Easy and healthy baked sweet potato mash

I'm really excited about this super easy sweet potato mash recipe. And that's because I discovered the simplest, most convenient way of making sweet potato puree. I'm going to confess, I never quite loved peeling potatoes. Now peeling sweet potatoes is even more difficult, as they have an odd shape and they are harder to cut. No biggie though, I always made sweet potato mash by boiling them in a little salted water. Well not anymore!

Our bakes sweet potato mash will save you sweet labour in the kitchen. And when it comes to vegan recipes, we sometimes want to just come home from work, prepare an easy dinner and forget about the day. Well, I'm pleased to tell you the secret: baking instead of boiling.

We love vegan sweet potato mash, as it works really well with our incredible vegan steak. It's an all crowd pleaser and because we make it super creamy, nobody can even tell it's vegan. Our secret? Oat milk and vegan butter (or vegetable margarine). But we love it nutty and a little spicy so we also add a dash of cayenne pepper and my personal favourite, nutritional yeast.

Who invented mash?

I do love my culinary history so I thought you'd love to know where mashed potatoes come from. It may seem silly, but nowadays, every single time I eat something as trivial as potatoes or risotto, I wonder...where did this come from? Not just the ingredient, but the method of cooking. Once you take a moment to learn about these things, nothing is trivial anymore, but really quite interesting. It also helps me live in the moment as I get to enjoy the little things a lot more.

So here is one for you. We don't really know who invented mashed potatoes. Some people say the actual recipe for mashed potatoes originated in 1771 was invented by a French man named Antoine Parmentier. Other sources say that the English came up with mashed potatoes (served with gravy) sometimes in the 1600s. What we do know for sure though is that the dish started making an appearance in the 1747 recipe book The Art of Cookery by Hannah Glasse. This makes it more credible that indeed, the English invented the recipe.

Well, whoever invented it, we sure have to thank them for this delicious, easy to make recipe which is also the basis for many dumplings or gnocchi recipes. We also use it in our vegan lentil and sweet potato Shepherd's Pie.

How do you make mashed sweet potatoes?

To make mashed sweet potatoes, you can either boil the potatoes or bake them. We tried both but since I don't love peeling potatoes, the baked version is our prefered way of making this recipe. The sweet potatoes also taste more intense and have a lot more flavour which makes them delicious and perfect as a side dish.

Milk, butter, salt and pepper are added to the dish to make it creamier and smoother. When it comes to making vegan sweet potatoes, simply replace standard milk with plant-based milk and normal butter with vegan margarine (spread). Add salt and pepper but also add a pinch of cayenne pepper or smokey paprika, whichever you prefer.

To make this easy recipe, preheat your oven at 200 C / 392 F. Put the sweet potatoes in a baking tray and score them with a sharp fork or a small knife. Make several holes to ensure the potatoes bake well.

Drizzle a little olive oil if you like and a tiny bit of salt and bake them for about an hour. You will know they are ready when you can insert a fork in the potato with ease. If you meet any resistance, put the potatoes back in the oven for another 15 minutes then try the fork test again. Repeat until fully baked in the middle.

Once baked, let the potatoes cool, then slice them in half, vertically. Using a spoon, scoop out the flesh of the sweet potato, separating it from its skin. It should come off easily.

Add the freshly scooped sweet potato flesh in a bowl, add a pinch of salt, pepper, cayenne pepper or smoked paprika. I also like to add a spoonful of nutritional yeast to make the sweet potato mash taste a little nuttier. For each sweet potato, I add three tablespoons of oat milk and a spoon-full of vegan butter. Using a potato masher, I mash all ingredients together until I get a creamy mix. Feel free to add more oat milk or butter if you prefer it creamier. Also, add more spices to taste. Just be mindful that cayenne pepper is very, very spicy, so add very little at the time.

How to make sweet potato mash healthy?

Sweet potatoes are very healthy. They are a rich source of fibre and they contain many essentials vitamins and minerals like iron, calcium, selenium and are also a great source of vitamin B and C.

