25+ Sweet Potato Recipes | The First Mess (2024)

Created by Laura Wright

Jump to Recipe

Pin Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Sweet potatoes are versatile, delicious, and nourishing. I have over 20 sweet potato recipes in this roundup. Everything from hearty plant-based stews to fresh salads, breakfast muffins, classic casserole, seriously crave-able tacos, and crispy baked sweet potato fries are included.

25+ Sweet Potato Recipes | The First Mess (1)

I could eat sweet potatoes, in some form, every day. They’re one of my favourite foods. I find them to be comforting and also incredibly versatile. It’s my cozy carb of choice for life! I had to round up all of my favourite sweet potato recipes for you out of total necessity ;)

I have so many options for you! Everything from classic sweet potato casserole to flavourful salads, the best baked fries, cozy breakfast muffins, hearty stews, and naturally lots of vegan dinner recipes too. All but one of these recipes is naturally gluten-free :)

I’ve broken these recipes down into four categories for you below. Just click on whichever heading you’d like to be taken to!

  1. Soups and Stews
  2. Salads and Sides
  3. Main Courses
  4. Sweet Treats
25+ Sweet Potato Recipes | The First Mess (2)

The First Mess Cookbook

Sweet potatoes are definitely featured in The First Mess Cookbook! Along with lots of seasonal vegan recipes for every occasion.

View Product

1. Soups and Stews

. The mellow sweet potatoes are complimented so nicely by plenty of ginger and ground spices. This is one of the most popular, well-rated recipes on the site!

. This is a slow cooker winner! We grate the sweet potatoes and they just *melt* into the soup as it cooks.

. This naturally gluten-free recipe is cozy and vibrant at the same time, and flavoured with dried thyme and tarragon, garlic, smoked paprika, grainy mustard, and lemon. Roasting the cauliflower first brings an extra dimension of deep flavour.Creamy Cauliflower & Sweet Potato Chowder.

. This chunky and hearty stew is total comfort all year round. I love to make it in the Winter when I need some extra cozy vibes though.

. Silky smooth simplicity that’s ready in under 30 minutes with less than 10 ingredients. Minimal and great.

Sweet Potato Dal with Coconut Leeks. Can you tell that I like sweet potatoes and coconut milk together with spices? I honestly was not aware that I had 3 extremely similar (but still different I suppose) recipes on this site ;)

2. Salads and Sides

. This salad has it all. Sweet, tart, and bitter flavours. Soft, creamy, crisp, and crunchy textures. Every mouthful is a total party.

Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Chili Lime Tahini Sauce. We grill sweet potatoes all summer long. The smoky flavour works so well. Even better smothered in a creamy chile lime tahini sauce.

Smoky Maple Vegan Sweet Potato Gratin. This vegan sweet potato gratin has richness from a savoury and sweet homemade cashew “cream” that features maple syrup, nutritional yeast, onion powder, Tamari, liquid smoke, garlic, and raw cashews. So deeply flavourful and the bubbly and browned top is gorgeous with a spiral pattern.

Kale Power Salad with Spicy Almond Dressing. This salad is so satisfying and loaded with flavour. Kale is topped with tender roasted sweet potatoes, crispy baked tofu bits, avocado, and red onion. A super creamy spicy almond dressing that you’ll want to drizzle on everything finishes it off.

Sweet Potato Sunshine Salad. I took a lot of the flavours from the Flavours of Morocco-Inspired Vegetable & Chickpea Stew and turned them into a salad. It’s drizzled with a lemon date vinaigrette and topped with plenty of herbs and chopped pistachios.

. This is classic holiday comfort, done up fully vegan with a few flavourful extras added in. I whip the sweet potatoes up with some orange juice and vegan butter. Then they’re topped with sautéed apples and browned rosemary walnuts. I swear this is the best sweet potato casserole ever!

Sweet Potato Noodle Salad with Creamy Chipotle Miso Sauce. This unusual and gorgeous salad has the most delicious chipotle sauce for dressing. I love all of the textures in this high vibe bowl of goodness.

Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Roasted Garlic Tahini Yogurt Dip. I really think that these are the best baked sweet potato fries. There’s a few extra steps, but that crispy, golden perfection as the end result (ie NOT soggy and sad sticks of sweet potato) is so worth it.

. The title is a mouthful and honestly the salad is too! As in: full of flavour and texture that you’ll want to eat again and again! The oven does some work here and it’s ready in about an hour. One of my favourite dinner salads ever!

. This is a fun little veggie side with the bold flavours of chili, lime, maple syrup, tahini, and other spices. There is minimal chopping involved with this one and the cooking time is mostly hands-off.

3. Main Courses

Sticky Sweet Potato Tacos with Avocado Cilantro Sauce. This is one of my favourite quick dinners. You sauté shreds of sweet potato with BBQ sauce (this brand is my fave) and pile it all into a tortilla with crunchy cabbage and a creamy avocado sauce.

Sweet Potato Cake Patties with Lemony Slaw. These patties are simple to prepare and so satisfying. I add quinoa and hemp for protein, and mashed sweet potato is the perfect binding agent. I serve them with a creamy and lemony slaw, but they also work well as a veggie burger.

25+ Sweet Potato Recipes | The First Mess (22)

Sweet Potato Walnut Chili with Corn Dumplings. The sweet potato walnut chili in this recipe is so deeply flavourful on its own, with dried chiles, cocoa, Tamari, garlic, beans, and spices.

25+ Sweet Potato Recipes | The First Mess (23)

Sweet Potato and Broccoli Rabe Sheet Pan Dinner. This healthy sheet pan dinner with roasted sweet potatoes, broccoli rabe, chickpeas, and ginger peanut sauce is a flavourful addition to your weeknight meal plan. So easy to make, simple ingredients, and so satisfying!

Stuffed and Sauced Sweet Potatoes with Chickpeas and Tahini. A classic flavour combo in the classic stuffed sweet potato format. This simple recipe is a perfect weeknight meal.

. You could make this any time of year; not just in the winter. Tender Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes combine beautifully with BBQ-glazed tempeh and creamy hemp-based ranch sauce.

Spicy Vegan Buffalo Meatloaf Minis. I use cooked and mashed sweet potato as a binder in this flavourful take on vegan meatloaf. The Buffalo sauce and traditional ketchup glaze are so comforting and flavourful. These are a great make-ahead recipe too.

. This is a go-to wholesome weeknight meal for us! Sometimes I air fry or roast the sweet potatoes if I don’t feel like grilling (or it’s raining out haha). The cumin garlic sauce is so tasty here, but also great on basically anything.

. The tangy pickled cabbage meshes so well with the spiced, roasted sweet potatoes and pecan “meat” crumble here! A creamy drizzle of cashew sour cream takes these vegan tacos into the stratosphere ;)

4. Sweet Treats

Spiced Sweet Potato Granola with Pecans. Is there anything sweet potatoes can’t do? They help to bind this wholesome granola with pecans and plenty of warm spices. Maple syrup and coconut oil help to bring it all together and are perfect flavour partners here.

Vegan Sweet Potato Muffins with Pecan Streusel. These perfectly sweet and pillowy muffins are topped with a buttery and crunchy pecan streusel. It’s a nice little grab and go breakfast with a hot coffee.

25+ Sweet Potato Recipes | The First Mess (31)

Chocolate Sweet Potato Smoothie. This banana-free smoothie is so rich, thick, and lush! It’s perfectly sweet from steamed and frozen sweet potatoes, and satiating enough to have for breakfast.

Sweet Potato Recipes: Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries

These are the best baked sweet potato fries. Plus, check out 25+ more sweet potato recipes!

