Side Dishes

Favorite Sweet Potato Recipes

From traditional pies and casseroles to more offbeat dishes, these sweet potato recipes showcase a root vegetable with big flavor and nutritional punch.

By Yankee Magazine|Aug 02 2017| Print icon

Sweet Potato Recipes

Credit: Heath Robbins
Like most root vegetables, sweet potatoes are a pretty humble-looking food. But open them up and you’ll typically find beautiful sunset-colored flesh that, when cooked, delivers a deeply satisfying caramelized-sugary flavor. Plus, together with the skin, it’s chock-full of nutrients: Sweet potatoes are high in beta carotene and are a good source of potassium, fiber, and vitamins A and C. Still, truth be told, we love them best for the way they taste — especially in the collection of standout sweet potato recipes below.

FAVORITE SWEET POTATO RECIPES

Sweet Potato Corn Chowder

Sweet Potato Corn Chowder

Credit: Seavey, Aimee
Sweet Potato Corn Chowder | Favorite Sweet Potato Recipes
Credit: Seavey, Aimee

Sweet Potato Corn Chowder

The tasty simplicity of Shaker cooking comes through in this recipe for sweet potato corn chowder from Jeff Paige, former chef at New Hampshire’s Canterbury Shaker Village and now chef-owner of the acclaimed Manchester restaurant Cotton. Alongside such traditional ingredients as bacon, corn, and potatoes, the sweet potatoes add a colorful, flavorful twist.
Corn & Sweet Potato Chowder from Metro Bis

Corn & Sweet Potato Chowder from Metro Bis

Credit: Kristin Teig
Corn & Sweet Potato Chowder | Favorite Sweet Potato Recipes
Credit: Kristin Teig

Corn & Sweet Potato Chowder

When made with fresh-picked corn at the height of the season, the corn cob–based broth at the heart of this sweet potato chowder is so sweet “you want to bathe in it,” says chef Christopher Prosperi. He offers this recipe from the kitchen of Metro Bis, the modern bistro he opened in Simsbury, Connecticut, in 1998. The bistro moved into the upscale Simsbury 1820 House bed-and-breakfast in 2013, bringing together historical charm and culinary invention.
Lobster and Sweet-Potato Soup With Blue Hominy, Sweet Red Pepper, and Jicama

Lobster and Sweet-Potato Soup With Blue Hominy, Sweet Red Pepper, and Jicama

Credit: Sadie Dayton
Lobster and Sweet Potato Soup | Favorite Sweet Potato Recipes
Credit: Sadie Dayton

Lobster and Sweet Potato Soup

For a third and final sweet potato soup option, we love this rich lobster bisque–inspired recipe. Chipotle peppers and ground ancho chili pepper are guaranteed to get your taste buds tingling, making this a great cold-weather warm-up.
Sweet-Potatoes-Yankee

Crispy Caramelized Sweet Potatoes

Credit: Elizabeth Cecil
Crispy Caramelized Sweet Potatoes | Favorite Sweet Potato Recipes
Credit: Elizabeth Cecil

Crispy Caramelized Sweet Potatoes

While they play well with other ingredients in soups, main dishes, and desserts, sweet potatoes definitely can shine on their own as a hearty side dish. Make these caramelized sweet potatoes —which have the extra benefit of being gorgeous to look at — for your family’s next holiday meal, and watch how fast they disappear.

Maple & Cider–Glazed Sweet Potatoes

Maple & Cider–Glazed Sweet Potatoes

Credit: Heath Robbins
Maple & Cider–Glazed Sweet Potatoes | Favorite Sweet Potato Recipes
Credit: Heath Robbins

Maple & Cider–Glazed Sweet Potatoes

Bringing together two signature New England flavors, maple and cider, this recipe has roots that go back to a 1939 Yankee story on Vermont maple culture. Decades later, that culture is still going strong; we think this sweet-tangy dish (with just the right amount of crunch) will likewise stand the test of time.
Chai-Spiced Sweet Potatoes

Chai-Spiced Sweet Potatoes

Credit: Heath Robbins
Chai-Spiced Sweet Potatoes | Favorite Sweet Potato Recipes
Credit: Heath Robbins

