These Ultimate Mashed Sweet Potatoes are a must for your next holiday meal. The perfect balance between sweet and savory will have your guests coming back for seconds before you know it.
And don’t worry…we covered all our bases and included the classic mashed potato recipe for those rooted in tradition. For more Thanksgiving inspiration, check out our favorite Thanksgiving side dishes to complete your menu.
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
This sweet potato mash just might steal the show on Thanksgiving with its bold flavor, creamy texture, pop of color, and the best toppings. Plus, you can feel good about serving up a side dish made with clean ingredients and packed with vitamin A and beta carotene, which provides its striking orange color. And for all you Instant pot diehards, we have an Instant Pot Sweet Mashed Sweet Potato Recipe just for you.
What You Will Need
- sweet potatoes – We love the pop of color and subtle sweet flavor of sweet potatoes, but feel free to use garnet, Yukon gold, or white potatoes if those are more readily available.
- butter – This is a no-brainer when it comes to mashed potatoes.
- milk or heavy cream – Either option will work wonderfully, but heavy cream will give your mashed potatoes a more decadent texture. If want to go dairy-free, use unsweetened almond milk.
- real maple syrup – Pick up your favorite store bought variety or try out our homemade maple syrup.
- brown sugar – Coconut sugar will work great too.
- kosher salt – This simple ingredient lets all the other beautiful flavors shine their brightest.
- cinnamon – A little bit goes a long way to add a warming touch throughout.
How To Make Mashed Potatoes Ahead Of Time
Free up time on Thanksgiving and make this dish a day in advanced! To ensure that your potatoes don’t get stiff, be generous with your butter and cream. The more you add, the more likely your mashed potatoes will be just as creamy as the day you prepared them. Simply make this recipe as instructed on the recipe card and store in an air-tight container in the fridge overnight. The next day let your dish come to room temperature, add another dollop of butter on top, and reheat on low in a crock pot or in your oven.
How To Make Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Start by peeling your sweet potatoes and then cut them into 2 inch pieces.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add your sweet potatoes.
How Long To Boil Sweet Potatoes For Mash
We’ve found 10-15 minutes to be the perfect amount of time to get your sweet potatoes nice and tender for mashing. If you can easily push a fork through your cooked potatoes, they’re ready to go!
Use a colander to drain your potatoes and place them back in the pot or a preferred mixing bowl.
Add butter, cream, maple syrup, sugar, salt, and cinnamon, and mash with either a hand masher for a more a more lumpy consistency or a hand mixer for a smoother consistency.
Taste and adjust butter, salt, cinnamon, and maple syrup as desired! Top with plain or candied pecans for some added crunchiness and nutty flavor.
Toppings for Sweet Potato Mashed Potatoes
We love to top this dish with crunchy pecans, or you could step it up a notch with candied pecans. Chopped walnuts will work as well, but will have a slightly sharper flavor that pecans. If you’re feeling adventurous, feel free to try out blue cheese and honey, sour cream and chives, or even mini marshmallows sprinkled with cinnamon.
Recipe FAQs
- dairy-free: Make this recipe dairy-free by using vegan butter and almond milk or another dairy-free creamer.
- storage: Once cooled, store leftover mashed sweet potatoes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
- make ahead recipe: Cream and butter are your best friends here. Make your mashed potatoes and add a healthy amount of cream and butter so that your mashed potatoes are on the verge of becoming soupy. Stir in additional butter and cream, transfer them to a dutch oven or a casserole dish, cover, and place in your fridge overnight. The next day, add a bit more butter on the top and reheat in your oven or on a stove top, making sure to stir intermittently.
Ultimate Mashed Sweet Potato Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Description
Ultimate Mashed Sweet Potatoes – these aren’t your everyday mashed sweet potatoes! Packed with goodness and perfect for Thanksgiving!
Ingredients
- 5 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1/2 cup butter (more for serving)
- 1/4 cup milk or heavy cream (unsweetened almond milk works)
- 1/2 cup real maple syrup
- 3–4 tablespoons brown sugar or coconut sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil.
- Carefully add sweet potatoes. Let gently boil 10-15 minutes or until they are very tender.
- Drain and return potatoes to pot or preferred mixing bowl.
- Add remaining ingredients. Use a hand masher to a more lumpy or rustic mashed potato – use a hand mixer for a smoother consistency.
- Taste and adjust butter, maple syrup, cinnamon or salt – as desired!
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Storage: store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Dairy-Free: to make this dairy-free feel free to use vegan butter and either almond milk or other dairy-free creamer.
Nicole M. says
This recipe is to die for! I’m always in charge of the yams for Thanksgiving and decided to give a new recipe a try this year. Everyone LOVED it! De-licious!
Erin says
So happy to hear that, Nicole! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and leave a rating and review – I really appreciate it!
Ali says
Delicious and so easy!
Erin says
So glad to hear that, Ali! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and leave a rating and review – I really appreciate it!
Sierra says
This sounds amazing! Think it could be made in a slow cooker? Trying to free up oven and stove space!
Erin says
Hi Sierra – Oh I am sure it could! I would model it after this slow cooker mashed potato recipe: https://thewoodenskillet.com/slow-cooker-mashed-potatoes/
Michele Carroll says
Hi! This sounds delicious! How is this diffyfrom the sweet potato casserole? I can’t eat eggs and wondered if I could sub this recipe and bake with the marshmallows.
Erin says
Hi Michele – yes, you could definitely use this recipe and then toss some marshmallows on top!