Savory Whipped Sweet Potatoes three ways, because we all need balance in our lives, and a lot of it. Use all three colors of sweet potatoes or any one, and any and all of the toppings!
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If my future husband doesn't like blue cheese on whipped sweet potatoes, well I guess we're just going to have to compromise and have blue cheese on whipped sweet potatoes.
The recipe as it's written makes three different whipped sweet potatoes, served three different ways. The options make this dish the epitome of flexibility, which is essential from Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Year's Eve when you're cooking for many people with many different taste preferences and dietary restrictions. Cook all three color sweet potatoes, or just make the classic orange colored sweet potatoes. Prepare all the different topping options -- Whipped Feta, Pomegranate Salsa, Herb Butter, Toasted Walnuts -- or just make one. If you only make, I highly recommend the Whipped Feta as your default.
See? I told you I could compromise.
Ingredents You Need for This Whipped Sweet Potatoes Recipe
For the Whipped Sweet Potatoes, you only need three ingredients!
- sweet potatoes, any color
- olive oil
- butter
- salt and pepper
And if you want to have some fun, you will also need the ingredients for whichever or all of the toppings:
- Whipped Feta
- Pomegranate Salsa, original or spicy
- blue cheese
- walnuts
- fresh herbs
How to Cook Whipped Sweet Potatoes
You can cook sweet potatoes in a few different ways because in the end they get whipped. But this recipe calls for cooking the sweet potatoes in a pot on the stovetop, with the assumption that the oven is already occupied by whatever main dish you are roasting. Cooking sweet potatoes with liquid on the stovetop also keeps the sweet potatoes smooth after whipping them.
However, if the oven is available to you, you can spread peeled, cut potatoes onto as many baking sheets that will fit them separated by color, and roast all the sweet potatoes all at once.
What Kind of Sweet Potatoes to Use for Thanksgiving
Any and all sweet potatoes (or yams!) work in this dish.
Wait, so are Sweet Potatoes and Yams the Same?
All vegetables that look like sweet potatoes in the United States are sweet potatoes, even the vegetables that might be labeled "yams" in the market. True yams are rare in the United States. I used California-grown sweet potatoes grown and processed by Mininger Farms in the San Joaquin Valley, California.
Different Color Sweet Potatoes
If you see purple sweet potatoes at the market, use those. The color is much more interesting, and offers a slightly different nutritional profile.
Ingredients Notes and Resources for Whipped Sweet Potatoes
- Olive Oil. I used California-based Rosenthal Ranch organic extra virgin olive oil for all of the components of this recipe.
- Kosher Salt. I use this brand Kosher salt in the dark red box.
- Whipped Feta. Make the Whipped Feta in advance and probably double batch, because you will want to use it for everything from cheese boards to salads. If you don't have time or energy to make the whipped feta, use crumbled feta, which by itself is strong and salty.
- Pomegranate Salsa. You don't have to make Pomegranate Salsa just for this dish. You can toss a cup of undressed pomegranate arils onto the whipped sweet potatoes, but know that you will miss the flavors of onion/shallot, and fresh parsley. Just take the extra five minutes to make the Pomegranate Salsa, you will end up putting it on everything, then making it every week until pomegranates go out of season.
- Blue Cheese. If you are new to blue cheese, try something milder like Gorgonzola, a cow's milk blue cheese from Italy, or this one, also a cow's milk blue cheese made in Northern California. If you love blue cheese like I do, you can use a soft, buttery blue cheese like the Gorgonzola and actually whip a few tablespoons into the hot sweet potatoes.
- All produce is California-grown, from local Los Angeles farmers' markets or organic at Whole Foods Market
Pro-tips and Tricks for Whipped Sweet Potatoes
You can make any part of this dish ahead of time. Specifics for advance cooking individual components below:
Which color sweet potato is the healthiest?
Cooking Sweet Potatoes in Advance. Unlike regular white potatoes, sweet potatoes are not fussy about pureeing or re-heating, which gives sweet potatoes yet another winning point over regular white potatoes.
