This roasted sweet potato puree recipe is silky smooth, simple to make, and so good! It's full of nutrients and flavor and the base for many of my family's favorite recipes year-round (especially during the Thanksgiving season), so I always try to have it on deck. Let me show you how to make it in three easy steps.
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my sweet potato simple syrup, too!
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Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes (also known as yams in the United States) are a type of root vegetable known as tubers, which grow underground and store nutrients that help the surface part of the plant survive through the winter. This means they are full of essential nutrients like vitamins A, B, and C, potassium, antioxidants, and fiber! (WebMD)
Because of their nutritional content, sweet potatoes support many several elements of overall health. This humble lil' veggie is great for gut health, promoting healthy digestion, blood sugar management, and weight management with four grams of fiber in each cup. (BBC GoodFood)
❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
Quick and Easy - This is an easy, beginner-friendly sweet potato mash recipe that is largely hands off so you can incorporate into your weekly meal prep routine or even make large batches to freeze for later. I've gotchu covered with several options to make it with or without kitchen appliances below.
Versatile - My method for making puree of sweet potato produces a perfectly smooth and creamy texture you'll want to eat by the spoonful. But don't stop there! The possibilities are endless for how to enjoy--from breakfast to dessert, for baby, and even for dogs.
I'm a sweet potato fiend so I have plenty more sweet potato recipes for you to add to your menu, like my cozy sweet potato chorizo soup, sweet potatoes gratin side dish, and Tex-Mex stuffed sweet potatoes!
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Sweet Potatoes are all you need for this pure sweet potato puree recipe! Use red or orange-fleshed sweet potatoes like Jewel or Garnet varieties or purple, yellow or white sweet potatoes depending on what's available and what you like.
No fillers or flavorings are needed but you can add other veggies, herbs, and spices to this mashed sweet potato recipe, if you like--and I have a few ideas to get you started just below.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Spices - Sweet potatoes have a naturally sweet and earthy flavor that is complemented by sweet warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. But it also takes on savory, smoky, and spicy tastes well so I love to mix in smoked paprika, cayenne, onion and garlic powder, too. There's lots of room to make it your own--even with just salt and pepper!
Other Vegetables - Mix in other root veg like carrots or gourds like pumpkin or squash, including zucchini, to add different flavors, colors, and nutrients. This works particularly well for baby food, which is why many moms like sweet potato for baby-led weaning.
No Bake - I prefer to roast sweet potatoes for deeper flavor but you can also boil them to achieve the soft texture needed for mashing or pureeing. How to boil sweet potatoes for puree: peel and cut into sweet potato chunks then place in a pot on the stove top, cover with water, and boil until fork tender.
My savory mashed sweet potatoes are a jazzed up version of this recipe that makes for a fabulous side dish!
How to Make Sweet Potato Puree
- Step 1: Carefully prick the sweet potatoes all over with a fork or knife.
- Step 2: Roast sweet potatoes in the oven until tender then peel, once they're safe to handle.
Pro Tip #1
Pricking the sweet potatoes helps them release liquid in the form of steam as they bake. And for this reason, the potatoes shrink a little bit during the process. So you'll notice that roasted potatoes have wrinkly looking skin. This winds up making them very easy to peel!
- Step 3: Run the sweet potato flesh through a food processor or blender until smooth. (See the recipe card for instructions on how to mash it by hand with a spatula.)
Pro Tip #2
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and re-process as needed to get the consistency you want. Making sweet potato puree in a food processor is the best way to get rid of those pesky sweet potato strings and get it super smooth.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store cooked sweet potato puree in an airtight container and refrigerate. It keeps for up to one week in the refrigerator; however, since babies are typically more sensitive, it's generally recommended to use within three days for baby food.
Yes! Frozen sweet potato puree lasts for up to three months in the freezer. I recommend flash freezing it in ice cube trays or Souper Cubes, then transferring to an airtight container for easier portioning later.
How to Use Sweet Potato Puree
Sweet potato puree is great for baking. It's the star ingredient in my bourbon sweet potato pie and sweet potato pecan pie. And it's perfection in sweet potato bread pudding, sweet potato dessert bars, praline sweet potato cake, sweet potato thumbprint cookies, or spiced sweet potato muffins!
And it tastes great warm or chilled, which is why my sweet potato cheesecake and sweet potato pie ice cream are must-try fall desserts. And it's the base for my brown sugar sweet potato syrup for drinks, too.
Wondering what to do with sweet potato puree beyond desserts? At breakfast time, you can spread it on toast or mix it into your oatmeal or sweet potato grits, or even better, whip up a sweet potato protein smoothie or make my sweet potato baked oatmeal recipe using sweet potato puree ahead of time for easy breezy mornings.
For dinner, this sweet potato mash is a great side dish or can be part of the main dish. My family loves it in sweet potato dinner rolls. Here are a few of my favorite ways to use it for soup and much more!
I hope you'll enjoy this DIY sweet potato puree soon and very soon. And sharing is caring so be sure to pin this recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
Roasted Sweet Potato Puree
Equipment
- 1 fork
- 1 Food Processor or blender
- 1 mix and mash spatula optional
Ingredients
- 1 pound sweet potatoes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Gently scrub or wipe the sweet potatoes, if necessary, then prick holes all over the skin using a fork or knife.1 pound sweet potatoes
- Place sweet potatoes on sheet pan then into oven to roast for about 45 minutes or until skin is wrinkled and flesh is tender.
- Allow sweet potatoes to cool briefly until safe to handle then peel and place them into a food processor or blender and pulse until smooth, pausing and scraping down the sides of the bowl, as needed.
- To make the puree by hand, use spatula, potato masher or kitchen spoon to press and mash the sweet potatoes to your desired texture.
Notes
- Peel and cut the yams into chunks.
- Place in a pot on the stove top, cover with water, and boil until fork tender.
- Proceed with processing the sweet potatoes into puree per recipe instructions.
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