Simple Whipped Sweet Potatoes Recipe

These simple whipped sweet potatoes are an easy, welcome side dish for the holidays or any day. With their natural sweetness, there's no need for marshmallows, brown sugar, or maple syrup. Their creamy texture makes them a nutrient-rich comfort food classic. Just steam the sweet potatoes until tender, drain, and whip with a little butter or olive oil. Serve them as a simple side dish or dress them up with delicious optional add-in's.

Don't you love easy recipes with simple ingredients? Whipping sweet potatoes makes them fluffy and creamy without using a potato masher or a food processor (which can make them gummy). Add some butter and seasoning and they're ready. Dress them up for a holiday meal with delicious add-ins to take them up a notch.

Jump to:

• Why You'll Like This Recipe
• Recipe Ingredients
• Substitutions and Variations
• Recipe Instructions
• Serving and Storage
• More Holiday Side Dish Recipes
• ⭐️Did You Make This Recipe?
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Why You'll Like This Recipe

• As easy as peel, chop, steam, and whip.
• Keep them simple or dress them up.
• Make them ahead and reheat for easy holiday prep.
• Sweet potatoes are super nutritious!

For another great potatoes side dish, try these air fryer red potatoes.

Recipe Ingredients

• Sweet potatoes: Go for the orange fleshed sweet potatoes with reddish skins.
• Fat of choice: Use either unsalted butter, plant butter, or extra virgin olive oil for no dairy and vegan.
• Optional garnishes: Chopped pecans, toasted or raw and a little fresh parsley.

Please see the recipe card for measurements and directions.

Chef's tip on tools. All you need is a large pot, a steamer rack, a vegetable peeler, and a hand electric mixer. The best peeler for not just sweet potatoes but any vegetable is those inexpensive y-peelers you can buy almost anywhere for about $4.

Substitutions and Variations

Try different ways of making whipped sweet potatoes with terrific add-in's such as:

• For creamier whipped sweet potatoes, add warm cream, half and half, whole milk, sour cream, creme fraiche, canned coconut milk (like cream) or almond milk (for no-dairy).
• Add extra flavor with flavored olive oil such as white truffle, blood orange, or jalapeno garlic.
• For a sweeter option, add whipped maple butter or try a little orange juice, a hint of cinnamon, and a little vanilla bean paste.
• Turn them into a sweet potato casserole by spreading whipped potatoes into a shallow buttered casserole dish and covering the top with chopped easy candied pecans or make a parmesan cheese, breadcrumb, and herb mixture for a more savory flavor.
• Drizzle a little more melted butter over the top at serving. 

Another perfect side dish for your Thanksgiving table, enjoy these buttery dutch yellow potatoes. Also simply prepared and easy to make ahead of time.

Recipe Instructions

A hand mixer works fine for a recipe to serve 4-6 people with 2-3 pounds of sweet potatoes. For a crowd-sized batch, whip sweet potatoes in the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment.

Chef's tip: Storing sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes should ideally be stored in a cool, dry, and well-ventilated area like a pantry or a cellar. Not having a cellar, I use my pantry, and store them in an open basket for air flow. Moisture and light encourage spoilage and sprouting so don't refrigerate raw sweet potatoes. Refrigeration may also change the taste and texture.

Tips for How to Cut 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 cut sweet potatoes and not cut yourself:

• Remember, flat surfaces (versus round ones) are your friend.
• Cut sweet potatoes in half across the middle for a more manageable size.
• Cut a slice off the long side to give you a flat edge for stability.
• Lay the sweet potato flat on your cutting board.
• Cut the potatoes into long planks about a ¾"-1" wide
• Lay planks flat and cut them into ¾"-1" cubes (large dice).

Chef's tip: Cooking sweet potatoes. While I used to simmer sweet potatoes until tender, my preferred method now is steaming, because steaming preserves more of the nutrition. Why? In boiling or simmering, nutrients leach into the water and are then tossed down the drain; not so with steaming. There is also less risk with water-logged potatoes and flavor loss.

Prefer using an air fryer? Try these air fryer sweet potato cubes for a nice side.

Serving and Storage

Make whipped sweet potatoes a day or two ahead and refrigerate until the day of serving. Get them out of the refrigerator an hour ahead to get the chill off. Re-heat in the oven covered with aluminum foil 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.

If you are making a big batch for a crowd, keep them warm in a crock pot. Place a clean kitchen towel between the lid and crock top to catch moisture. I did this the years I was catering dinner events and it worked great. Leftovers keep for up to 4 days refrigerated in an airtight container.

Freezing Leftovers

For longer storage, freeze leftover mashed sweet potatoes for up to 6 months, labeled and dated.

To maximize their quality, place them in airtight containers or freezer bags, and consider portioning them for easy use in future meals. Make sure the potatoes are cooled completely before freezing to reduce condensation, which can lead to freezer burn.

More Holiday Side Dish Recipes

Looking for side dishes for your holiday or everyday feast? Try thees and be sure to check out this page for more ideas.

⭐️Did You Make This Recipe?

If you make whipped sweet potatoes, please comment and let me know how you liked it. If you loved it, please give it a 5 star rating! They really help other readers and I enjoy hearing from you.

Originally published 10-30-2011, now updated.

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