Boiled Sweet Potatoes

Boiled vegetables often get a bad rap for being bland or water-logged, but when done right, boiling can be one of the best methods for cooking vegetables. Corn on the cob, artichokes and broccoli are some of my favorite veggies to boil, but boiled sweet potatoes really take the cake. Boiling is an efficient way to cook sweet potatoes, and one that brings out the root vegetable’s inherent sweetness and velvety texture.

You can boil sweet potatoes whole with the peel intact, but it’s easier to peel, dice and boil them because it takes a fraction of the time (keep the size consistent so they cook evenly). Top the sweet potatoes with butter and serve straight from the pot, or make mashed sweet potatoes with some orange juice and spice. Boiled sweet potatoes are also a building block for many sweet potato recipes, including sides, desserts, breakfast treats and more.

Ingredients for Boiled Sweet Potatoes

• Sweet potatoes: Sweet potatoes and yams are easily confused and often mislabeled at the grocery store. It’s important to use sweet potatoes and not yams, which are much starchier. Look for soft sweet potato varieties with pink or dark reddish skin and bright orange flesh, like the Beauregard variety. You can also boil jewel, garnet or purple sweet potatoes, but they have slightly drier flesh that stays more intact, making them ideal for stews and stews.
• Salt: A touch of salt is all you need to balance out the sweet potato’s natural sweetness.
• Optional additions: A pat of butter goes perfectly on a bed of warm mashed sweet potatoes, along with fresh, chopped parsley and a dash of salt and pepper.

Directions

Step 1: Boil the sweet potatoes

Josh Rink for Taste of Home

Place the peeled and cubed potatoes in a Dutch oven or stock pot, then cover them with water.

Josh Rink for Taste of Home

Add the salt, stir, then bring the water to a boil. Reduce it to a simmer.

Josh Rink for Taste of Home

Cover the pot and cook until the sweet potatoes are fork-tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes. Serve them topped with butter, parsley, pepper and additional salt, if desired.

Josh Rink for Taste of Home

Boiled Sweet Potatoes Variations

• Mash ’em: Other than serving them straight from the pot, the easiest way to serve boiled sweet potatoes is to mash them with milk or cream, butter, salt and pepper. Orange juice is another option that can add some sweet acidity.
• Make sweet potato waffles: Add boiled sweet potatoes to your waffle batter to make sweet potato waffles. It gives them an earthy, sweet flavor and a deep orange color.
• Top them with marshmallows: I can’t think about boiled sweet potatoes without thinking of sweet potato casserole, the classic Thanksgiving dish of mashed sweet potatoes that’s often topped with toasted marshmallows. It’s delicious any time of year! You can create other versions, too, like this maple miso sweet potato casserole.
• Make a pie: Boiled sweet potatoes are the main ingredient in sweet potato pie.
• Bake biscuits: Make sweet potato biscuits with boiled sweet potatoes and just a few other ingredients. Don’t forget to serve them with the sweet honey butter!

How to Store Boiled Sweet Potatoes

Leftover boiled sweet potatoes can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days.

Can you freeze boiled sweet potatoes?

You can freeze boiled sweet potatoes once they’re either cubed or mashed. To freeze cubed boiled sweet potatoes, allow them to cool, then spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer. Once they’re frozen solid, place them in a freezer-safe airtight container or zip-top bag. If mashed, freeze them in a zip-top bag, pressing out all the air so the bag lays flat. You can also add mashed boiled sweet potatoes to ice cube trays and freeze them, placing the cubes in a container or bag once frozen solid. Boiled sweet potatoes will last for up to three months in the freezer.

Boiled Sweet Potatoes Tips

Josh Rink for Taste of Home

Can you boil whole sweet potatoes?

You can boil whole sweet potatoes, but they will take longer to cook than cubed sweet potatoes. Cutting them into evenly sized pieces will also ensure that they cook evenly.

What’s the best way to peel sweet potatoes?

Peel your sweet potatoes with a vegetable peeler before cubing them. If you prefer to eat the skin, you can just leave it on and mash it up with the sweet, orange flesh.

How long should you boil sweet potatoes?

Boiling cubed sweet potatoes takes about 10 to 15 minutes. If you plan to cook whole potatoes, they will take even longer. They’re not done until a fork can easily run through the flesh of the sweet potato. But you don’t want them to become too mushy, or they’ll fall apart (though they will make excellent mashed sweet potatoes!).

What else can you serve with boiled sweet potatoes?

These make a great side dish for meaty mains like pork schnitzel or roast chicken. Of course, they’re a perfect accompaniment to roast turkey and other Thanksgiving recipes. If you want to get fancy, serve the mashed sweet potatoes as a bed for some freshly seared scallops or sliced duck breasts with crispy skin.