17 Must-Try Sweet Potato Recipes to Include in Your Fall Menu (2024)

FAQs

What goes 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.

Pair sweet potatoes with a lean protein source such as chicken or seafood to help slow the absorption of carbohydrates in the body. Sweet potatoes are typically harvested in late August to early November. They're available in stores year-round, but are most flavorful in late fall and winter months.

Browning butter packs in tons of flavor, without dulling the sweet potatoes. Slow-roasting the sweet potatoes activates endogenous enzymes that bring out their natural sweetness. A touch of maple syrup, butter, and a bit of chopped thyme are the only embellishments these naturally sweet sweet potatoes need.

That said, a plain sweet potato on its own is not enough for a meal. But Jones says it can make a fantastic base for a healthy, easy dinner. "Often I recommend clients bake their sweet potatoes as a part of food prep on the weekend and then they can slice open length-wise and quickly reheat during the week," she says.

Sweetpotatoes tend to pair nicely with pork, pork chops and other pork dishes. This sheet pan pork chops and sweetpotatoes are a favorite! Whether you're looking for color to complement the plate, or a sweet, chewy texture for the pork chops to blend with, sweetpotatoes are a natural option.

Beauregard sweet potatoes are the most common variety in the U.S. If you see potatoes labeled only "sweet potatoes," they are likely Beauregards. These potatoes have dark reddish-purple skin and deep orange flesh and tend to be quite large.

First, give it a squeeze. It'll be firm if it's fresh, and mushy if it's not. Other signs to check for are discoloration, shriveled skin, black or brown spots, and suspicious odors. And if your sweet potato is moldy or leaking juices, it's definitely over the hill.

Yams and sweet potatoes differ in flavor and appearance, and they are not related. Sweet potatoes are in the morning glory family, while yams belong to the lily family. Yams aren't as sweet as sweet potatoes, and they are starchier and drier. Their texture and flavor are more similar to potatoes or yuca.

"Sweet potatoes have high fibre content and anti-inflammatory properties. Diabetics can consume it in boiled or roasted form with the skin," she added.

Is it better to boil or bake sweet potatoes? ›

Therefore, from a nutritional standpoint, boiling rather than baking should be recommended for cooking sweet potato. 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!

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.

Yes, you can eat sweet potato skin, whether it's an orange, white or purple sweet potato. So the next time you make sweet potatoes, try keeping the skin on. Not only will it save you prep time and add a textural component to the dish, but there are also nutritional benefits to leaving the peel on.

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.

For the most weight loss-friendly version, boil sweet potatoes for 30 minutes and enjoy with herbs, spices, hot sauce, a little Parmesan, or garlic. Keep in mind that eating too much of any food — nutritious or not — can contribute to weight gain.

If you enjoy sweet potatoes, you can absolutely enjoy them daily. However, eating multiple sweet potatoes every day could cause a harmless condition called carotenodermia, where your skin turns yellow-orange. You may also want to be cautious about your sweet potato intake if you have a history of kidney stones.

I love them microwaved by themselves with a side of canned tuna mixed with mayo and jarred jalapeno. The sweetness of the potato with the heat of the pepper and the creaminess of the mayo tuna is very nice. Put some goat cheese in that baked sweet potato. Yum!