Chai-Spiced Sweet Potatoes

Cooks who are always on the lookout for something new to try will love this one. Sweet potatoes provide the heft; Indian spices provide the uplift. The potatoes cook to tender perfection in a sauce made from black chai tea and further enriched with ground cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and black pepper.
Bourbon-Sweet Potato Casserole

Bourbon-Sweet Potato Casserole

Credit: Heath Robbins
Bourbon–Sweet Potato Casserole | Favorite Sweet Potato Recipes
Credit: Heath Robbins

Bourbon–Sweet Potato Casserole

You already know the magic that streusel — that sweet, crumbly topping — can add to things like apple pies and coffee cakes. But you’ll find it also makes a terrific finishing touch for a baked sweet potato purée, especially when chopped pecans give a nutty counterbalance to the brown sugar and cinnamon. Plus: bourbon!

Sweet Potato Gratin with Maple Butter

Make-ahead recipes are essential in meal planning for holidays or other big family get-togethers. This creamy sweet potato gratin, which is elevated by rich maple butter, can be assembled several hours ahead of time and stashed in the refrigerator till you’re ready to bake.
Sweet Potato, Beet & Chèvre Galette

Sweet Potato, Beet & Chevre Galette

Credit: Hornick/Rivlin
Sweet Potato, Beet & Chèvre Galette | Favorite Sweet Potato Recipes
Credit: Hornick/Rivlin

Sweet Potato, Beet & Chèvre Galette

Call it a galette, call it a crostata, call it a pie without pressure — this rustic, free-form pastry is fun to make and impressive to behold. Roasted sweet potatoes and beets make a bed of vegetable-y goodness that’s wrapped in homemade dough, topped with goat cheese, and baked to crusty golden perfection.
Apple & Sweet Potato Pancakes (Latkes)

Sweet Potato Apple Latkes

Credit: Squire Fox
Apple & Sweet Potato Latkes | Favorite Sweet Potato Recipes
Credit: Squire Fox

Apple & Sweet Potato Latkes

This recipe comes from the kitchen of Yankee’s own food editor, Amy Traverso, who makes latkes for her family’s Hanukkah party each year. It showcases her encyclopedic knowledge of all things apple (she did write The Apple Lover’s Cookbook, after all!) and includes her recommendations on which varieties to use. Along with the latke recipe you’ll find a link to Amy’s classic applesauce recipe, good for eating all year round.
Sweet Potato Pound Cake
Credit: Judy Eramo
Sweet Potato Pound Cake | Favorite Sweet Potato Recipes
Credit: Judy Eramo

Sweet Potato Pound Cake

Move over, zucchini bread and carrot cake. This tender, faintly spicy sweet potato cake epitomizes what a vegetable cake can be. It’s been dubbed “ridiculously delicious” by one of our readers, Judy Eramo, who took the photograph above. Her version takes the recipe up a notch with a simple but elegant white glaze (which also helped the topping of pecans stay in place!).

Southern Sweet Potato Pie

It’s no surprise that one of the most delectable desserts in our round-up has Southern roots. As tropical vegetables, sweet potatoes thrive in the long, hot summers of places like North Carolina, the No. 1 grower in the nation. Though you can use a store-bought pie shell and canned sweet potatoes if you like, we think you’ll find that putting the extra effort into a homemade shell and fresh mashed sweet potatoes will pay seriously sweet dividends.
sweet potato pie recipe
Credit: Keller + Keller
Orange-Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie | Favorite Sweet Potato Recipes
Credit: Keller + Keller

Orange-Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie

As the finale to our collection of sweet potato recipes, we offer this twist on the traditional sweet potato casserole with marshmallow topping. Here, the fluffiness is baked right into the pie. How? A meringue that you fold in before baking. With bourbon for depth and orange zest for, well, zestiness, the result is airy, moist, and delicious. What are your favorite sweet potato recipes?

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  1. Please tell me the correct amount of Bourbon for the recipe Bourbon Sweet Potato Casserole with Streusel Topping?

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