato and repeating on each section of the potato until all the skin is removed.

Peeling isn’t always necessary before cooking sweet potatoes though. For my Loaded Baked Sweet Potatoes and Smashed Sweet Potatoes with Bacon and Bleu Cheese , no peeling is required. Sweet potato skin is entirely edible and packed with fiber and vitamins, along with being full of flavour. I call that a win-win!

How to Cut Sweet Potatoes

Different sweet potato recipes call for different methods of slicing or chopping. To make medallion shaped rounds, like for Melting Sweet Potatoes, use a chef’s knife to make even slices across the potato crosswise. To create sweet potato cubes, like the ones you’ll need for the Roasted Sweet Potatoes in my Brazilian Black Bean Stew, dice your potato by first cutting it lengthwise into planks, then cutting the planks crosswise to the desired width. Turn these matchsticks and cut across those for small cubes. Voila! Diced sweet potatoes.

However you slice or dice, just be sure to make them as evenly sized as possible. The more even your slices the more even your sweet potatoes will cook, whether you’re baking, frying, roasting or boiling them. This takes a little practice but it’s worth it to avoid ending up with that one overcooked (or undercooked) slice of sweet potato hiding on your plate.

STORING COOKED SWEET POTATOES

Believe it or not, I often cook more sweet potatoes than I think we’ll need just so I can have leftovers. Store cooked in an air-tight container in the refrigerator if you plan to eat them in the next few days. Leftover cooked sweet potatoes make fantastic toppings for salad, fillings for sandwiches, and even cold straight out of the fridge for a late-night snack. (Don’t judge me.)

Several of my sweet potato recipes also freeze well, including Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls and Roasted Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers. Once frozen, you can store these dishes for several weeks or even months. Not having to worry about wasted leftovers makes these dishes even better in my eyes!

Are you craving sweet potatoes yet? Let’s get cooking.

From our incredibly popular Melting Sweet Potatoes that make any meal a special occasion to our snackable Sweet Potato Croutons and on to our pillowy soft Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls, and then our Slow-Cooker Peach Salsa Pork Roast with Sweet Potatoes, I’m willing to bet there is a sweet potato dish to make everyone happy here!

Looking for a recipe for sweet potatoes that’s not listed here? Drop me a line at rebecca@foodiewithfamily.com and let me know!