Mashed Sweet Potatoes With Maple and Brown Butter Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you make Ina Garten mashed sweet potatoes? ›

Place the sweet potato meat into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and add the orange juice, cream, butter, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Mix together until combined but not smooth and transfer to a baking dish. Bake the potatoes for 20 to 30 minutes, until heated through.

Despite their sweet taste, these potatoes have an intermediate glycemic index (GI) level, meaning they are digested and absorbed fairly slowly, leading to a more gradual increase in blood sugar levels. But, a lot of these benefits, including nutrients and taste, can be lost by boiling sweet potatoes.

The cold water bath helps rinse the starch off the sweet potatoes so they're a bit more crispy. That said, if you do not have the time, you can still get crispy baked sweet potato fries by using high heat and a little drizzle of olive oil.

Boil the sweet potatoes in a large stockpot until soft, about 25 minutes; drain. When cool enough to handle, peel the potatoes and transfer them to a large bowl. While the potatoes are still warm, add the butter, cream, agave, cinnamon and salt, and mash until smooth. Sprinkle with the orange zest.

There is not much difference between boiling sweet potatoes with the skins on versus peeling them, but you will get a boost of fiber and potassium if you keep the skin on. The skin also adds a subtle texture to each bite. If you're looking for a smoother mash, peel the potatoes first before boiling.

Boiling may theoretically be best, but sweet potatoes are so incredibly healthy that the actual best way to prepare them is whichever way will get you to eat the most of them! The exception is deep frying, which can lead to the formation of acrylamide, a potential human carcinogen.

Boiling sweet potatoes retains more beta-carotene and makes the nutrient more absorbable than other cooking methods such as baking or frying. Up to 92% of the nutrient can be retained by limiting the cook time, such as boiling in a pot with a tightly covered lid for 20 minutes.

Sweet potatoes contain high amounts of oxalates that may increase the risk of calcium-oxalate kidney stones. Sweet potatoes contain beta-carotene, and their excessive consumption can lead to hypervitaminosis A (vitamin A toxicity), in which excess vitamin A accumulates in the liver.

And, if you're worried about nutrients. Don't. All foods lose some of their nutritional value once they've been cooked. But, microwaved sweet potatoes actually retain more of their nutrients as opposed to boiled sweet potatoes.

What pairs well with sweet potatoes? ›

If you're serving your oven baked sweet potatoes as a side dish, pair them with your favorite protein or vegetarian chili. For a topping, stick to butter, Greek yogurt, or sour cream, or try adding a dollop of cilantro lime dressing, tzatziki, chipotle sauce, pesto, guacamole, or a drizzle of tahini sauce.

They're dirty! Washing the sweet potatoes not only eliminates actual particles of dirt, but it also introduces some moisture to the skin, which prevents it from turning tough or leathery in the high heat of the oven.

When sweet potatoes are boiled, the temperature doesn't get above 100°C, so this flavour development doesn't happen. The breakdown of starch into simple sugars during baking also helps by creating more substrates for these reactions, leading to a more fragrant and flavoursome result.

The secret weapon, a good potato ricer (affiliate). This pushes the potatoes into strings, which helps them soak up every bit of the cream and achieve maximum fluffliness.

How Do I Make Sure My Mashed Sweet Potatoes are Not Watery? To make sure your potatoes aren't watery, don't overcook the potatoes. It's also important to drain the potatoes completely once you're done boiling them to avoid having unwanted water lingering in your pot.

I was never a huge fan of mashed sweet potatoes until I discovered a technique from Cook's Illustrated. They simmer the potatoes right in the cream rather than boiling them in water. This is a complete game changer to say the least! Instead of a watery mash, you end up with an ultra creamy texture guaranteed to please.

Sweet potatoes are often touted as being healthier than white potatoes, but in reality, both types can be highly nutritious. While regular and sweet potatoes are comparable in their calorie, protein, and carb content, white potatoes provide more potassium, whereas sweet potatoes are incredibly high in vitamin A.