5 from 2 votes

25+ Sweet Potato Recipes | The First Mess (32)

Print Recipe

Prep Time: 25 minutes mins

Cook Time: 50 minutes mins

Resting Time: 1 hour hr

Total Time: 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Servings 2 -4

Ingredients

Roasted Garlic Tahini Yogurt Dip

  • 1 head of garlic
  • oil
  • generous ½ cup unsweetened non-dairy yogurt of choice
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons tahini
  • 1 small handful chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 small handful chopped fresh mint
  • sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries

  • 2 small-medium sweet potatoes, peeled (about 750 grams total)
  • 2-3 tablespoons arrowroot powder
  • cayenne, cinnamon, thyme, garlic powder, rosemary, turmeric or any other SALT-FREE seasoning that you like (we’re adding salt at the very end)
  • high heat-tolerant oil spray (I like avocado oil)
  • fine sea salt, to taste

Notes

  • I would not go off-script here. I’m all for making recipes your own, but if you’re expecting perfectly crispy results, I’d follow this recipe to a tee the first go-around.
  • If you’re down with using cornstarch, you can use the same amount of it in place of the arrowroot.
  • Some of you may know this, but my preferred dairy-free yogurt is Anita’s. Use any unsweetened, slightly thick yogurt that you like though.

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. If your baking sheet is well-seasoned, you can skip the parchment lining.

  • Make the dip: Cut the top ½ inch off of the garlic head. Tear a piece of foil (enough to wrap around the garlic) and place the garlic head in the middle. Drizzle oil on top, letting it seep into the garlic cavities. Wrap the garlic up and place it in the oven. Roast the garlic until squidgy and golden inside, about 45 minutes. Set aside to cool.

  • Place the yogurt into a small bowl. Squeeze the cooled roasted garlic into the bowl. Add the lemon juice, tahini, parsley, mint, salt, and pepper to the yogurt mixture. Mash and stir it all together with a fork until combined. Cover the bowl and set aside in the refrigerator.

  • Make the fries: Cut the sweet potatoes into 3-inch long and ½ -inch thick fries. Place the cut sweet potatoes into a large bowl and cover them with cold water. Let them sit for at least an hour or up to overnight in the refrigerator.

  • Drain the sweet potatoes and lay them on a clean kitchen towel. Place another clean kitchen towel on top and loosely roll them all up. Massage the little towel sweet potato roll-up for a bit so that the fries are as dry as possible.

  • In another large bowl, toss the cut sweet potatoes with the arrowroot powder and SALT-FREE seasonings of your choice (salt is happening later). The cut sweet potatoes should have a light, powdery coating of arrowroot.

  • Spray the parchment on your baking sheet evenly with the oil spray. Arrange the sweet potatoes in rows on the baking sheet. Spray the tops of the sweet potatoes with the oil spray before sliding them into the oven.

  • Bake the sweet potato fries for 25 minutes or very lightly browned in spots and the arrowroot is forming a light “webbing” on the undersides of the fries. Remove the fries from the oven and carefully flip them all over. Slide the sweet potato fries back into the oven and bake for another 25 minutes.

  • At the end of the 25 minutes, the sweet potato fries should have some strong brown spots and crisp exteriors. If they still look like they need crisping, carefully flip them one more time and bake until they’ve reached your desired doneness.

  • Quickly transfer the fries to a large bowl and toss them with a fat pinch of sea salt. Warning: when they’re piping hot, they won’t FEEL completely crispy yet. Place the hot fries on your serving plate in a single layer along with your roasted garlic tahini yogurt dip. After they sit for a few seconds, they will start to get that super crispy quality.

Author: Laura Wright

Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword: gluten free recipes, paleo sweet potato recipes, sweet potato, sweet potato recipes, sweet potatoes, vegan dinner recipes, vegan recipes, vegan sweet potato recipes

25+ Sweet Potato Recipes | The First Mess (2024)

FAQs

Is it okay to eat a sweet potato every day? ›

If you enjoy sweet potatoes, you can absolutely enjoy them daily. However, eating multiple sweet potatoes every day could cause a harmless condition called carotenodermia, where your skin turns yellow-orange. You may also want to be cautious about your sweet potato intake if you have a history of kidney stones.

Can diabetics eat sweet potatoes every day? ›

Are there benefits to eating sweet potatoes if you have diabetes? When eaten in moderation, all kinds of sweet potatoes are healthy. They're very high in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals and can safely be included in a diabetes-friendly diet.