They are an excellent source of vitamin A so make sure you add sweet potatoes to your balanced diet. To make your sweet potato mash healthy, replace dairy milk with plant-based milk. We recommend oat milk as it brings out the flavours from the sweet potato.

If you want a super healthy sweet potato mash, then add plant-based milk only and don't add any butter, vegan spread or oil to it. But if you must add something else, use extra virgin olive oil. It's the healthiest option of them all. Just be mindful that oil is still processed so it's not a healthy wholefood. But olive oil does come with its own benefits so a little drizzle will make the food taste better and won't take away any health benefits.

As previously mentioned, to make the sweet potato mash healthy, we recommend baking the potatoes and not boiling them.

What to pair with sweet potatoes?

Sweet potatoes taste amazing and are a healthy side. We recommend pairing them with vegan steak as that's our favourite way of eating them. However, they make an excellent side dish to vegan millet fritters and lentil patties.

If you feel like freestyling don't worry, sweet potatoes go with pretty much anything so everyone will love the combination.

How do you make sweet potatoes taste good?

Sweet potatoes are, well, sweet. And sometimes the sweetness can be a little overpowering. To bring out the flavour from sweet potatoes, we recommend adding cayenne pepper to them. The spiciness from the cayenne pepper with enhance the sweet flavour of the sweet potato. An alternative is to add smokey paprika to the sweet potatoes so you can get an intense, smoky-sweet flavour which is absolutely irresistible.

Are you ready to make sweet potatoes mash? Let's dive into this recipe and make you fall in love with sweet potato puree.

This recipe has been developed entirely by Yuzu Bakes. Any resemblance with other recipes is purely coincidental.

Vegan Baked Sweet Potato Mash

5

Average: 5 (1 vote)

• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Total: 1 hour 5 mins
• Serves 4 people

Categories: Sides Cusine: British, French

Description

An easy way to make a healthy and vegan baked sweet potato mash recipe. This sweet potato puree recipe is simple to make and the result is creamy and delicious, perfect as a side dish.

Ingredients

(USA / Metric)

• 2 medium sweet potato
• 1/4 cup oat milk
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper*
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 pinch peppercorn
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)

Instructions

• 1. To make this easy recipe, preheat your oven at 200 C / 392 F.
     Score the sweet potatoes with a sharp fork or a small knife and put them on a tray.
  2. Drizzle a little olive oil if you like and a tiny bit of salt and bake them for about an hour. You will know they are ready when you can insert a fork in the potato with ease. If you meet any resistance, put the potatoes back in the oven for another 15 minutes then try the fork test again. Repeat until fully baked in the middle.
  3. Once baked, let the potatoes cool, then slice them in half, vertically. Using a spoon, scoop out the flesh of the sweet potato, separating it from its skin. It should come off easily. 
     
     Add the freshly scooped sweet potato flesh in a bowl, add a pinch of salt, pepper, cayenne pepper or smoked paprika and the nutritional yeast. Feel free to add more oat milk or butter if you prefer it creamier.
     Using a potato masher, puree the sweet potato and mix until you reach the desired consistency.
     Serve immediately as a side dish.

Notes

* If you don't like cayenne pepper you can use smoked paprika as a replacement.

Nutritional Information

Total Nutrition Facts

Serves 4 people

Amount Per Serving
Calories 147
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 7 g			9%
	Saturated Fat 1 g		5%
	Trans Fat 0 g		0%
	Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
	Monounsaturated Fat 5 g
Cholesterol 0 mg			0%
Sodium 69 mg			3%
Total Carbs 19 g			7%
	Dietary Fiber 3 g		12%
	Sugar 6 g		13%
Protein 3 g			5%
Vitamin A 85% Vitamin C 18% Calcium 3% Iron 4% Vitamin D 0% Magnesium 6% Potassium 9% Zinc 4% Phosphorus 9% Thiamin (B1) 25% Riboflavin (B2) 13% Niacin (B3) 12% Vitamin B6 21% Folic Acid (B9) 0% Vitamin B12 0% Vitamin E 11% Vitamin K 5%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice

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