Frozen Then Roasted Sweet Potatoes - KatieChin (2024)

I was so excited when I was asked by Well + Good to share my technique for freezing then roasting sweet potatoes. This technique was taught to me by my late mother Leeann Chin who grew up eating this popular street food which has been around in China for centuries.

In the article I explain the “science-y” stuff behind this cool method…

The science behind using frozen sweet potatoes

“Freezing sweet potatoes before baking them results in a nice and charred exterior and the most fluffy inside, because freezing the potatoes allows their interior flesh to macerate from the inside out,” says Chin. (FYI, “macerate” is the chef word for soften.) “Because the skin of the potato isn’t punctured, the high roasting temperature caramelizes the sugars, but the skin protects the sugars from burning. As the potatoes bake, caramelized sugars will seep from them, and the trapped steam will naturally separate the skin from the flesh,” she adds. The result? Fluffy potato perfection every single time.

I recommend picking out small or medium-sized sweet potatoes for the best results. The larger potatoes are starchier, and therefore harder to cook evenly. I prefer purple skinned Japanese Satusmaimo sweet potatoes because of their size and sweet and rich flavor but any sweet potatoes will do.