These healthy sweet potato recipes are the tastiest ways to eat this orange superfood! Try everything from roasted to chili to fries.
Got sweet potatoes? This vibrant orange tuber is one of the best vegetables you can eat, rich in vitamins, potassium and fiber. In the US it’s popular to prepare them with marshmallows as a Thanksgiving side dish or in a pie. But this superfood is much more versatile than that! There are so many delicious healthy sweet potato recipes to eat them as part of a nutritious meal.
Try them as fries, or baked and loaded up Mexican-style. They’re fabulous in soups and stews, as a filling for quesadillas or enchiladas, or even as as a pizza topping. OK, we’re getting hungry! Let’s get to the recipes.
And now: the best healthy sweet potato recipes!
Here's our top sweet potato recipe: a go-to, simple weeknight trick! Cutting the potato in half before roasting makes for the perfect quick baked sweet potato! This method lets you bake it less time than the standard: making it feasible for weeknight cooking.
Scroll down or click "Get Recipe" for the recipe!
At the top in our healthy sweet potato recipes…fries: Baked, not fried! These crispy sweet potato fries require very little oil to brown in the oven. Baked sweet potato fries are notoriously soggy. Our secret? We use a little cornstarch to get a crunchy fry.
One of our fan favorite healthy sweet potato recipes to date, these sweet potatoes topped with a zesty slaw and creamy Thai-style peanut butter sauce are an irresistible plant based dinner recipe! You can use the Instant Pot method above for super moist sweet potatoes, or one of the baked versions below if you don’t have a pressure cooker.
You can make Instant Pot sweet potatoes in roughly 35 minutes and are incredibly easy to make. Making sweet potatoes in a pressure cooker is the perfect no-fuss weeknight dinners!
Here's a favorite way to make sweet potatoes as a side: roasted! These potatoes come out perfectly caramelized in a hot oven. Mix with olive oil, salt and a bit of garlic powdered, and the savory seasoning makes the sweetness pop. Use them as a side or a component of a larger dish: in tacos, grain bowls, and more!
This is one of the first sweet potato recipes we fell in love with. Start with the sweet orange flesh of a quick baked sweet potato. It's the perfect match to zesty Mexican-inspired flavors. You won’t believe the flavor in these Mexican sweet potatoes, topped with black bean salsa and our creamy cilantro sauce!
For a brunch side dish, try sweet potato hash browns! With just 5 minutes of hands on time, they’re delicious, simple, and fit a variety of diets. Ours our roasted in the oven until they’re crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
This vegetarian sweet potato chili recipe is all star and a reader favorite! It’s a delicious healthy dinner recipe where you won’t miss the meat.
Serve with: Easy Vegan Cornbread
Ready in just 30 minutes, these healthy mashed sweet potatoes are flavored with garlic and fresh chives. They're a smooth and creamy side dish that compliments any meal. (Got an Instant Pot? Try our Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes.)
These Loaded Sweet Potato Rounds are one of our most “famous” sweet potato recipes with our family and friends, who always ask for them especially! They’re a delicious, crowd pleasing appetizer for entertaining — like bruschetta, but with a sweet potato base!
These broccoli cheese stuffed sweet potatoes are an easy, healthy weeknight dinner your whole family will love. The cheese sauce is made healthier by using pureed white beans in addition to cheese, which bring a creamy texture without adding more dairy.
One of our fan favorite sweet potato recipes, these sweet potato black bean enchiladas are always a hit at the dinner table! We’ve had friends and family who swear by this recipe for years.
Imagine: crispy sweet potato skins topped with a cheesy, gooey filling, chili-spiced pinto beans, and crunchy green onions. The perfect party appetizer!
This cozy vegan pot pie is next level: it’s filled with hearty vegetables, a gooey sauce, and a flaky, sage crust. Sweet potato brings a contrast to the savory onions and mushrooms.
Another time-tested favorite in our sweet potato recipes is this Moroccan stew with chickpeas and sweet potatoes. It’s an easy plant based dinner recipe that’s incredibly flavorful, featuring a blend of Moroccan spices.
Sweet potatoes, peanut butter and spices form the base of this vegan sweet potato soup, and it’s topped with bright red harissa. It’s hearty and full of zesty flavor!
This sweet potato dinner skillet features crispy shredded sweet potatoes, leafy greens, eggs and feta cheese, served up as a healthy vegetarian dinner.
This tasty sweet potato and kale soup features black beans and is flavored with cumin and lime; it’s vegetarian, vegan and gluten free.
This loaded veggie quesadilla recipe is one the tastiest around—and it’s packed with veggies! Roasted sweet potato, cumin-scented black beans, and spinach are nestled in a bright green spinach tortilla.
Smothered in a zesty ginger tahini sauce, this Thai-style easy baked sweet potato recipe is a simple plant-based dinner that’s full of flavor.
Another showstopper in our sweet potato recipes, these sweet potatoes with goat cheese are over the top delicious! It stars tender roasted sweet potato, gooey goat cheese, and black lentils that are mixed with fresh herbs and twice baked in the oven.
