Simple, comforting and absolutely delicious, mashed sweet potatoes are easy to make with all the buttery and savoury goodness. Great side dish for the holiday season but also one to serve all year round.
Jump to:
- Why You’ll Love This Savoury Mashed Sweet Potatoes
- Different Ways To Cook Sweet Potatoes
- Do I Peel Or Not Peel Sweet Potatoes Before Cooking?
- Recipe Overview
- Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- Instructions
- How to Make This Recipe Perfectly (Expert Tips)
- Great Mains for This Side Dish
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Recipe
Why You’ll Love This Savoury Mashed Sweet Potatoes
We like to keep our mashed sweet potatoes full of savoury and buttery goodness. No marshmallows or brown sugar in this recipe.
Tangy sour cream, butter and garlic combined with fresh parsley and a little nutmeg are all you need for flavourful, savoury mashed sweet potatoes.
I love using sweet potatoes in mashed potato side dishes as it brings a natural sweetness that is not overly rich compared to regular potato mash. And if you want colour on the table, sweet potato’s golden orange hues are stunning.
Other great alternatives to mashed potatoes are our purple mashed potatoes or swede mash recipes.
This is a simple yet deliciously comforting sweet potato side dish. Just like our baked sweet potato slices, it is perfect to match with an incredible range of main dishes. And if you are looking for Thanksgiving salads or Christmas side dishes, this mashed sweet potato recipe is one to add to the list.
Different Ways To Cook Sweet Potatoes
There are various ways to cook sweet potatoes for a mashed sweet potato recipe. I prefer to boil them because it’s the easiest method for me.
Alternatively, you can steam the sweet potatoes using a steamer basket over boiling water. This might take between 15 to 25 minutes, depending on the size and quantity.
I personally think the best way to enjoy sweet potatoes is to roast them whole, wrapped in foil, and then scoop out the soft, fluffy flesh. This can be done in the oven.
Oven roasting sweet potatoes enhances their natural sweetness and prevents them from absorbing excess water. However, this method takes the longest. Based on the size of the sweet potato, I’d estimate a roasting time of at least 45 minutes for whole sweet potatoes.
Do I Peel Or Not Peel Sweet Potatoes Before Cooking?
If you are roasting sweet potatoes, then yes, I would leave skin on. However, if you are boiling or steaming, I prefer peeling sweet potatoes first and then cooking.
Leaving the skin on would be fine, but the texture of the sweet potato mash would be more lumpy and have extra bits in it.
Recipe Overview
Flavour/Texture: Our mashed sweet potatoes are savoury, buttery and garlicky! No added sweetness, as sweet potatoes are sweet enough.
I also prefer my sweet potato mash a little more chunky in texture, but that is a personal preference, so you can mash or blend until your desired consistency. Or try our whipped sweet potatoes for a super smooth recipe.
Ease: A very simple side dish recipe that only requires you to cook, mash and season sweet potatoes.
Time: It takes approximately 30 minutes to prepare this side dish. Time may vary depending on how smooth you would like your sweet potato mash.
Ingredients
These are the ingredients you need in savoury mashed sweet potato:
Sweet potatoes: Choose firm, sweet potatoes. Size doesn’t matter so much as you are cutting them into cubes.
Butter: Mashed potatoes are not really complete without quality butter! Leave at room temperature to help with stirring into mashed sweet potatoes.
Garlic: I love a good kick of garlic in potato mash but do finely chop or mince as no one wants a large chunk of garlic in their bite.
Sour Cream: This is to help balance the natural sweetness of sweet potato and help cut through the richness of added butter.
Parsley: For colour and a hint of aromatic freshness to the dish.
Nutmeg: The warm, slightly sweet, and highly aromatic flavour of nutmeg is a natural pairing with sweet potatoes. You don’t need to add much, just a pinch for earthy nuances to the overall taste.
Variations and Substitutions
Substitute for sour cream: You can replace sour cream with cream, milk, creme fraiche or Greek yoghurt. Or even a combination. Using full cream or milk will produce a creamier and rich side dish. Greek yoghurt will be more tangy, so you may want to adjust the quantity.
Vegan option: Use vegan butter, almond, or soy-based milk instead of cow butter and sour cream.
Other herbs: If you don’t have parsley on hand, use chopped fresh chives. Alternatively, sage is a popular choice to match with savoury mashed sweet potatoes. You can fry until crispy and add to top as garnish.
Dried seasoning: Fresh herbs add both flavour and colour to this recipe. However, dried herbs such as parsley, rosemary, or onion and garlic powder can also be used for seasoning.
Instructions
Step by step instructions for how to make mashed sweet potatoes:
Cut sweet potatoes into small cubes.
Place in a large pot and cover with water. Boil until sweet potatoes are soft and fork tender. This will take approximately 10-15 minutes.
