Name: Easy Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 3
Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients: 1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped; 2 scallions, thinly chopped; 3 tbsp butter or 2 tbsp oil; salt and pepper

These easy mashed sweet potatoes are healthy, quick to prepare, tasty and the perfect vegetable side dish!

You can serve this sweet potato mash with some meat or fish, fresh salad and a garlicky cashew or yogurt sauce for a full healthy dinner.

Potatoes Vs Sweet Potatoes

To be fair, I’m not the biggest fan of sweet potatoes. I’d take a regular potato any time, any day, any minute. But sometimes, you just need some variety. That’s why you actually begin to crave a salad after 5 days of pizza.

Also there’s the rumor that sweet potatoes are healthier than regular potatoes. Is that so? A little bit. They do have a slightly lower glycemic index and contain a few more antioxidants because of their orange looks (they’ve got some provitamin A). But in general, both are great and can be a part of a healthy diet.

However, when you choose to fry or bake any of these vegetables – you basically negate any of their health benefits. Better choice? Boil them. Boiling helps to prevent the formation of acrylamide, which is pretty Toxic like Britney Spears’ imaginary boyfriend. It also helps to keep the glycemic index lower, whereas baking or frying spikes it to unimaginable levels.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes Ingredients

There are very few things you need in order to make these mashed sweet potatoes:

sweet potato
butter or coconut oil
green onions
salt and pepper

And that’s it! No need for anything fancy, but you can add some spice if you desire.

How To Make Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Peel the sweet potato and lay flat. Cut lengthwise and then place onto the flat side.
Cut in thinner half moons.
Add to a pan or cooking pot and cover with water and some salt. Cover with a lid and boil for about 15-20 minutes at medium-high or until tender.
Drain the water, add some butter or coconut/olive oil and mash the sweet potatoes with a masher or a fork. You can also use a hand blender.

Add in more salt and pepper and stir in thinly chopped scallions.
Serve as is with fish or chicken and some garlic yogurt sauce (1/2 cup yogurt + pinch of salt + 1 minced garlic clove!

Why Is This Sweet Potato Mash Healthier?

As already mentioned this sweet potato mash is made with boiled potatoes and boiling actually has several advantages to roasting. It helps:

to enhance certain vitamins like provitamin A. Cooking helps to break down the cell walls and to make this vitamin more bioavailable to us.
keep the glycemic index low (roasting increases the glycemic index)
reduces the formation of toxic agents like acrylamide

How To Store

These mashed sweet potatoes will stay good in the fridge for up to 3 days. Make sure to keep in an airtight container and reheat in the microwave before serving.

More Vegetable Side Dish Recipes

I hope you enjoy this delicious sweet potato mash recipe! Make sure to also check out these healthy vegetable side dishes:

Yield: 3