This low carb burrito bowl with cauliflower rice is a delicious way to eat more vegetables! It’s Whole 30 vegetarian and customizable for all diets. It features grated sweet potato, which comes out with a crispy and tender texture. It’s a perfect foil for the chorizo eggs, which have become a fan favorite!
Kale and chickpeas make for a hearty sweet potato stew, while the coconut milk adds just the right amount of smoothness to this cozy and delicious recipe.
This healthy sweet potato hash with eggs is perfect for breakfast, brunch or even dinner. Ready in 25 minutes, it’s also an easy weeknight meal!
One of our more unique sweet potato recipes is sweet potato pizza! A simple sweet & savory combination, this sweet potato pizza combines roasted sweet potatoes, creamy brie cheese, and peppery fresh arugula.
Here's another sweet potato recipe featuring our quick baked sweet potato. This time it's topped with Moroccan-spiced lentils and a creamy lemon tahini sauce. It's filling, plant-based, and extraordinarily delicious.
These Mexican fries are insanely delicious: they’re sweet potato wedges loaded with black beans, salsa, cumin lime crema, and feta cheese. Omit the feta and it’s a vegan recipe too.
A perfect balance of textures and flavors, this sweet potato salad features shaved Brussels sprouts, roasted sweet potatoes, pecans, and Gouda cheese.
A little outside of our ordinary sweet potato recipes is this savory sweet potato pie! It’s a mouthwatering savory galette that makes for a special dinner. The filling features sweet potato, onion, and feta.
This tomato coconut cauliflower curry is delicious, nutrient packed, and ready in just over 30 minutes! It’s a crowd pleasing plant-based dinner recipe that features lots of vegetables, including tender sweet potatoes.
Roasting this orange vegetable is one of our favorite ways to eat it. This grain bowl with roasted sweet potatoes and cauliflower is a hearty vegetarian dinner or lunch, featuring Moroccan spices and a tangy lemon drizzle.
Another in our roasted sweet potato recipes is this superfood salad. It’s full of delicious superfoods: greens, beets, sweet potato, avocado, and wild rice. It’s a perfect healthy reset!
This easy vegan black bean burger is bursting with flavor and features mashed sweet potato as the binder that keeps it all together! The patties are also gluten free and topped with spicy mayo & sprouts.
This vegan Buddha bowl features a variety of fresh and roasted vegetables, including–of course–sweet potatoes! And the best feature: a tangy lemon tahini sauce.
This main dish healthy potato salad features roasted sweet potatoes and red potatoes, hard-boiled eggs and a tasty honey mustard vinaigrette.
And finally, to round out our list of sweet potato recipes: this Southwest Salad! It’s a main dish salad recipe featuring a mix of sweet potatoes, veggies, and rice drizzled with a green chile vinaigrette.
What variety of sweet potato to use?
Did you know there are hundreds of types of sweet potatoes? They range from white and mild to deep red and super sweet. There are even some purple sweet potato varieties! The type of sweet potato we’ve used in all of our recipes is a sweet potato with orange flesh. We enjoy white-fleshed sweet potatoes, but we’ve found we like the color and flavor of those with orange flesh best. Of course, you can play around and use other varieties of sweet potatoes based on your taste!
Yams vs. sweet potatoes: what’s the difference?
What’s the difference between a yam and a sweet potato? Yams are native to Africa and Asia. Compared to sweet potatoes, they’re starchier and drier and have very tough skin. They’re carried in more grocery stores these days, but you’d probably find them in the international and specialty markets. Sometimes grocery stories in the US mislabel sweet potatoes as yams.
For the recipes above, pick from what your grocery labels as “sweet potato”. Make sure it’s an orange flesh sweet potato. Don’t forget about farmers markets: they’re a great place to get sweet potatoes as well!
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Easy Baked Sweet Potato (& More Healthy Recipes!)
(6 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Here’s how to make a perfectly baked sweet potato — fast! This trick cuts down the baking time: it’s a total game changer.
Ingredients
- 4 medium sweet potatoes
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Farenheit.
- Wash the sweet potatoes and slice them in half. Place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and rub them with olive oil, just enough to coat. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
- Bake until tender and lightly browned on the edges, about 25 to 35 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes. (Prick with a fork to assess doneness!)
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Vegetables
Keywords: Sweet potato recipes, Healthy sweet potato recipes, Baked sweet potato
Last updated: October 2020
About the Authors
Sonja Overhiser
Cookbook Author and writer
Sonja Overhiser is author of Pretty Simple Cooking, named one of the best healthy cookbooks of 2018. She’s host of the food podcast Small Bites and founder of the food blog A Couple Cooks. Featured from the TODAY Show to Bon Appetit, Sonja seeks to inspire adventurous eating to make the world a better place one bite at a time.
Alex Overhiser
Cookbook Author and photographer
Alex Overhiser is an acclaimed food photographer and author based in Indianapolis. He’s host of the food podcast Small Bites and founder of the recipe website A Couple Cooks. Featured from the TODAY Show to Bon Appetit, Alex is author of Pretty Simple Cooking, named one of the best vegetarian cookbooks by Epicurious.
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