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    Home » Recipes » Vegetables & Side Dishes

    Easy Rosemary Mashed Sweet Potatoes Recipe

    Published: Oct 30, 2011 · Modified: Mar 18, 2022 by Sally Cameron · This post may contain affiliate links · 17 Comments

    715 shares
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Sweet potatoes are a powerhouse root vegetable packed with flavor and nutrition. Skip the marshmallows, brown sugar or maple syrup. Simply simmer until tender, drain, mash and add a little butter or olive oil with fresh chopped rosemary. Rosemary mashed sweet potatoes make a healthy side dish any time of the year.

    Bright orange rosemary mashed sweet potatoes.
    Mashed Sweet Potato recipe

    Don't you love simple recipes? This is easy as peel, chop, simmer and whip. Whipping softly cooked sweet potatoes makes this dish creamy without cream, but you can certainly add some warmed heavy cream or half and half for a holiday indulgence.

    To make it vegan or dairy-free, use olive oil or plant-based butter.

    Jump to:
    • Sweet Potatoes or Yams?
    • Benefit of Sweet Potatoes
    • Instructions
    • Tools
    • How to Cut Up Sweet Potatoes
    • Make Head and Re-Heat
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    Sweet Potatoes or Yams?

    Sweet potatoes or yams? While many people use the term interchangeably, sweet potatoes and yams are two different root vegetables. What we buy here in the US are really sweet potatoes, not yams, so I am told. True yams do not grow in the US. More starchy and less sweet, you might find them at an ethnic grocer.

    Benefit of Sweet Potatoes

    One of the oldest vegetables known to mankind, sweet potatoes are filled with magnesium, potassium, vitamin C, iron, copper and the antioxidant beta-carotene, not to mention fiber. Sweet potatoes are a healthy carb to add to your diet. Anything with this much color is good!

    Instructions

    Peel potatoes and cut into cubes. Place them in a large pot and cover them with cold water. Add a little salt and bring them to a simmer.

    Cook until the potatoes are very soft when pierced with a sharp knife tip. With the small size of the cubes, it won’t take long. Last time I made them it was ten minutes.

    Drain, allow potatoes to steam dry for a few minutes in the hot pan, then whip with an electric hand mixer until creamy and smooth. Add a little butter or olive oil and rosemary. Sage is nice too.

    Season with salt and pepper and serve. If you’d like more of a garnish, chopped, toasted pecans work perfectly.

    Tools

    All you need is a large pot, a good peeler, and a hand electric mixer. The best peeler for not just sweet potatoes but any vegetable is those inexpensive little y-peelers you can buy almost anywhere for about $4.

    Showing how to chop sweet potatoes.
    Showing how to chop sweet potatoes.

    How to Cut Up Sweet Potatoes

    Large, long and rounded with pointy ends, sweet potatoes can be a challenge to safely cut up for cooking. Here's how to handle them while staying safe:

    • First peel
    • Cut them in half across the middle for a more manageable size
    • Cut a slice off the long side to give you a flat edge
    • Lay the sweet potato flat on your cutting board for stability
    • Cut those pieces into long planks about a 1” wide
    • Cut the planks into  1" pieces
    Mashing cooked sweet potatoes with butter and rosemary.
    Mashing cooked sweet potatoes with butter and rosemary.

    Make Head and Re-Heat

    Make mashed sweet potatoes a day or two ahead and refrigerate until the day of serving. Get them out of the refrigerator to get the chill off. Re-heat in the oven or on the stove top over low, stirring occasionally so they do not burn or stick on the bottom. They might need a little more milk or butter to loosen up.

    Leftovers keep for up to 4 days.

    📖 Recipe

    mashed sweet potatoes | AFoodCentricLife.com

    Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Rosemary

    Sally Cameron
    Sweet potatoes are a powerhouse vegetable packed with flavor and nutrition. Skip the marshmallows, brown sugar or maple syrup. They don’t need it. Simply simmer until tender, then drain, mash and add a little butter or olive oil. Fresh chopped rosemary is a nice addition. Mashed sweet potatoes make a healthy side dish any time of the year. 
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 minutes mins
    Cook Time 20 minutes mins
    Total Time 30 minutes mins
    Course Side Dish
    Cuisine American
    Servings 6
    Calories 183 kcal

    Equipment

    • Hand mixer

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 pounds sweet potatoes
    • 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
    • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or fresh thyme
    • 1-2 tablespoons chopped toasted pecans garnish, optional

    Instructions
     

    Peel Potatoes and Chop

    • Peel sweet potatoes. If they are large, cut them in half crosswise to make them more manageable. Trim a piece from the long side of the sweet potato to create a flat surface. Place the flat surface on the cutting board for stability and cut the potato into planks about 1″ in width. Then cut the planks into the same size diced potatoes.