Making Pomegranate Salsa and Whipped Feta in Advance. Pomegranate Salsa and Whipped Feta are definitely something you can make ahead and keep for days at a time. Pro-tip: Make double Pomegranate Salsa, since it tastes great with Roasted Butternut Squash, on an Autumn Caprese Salad with Persimmons, and on Avocado and other Toast.
How to Store and Re-Heat Leftover Whipped Sweet Potatoes.
More Healthy Hearty Vegetable Side Dishes to Add to Your Holiday Dinner Party Table
Side Dish Potatoes
- Crispy Smashed Potatoes (stovetop method)
- Oven-Fried Crispy Smashed Potatoes (oven-fried method)
- Salt and Vinegar Smashed Potatoes
Side Dish Squash
- Roasted Butternut Squash with Whipped Feta and Pomegranate Salsa
- Butternut Squash Carbonara with Shiitake, Bacon, and Crispy Fried Sage
- Honeynut Squash, Classic Simple Roasted
- Honeynut Squash, Pan-Roasted
Whipped Sweet Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes, any color scrubbed, peeled, and cut into cubes
- 2+2+2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Kosher salt
for Topping/Flavoring the Sweet Potatoes
- ½ cup Whipped Feta
- ½ cup Pomegranate Salsa
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley and chives
- 2-4 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese
- ¼ cup toasted walnuts
- flaky sea salt
- fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and drop the white sweet potatoes in. Lower heat to a low boil and cook until sweet potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes, exact time depending on the size of your pieces. When the sweet potato can be very easily pierced with a fork, turn down the heat all the way, remove the sweet potatoes from the water with a slotted spoon to a colander to drain.
- Turn the heat back up to bring the water to a boil. Add the orange sweet potato to the boiling water, reduce heat to a low boil, and cook until sweet potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes, exact time depending on the size of your pieces.
- While the orange sweet potato are cooking, put the drained white sweet potatoes in a food processor and pulse. Add 1 tablespoon butter, about ½ teaspoon salt, and some of the cooking water from the pot to food processor while you pulse until a smooth puree forms. Remove white sweet potato puree from the food processor to a bowl. Wipe out the bowl of the food processor or rinse it.
- When the orange sweet potatoes are tender, remove from the pot with a slotted spoon to a colander to drain. If the cooking water is not too tinted or has a lot of small broken pieces of orange sweet potato, use the same water to cook the purple sweet potatoes. Otherwise, save about ¼ of the cooking water, dump the rest in the pot, and bring a pot of fresh water to a boil. Add the purple sweet potatoes, lower heat to a low boil and cook until sweet potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes, exact time depending on the size of your pieces.
- While the purple sweet potatoes are cooking, put the drained orange sweet potatoes in the food processor and pulse. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, about ½ teaspoon salt, and some of the reserved cooking water from the pot to food processor while you pulse until a smooth puree forms. Remove orange sweet potato puree from the food processor to another bowl. Wipe out the bowl of the food processor or rinse it.
- When the purple sweet potatoes are tender, reserve ¼ cup of the cooking water, then drain them in a colander. Put the cooked purple sweet potatoes in the food processor and pulse. Add 1 tablespoon butter, about ½ teaspoon salt, and some of the cooking water from the pot to food processor while you pulse until a smooth puree forms. Remove purple sweet potato puree from the food processor to another bowl.
- Transfer the whipped sweet potatoes to a serving dish, keeping each color separate from the others as much as possible. Top the white sweet potatoes with 2 tablespoons of room temperature butter and sprinkle with chopped fresh herbs. Top the orange sweet potatoes with Whipped Feta and Pomegranate Salsa. Top the whipped purple sweet potatoes with blue cheese and toasted walnuts.
Nolan Mininger says
Mininger Farms. That's cool. I know them!
Anonymous says
i would hope you do!