Drain water from cooked sweet potatoes. Make sure there is no excess water in the pot.
Start mashing sweet potatoes with potato masher until desired consistency.
Whilst still hot, add butter and minced garlic to sweet potatoes. Mix into mashed sweet potatoes.
Add sour cream to mixture and stir in.
Season mashed sweet potatoes with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
Scatter with chopped parsley.
Stir everything in to make sure all seasoning is combined well with mashed sweet potatoes.
Scoop mashed sweet potatoes into serving dish.
Finish with a little sour cream and chopped parsley to serve. Optional to drizzle with extra virgin olive oil on top.
How to Make This Recipe Perfectly (Expert Tips)
Balance flavours: This recipe allows flexibility in adjusting the savoury flavours of the sweet potato mash. For a butterier and creamier texture, add more butter. Alternatively, consider a half-half combination of cream and sour cream in the dairy mixture.
Cut sweet potato into smaller cubes: Doing so ensures even cooking and makes the mashing process easier.
Mashed potatoes consistency: The desired consistency of mashed sweet potatoes varies by individual preference. Use an immersion blender or food processor for a smoother consistency with fewer lumps.
Great Mains for This Side Dish
What to serve with mashed sweet potatoes? Try these delicious main dish recipes:
These mashed sweet potatoes are the perfect side dish for the holidays. Here are some wonderful Thanksgiving recipes that would make such a great accompaniment.
Try this slow roasted turkey roulade (thanksgiving turkey roll) and cranberry cream cheese stuffed flank steak. For a vegetarian thanksgiving, you have to make this vegetarian wellington absolutely delicious!
Frequently Asked Questions
In certain parts of the world, the terms “yams” and “sweet potatoes” are often used interchangeably, leading to some confusion about whether they can be substituted for each other.
Technically, yams and sweet potatoes are distinct types of plants. Yams possess rough, dark brown, bark-like skin and are generally less sweet and more starchy than sweet potatoes. In contrast, sweet potatoes have smoother skin and yield a softer, sweeter flesh when cooked.
As I don’t frequently cook with yams, I cannot guarantee that the flavour and texture will be identical when substituting them in this mashed sweet potato recipe.
Yes, you can prepare savoury sweet potato mash ahead of time, especially if you have many other dishes to prepare for a dinner party or holiday celebrations.
Reheat mashed sweet potatoes over stove top by adding a little milk or cream to help loosen the mixture. Or place in a microwave-safe dish and reheat in microwave, stirring in between 1 minute increments. Do be careful with popping heat pockets when reheating in microwave.
Yes, you can freeze mashed sweet potatoes for up to 3 months in an airtight container.
Simple, comforting and absolutely delicious, mashed sweet potatoes are so easy to make with all the buttery, creamy and savoury goodness. I love it during the holiday season, but it is definitely one to serve all year round.
That’s all!
More Vegetarian Side Dishes
Recipe
Mashed Sweet Potatoes [Savoury Recipe]
Ingredients
Click on the toggle below for conversion to US Cooking Units.
Instructions
- Cut sweet potatoes into small cubes.
- Place sweet potato cubes in a large pot and cover with water. Boil until sweet potatoes are soft and fork tender. This will take approximately 10-15 minutes.
- Drain water from cooked sweet potatoes. Make sure there is no excess water in the pot.
- Start mashing sweet potatoes until desired consistency.
- Whilst still hot, add butter and minced garlic to sweet potato mash. Mix in.
- Add sour cream to mixture and stir in.
- Season mashed sweet potatoes with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
- Scatter with chopped parsley.
- Stir everything in to make sure all seasoning is combined well with mashed sweet potatoes.
- Scoop mashed sweet potatoes into serving dish.
- Finish with a little sour cream and chopped parsley to serve. Optional to drizzle with extra virgin olive oil on top.
- Serve hot.
Notes
- You can replace sour cream with cream, milk, creme fraiche or Greek yoghurt. Or even a combination.
- Use vegan butter, almond, or soy-based milk instead of cow butter and sour cream for vegan sweet potato mash.
- If you don’t have parsley on hand, use chopped fresh chives. Alternatively, sage is a popular choice to match with savoury mashed sweet potatoes. You can fry until crispy and add to top as garnish.
- Substitute fresh parsley, if unavailable, with dried herbs like parsley, rosemary, onion, and garlic powder for seasoning.
- Adjust the flavour according to taste. For a butterier and creamier texture, add more butter. Alternatively, consider a half-half combination of cream and sour cream in the dairy mixture.
- Use an immersion blender or food processor for a smoother consistency with fewer lumps.
Nutrition
*Disclaimer: Nutritional information provided is an estimate only and generated by an online calculator.
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