    Simmer Potatoes

    • Place the potatoes into a medium saucepan or pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Turn down if needed once the potatoes are cooking. You don’t want to boil them (they will fall apart). Cook until the potatoes are very soft when pierced with a sharp knife tip.

    Drain and Mash or Whip

    • Drain the potatoes and place them back in the pan on the warm (but turned off) burner for a few minutes.This will steam off excess moisture. Mash the potatoes with an electric handheld mixer or an immersion blender with the whip attachment. Add butter or olive oil and rosemary. Serve warm.

    Notes

    To save time, make the sweet potatoes a day ahead and warm before serving. To heat, place the sweet potatoes in a medium glass or stainless steel bowl over a pan with simmering water. Cover with foil and heat until hot, stirring occasionally. Alternatively place in a warm oven.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 183kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 3gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 83mgPotassium: 516mgFiber: 5gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 21460IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 45mgIron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Erin says

      December 23, 2013 at 7:17 pm

      The fresh rosemary is wonderful!

      Thanks for this recipe. Quick, simple and so delicious! I'll make it often.

      Reply
    2. Brandi Koskie says

      October 05, 2012 at 7:41 am

      Hi Sally!

      We included your recipe in this week's Health Buzz round up at DietsInReview.com http://www.dietsinreview.com/diet_column/10/healthbuzz-october-5-health-care-debates-obesity-bullies-and-fall-comfort-food/

      Tried to tweet it to you but the page appears to be expired. Thanks! - BK

      Reply
      • Sally says

        October 07, 2012 at 2:43 pm

        Hi Brandi! Thanks! My twitter is @FoodCentricLife. Glad you liked the recipe.

        Reply
    3. Kirsten- The Foreign Domestic says

      July 11, 2012 at 1:15 pm

      I featured your recipe on my blog: http://www.theforeigndomestic.com/2012/07/from-your-kitchen-to-mine-recipes-91-95.html. Loved it!!

      Reply
      • Sally says

        July 11, 2012 at 1:20 pm

        Thanks Kirsten! So simple and good, not to mention good for you.

        Reply
    4. Kelly says

      December 06, 2011 at 10:00 am

      We made this dish at Thanksgiving and added about 1/4 C chopped raisins. We couldn't believe how deliciously rich they were and yet still so healthy! Our tradition used to involve marshmallows and brown sugar, but we will now have a new, healthier tradition. Thanks Sally!!

      Reply
      • Sally says

        December 06, 2011 at 10:50 am

        Great idea Kelly! Thanks for reporting back!

        Reply
    5. marla says

      November 16, 2011 at 4:35 am

      Love it!! Linking back to this today 🙂

      Reply
    6. lo says

      November 07, 2011 at 2:23 pm

      I'm such a fan of the humble sweet potato, and I'm wild about rosemary -- so you've got me with this one. I'm also always thrilled to see sweet potato recipes that allow the potatoes to stand on their own sweetness. Kudos!

      Reply
    7. Editorial Team | Healthy Aperture says

      October 31, 2011 at 7:46 am

      These look delish. We love them.

      Reply
      • Sally says

        October 31, 2011 at 11:06 am

        Thanks Healthy Aperature! Thanks for your comment. Nice to discover you. As I focus on healthy cooking, I'll begin to submit the weekly photo to your site for possible inclusion.

        Reply
    8. Carrie says

      October 31, 2011 at 6:14 am

      I love your presentation of these sweet potatoes - so pretty! The rosemary/toasted pecan combination sounds lovely.

      Reply
    9. Anna says

      October 31, 2011 at 12:21 am

      Love your trivia there about sweet potatoes. Loved these tubers even more. Energy boosting dish with vitamins and minerals too! I am sure the rosemary as spice is heavenly! Great post! Look forward to more great dishes...

      Reply
      • Sally says

        October 31, 2011 at 11:12 am

        Thanks Anna, and I enjoyed your post on Halloween trivia!

        Reply
    10. Jesica @ pencil kitchen says

      October 30, 2011 at 11:50 pm

      Healthy healthy indeed... I love sweet potatoes on its own and have never had it mashed... Something new to try 🙂

      Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. Brown Butter Coconut Mashed Sweet Potatoes Recipe: Holiday Side Dish — Family Fresh Cooking says:
      11/16/2011 at 6:10 am

      [...] Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Rosemary A Food Centric Life [...]

      Reply
    2. Lets Have Fun - Healthy Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Rosemary | Funny-Headlines.Com says:
      11/01/2011 at 1:55 pm

      [...] in Food Boards | 0 comments Go To Source (function() {var s = document.createElement('SCRIPT'), s1 = [...]

      Reply

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