What to put on a sweet potato to make it taste good? ›

For a topping, stick to butter, Greek yogurt, or sour cream, or try adding a dollop of cilantro lime dressing, tzatziki, chipotle sauce, pesto, guacamole, or a drizzle of tahini sauce. If you have leftover baked sweet potatoes, save the soft flesh for another recipe.

Is sweet potato good for you losing weight? ›

Absolutely. Besides their health benefits, sweet potatoes are a great addition to any weight loss diet. First up, they're very high in fibre — especially soluble fibre. Soluble fibre is excellent because it slows down your digestion and helps you feel full, which can curb the urge to snack between meals.

When should you not eat sweet potatoes? ›

If your sweet potato is soft in spots, smells rotten, or oozes a mysterious liquid, that potato should be discarded. Another sign that sweet potatoes have taken a turn for the worse is if they start growing stalky purplish sprouts.

What is the healthiest way to eat sweet potatoes? ›

Therefore, from a nutritional standpoint, boiling rather than baking should be recommended for cooking sweet potato. Boiling may theoretically be best, but sweet potatoes are so incredibly healthy that the actual best way to prepare them is whichever way will get you to eat the most of them!

Why do you need to soak sweet potatoes before cooking? ›

Some recipes for homemade sweet potato fries ask you to soak the fries before cooking. The theory is that soaking draws out starch from inside the potatoes, helping them crisp up.

What flavors compliment sweet potatoes? ›

Sweet potatoes pair well with apple, peach, and orange juice, and coffee - flavors that have distinctly sweet or bitter notes. The addition of cardamom or cinnamon can add a spicy twist to a co*cktail too.

What are the side effects of eating sweet potatoes? ›

Sweet potatoes contain beta-carotene, and their excessive consumption can lead to hypervitaminosis A (vitamin A toxicity), in which excess vitamin A accumulates in the liver. Although it is not considered harmful, the color of the skin and nails may turn orange. Additionally, sweet potatoes are rich in carbohydrates.

What time is best to eat sweet potatoes? ›

Lunch: The best time to eat the sweet potato is to eat at lunch. After eating, calcium in sweet potatoes takes 4-5 hours to absorb into the body, 2 to 5 pm sunlight can promote calcium absorption. In addition, the ability to help the potatoes long enough to work to help you reduce appetite in the evening.

Is rice or sweet potato better for you? ›

They are both great sources of complex carbohydrates. Per 100 grams raw brown rice has almost 3 times the calories and 4 times the carbohydrate value or 100 grams of raw sweet potato. They have almost the same amount of dietary fiber (both high) but brown rice has five times more protein.

Can you eat too much sweet potatoes? ›

Sweet potatoes contain beta-carotene, and their excessive consumption can lead to hypervitaminosis A (vitamin A toxicity), in which excess vitamin A accumulates in the liver. Although it is not considered harmful, the color of the skin and nails may turn orange.

Is sweet potato a junk food? ›

What we do know, however, is that — before any cooking happens — both white potatoes and sweet potatoes are nutritious. And almost equally nutritious at that," adds Willingham. Raw sweet potatoes and white potatoes have comparable nutrition profiles, with similar calories per serving and macronutrient breakdown.

Are sweet potatoes good for your kidneys? ›

Sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes also contain vitamins and minerals, such as potassium, that may help balance the levels of sodium in the body and reduce its effect on the kidneys.

Is sweet potato healthier than potatoes? ›

Though they can both be part of a healthy diet, sweet potatoes are generally healthier than regular potatoes, partly because of their incredibly high vitamin A content. Sweet potatoes are also lower on the glycemic index, meaning that they are less likely than regular potatoes to make your blood sugar spike.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Rubie Ullrich

Last Updated:

Views: 6049

Rating: 4.1 / 5 (52 voted)

Reviews: 91% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Rubie Ullrich

Birthday: 1998-02-02

Address: 743 Stoltenberg Center, Genovevaville, NJ 59925-3119

Phone: +2202978377583

Job: Administration Engineer

Hobby: Surfing, Sailing, Listening to music, Web surfing, Kitesurfing, Geocaching, Backpacking

Introduction: My name is Rubie Ullrich, I am a enthusiastic, perfect, tender, vivacious, talented, famous, delightful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.