Why not try these mashed sweet potatoes this holiday season? They're loaded with butter, fresh herbs and maple syrup, perfect along with your Thanksgiving turkey!
I don't think the humble sweet potato gets enough love all year long. Usually they only become popular around the holidays, but they're just an all round awesome vegetable.
There's many ways to cook them from roasting them with chunks of tempeh to making the creamiest sweet potato chowder. You can even buy sweet potato fries or chips!
For this recipe though, my sweet potatoes just needed to be boiled. I wanted to create a really creamy mashed potato side dish that is packed with flavor and I think I nailed it!
I'll warn you up front, these are not point friendly, they're full of butter, cream and maple syrup but the holidays deserve something special like this sweet potato mash. It's not a dish you'd eat everyday although after you taste them, you never know.
Making this sweet potato mash.
The potatoes are simply boiled so that means you'll also need to peel them. Sweet potatoes are usually very large and this recipe calls for two pounds which might sound like a lot but it's only about two large potatoes.
If you're making my sweet potato mash for the holidays, you might want to double or even triple the recipe, they're that good! Because the potatoes are on the larger side, after peeling you can cut them in half or even thirds.
This will help cook them mush faster than if they were still whole.
How do I know when my potatoes have boiled long enough?
The best way to check is to pierce each chunk of sweet potato with something pointed and sharp. A skewer or any thin knife work well.
You should be able to easily pierce the sweet potato with little resistance and the skewer should also release from the sweet potato easily too. If not, add another few minutes cooking time but don't go too long or you'll see the sweet potato begin to break down and mix with the water.
We don't want that to happen.
Mashing your sweet potatoes.
My personal preference for any mashed potato is that the creamier and less lumpy they are, the better! You can definitely mash them with a fork or a masher but you'll still have some lumps compared to if you used your stand mixer and whipped them on high speed as you add the remaining ingredients.
That method takes a few extra steps but the final sweet potatoes are amazing!
What are the best toppings for my sweet potatoes?
You'll see many choices on this topic, even marshmallows which I can see why, because both sweet and savory flavors do really well with sweet potato. I just can't imagine laying down marshmallows on my regular mashed potatoes, can you?
Also fresh herbs really work well like rosemary, thyme and oregano. Lastly Thanksgiving and the holidays wouldn't be complete without real maple syrup.
Adding it to the sweet potatoes almost turns it from a savory side dish to a dessert and don't forget those toasted crunchy chopped pecans. I can't wait for Thanksgiving and heaping a huge spoonful of these potatoes onto my plate!
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