Published: · Modified: by Christina Lane · This post may contain affiliate links · 82 Comments
The first thing everyone reaches for on my Thanksgiving table is not the turkey or even that green bean side dish. My melting sweet potatoes are everyone's favorite side dish! The potatoes are delicately crisp on the outside and fluffy and velvet-like on the inside. You can serve them with maple pecan sauce, or plain--they're great either way!
These oven roasted sweet potatoes are my favorite part of my small Thanksgiving for two menu.
The business of making a starch melt in your mouth is actually quite simple. The only technique required is roasting in the oven with butter. A long time ago, we stopped drizzling things with melted butter before roasting in the oven. Also a long time ago, oven fries died.
I'm not sure when oil became the only acceptable thing with which to roast, but its heyday has come and gone in my kitchen.
I love neutral oils as much as the next chick, but golden brown and crispy, it does not make my starches. Ergo, I'm back to the butter.
The Ingredients
Sweet Potatoes. We need two pounds of fresh sweet potatoes. You can double this recipe and use two roasting pans and 4 pounds of sweet potatoes. I reach for the orange variety, and please note that I have not tested this recipe with any other variety of sweet potato. If you do, let us all know in the comments.
Butter. Yes, we really need a half stick of butter. We're roasting in all butter today, which is key for the texture of these melting sweet potatoes.
Salt. A pinch of sea salt before roasting brings out the sweetness of the tubers.
Optional Maple Pecan Sauce Ingredients:
Maple Syrup. I commonly reach for grade B maple syrup because I love the smokiness, but anything you have is fine. However, please don't use pancake syrup with imitation maple flavor.
Pecans. Chopped pecans that have been toasted gently in a skillet or low oven until they smell very fragrant.
How to Make Melting Sweet Potatoes:
First, peel and chop your sweet potatoes into 1" round disks. For Thanksgiving, I would use slightly less than one pound of sweet potatoes per person. As a side dish to a meal, I would plan on one pound per person.
2. Spread the disks on a roasting pan, making sure they are not touching. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter per pound of sweet potatoes, and drizzle it on top.
4. Spread them back out in an even layer, not touching. If you're making the wet pecan sauce, add a small sprinkle of salt. If not, add ¼ teaspoon of salt per pound.
5. After roasting for 20 minutes at 425, flip each melting sweet potato disk over. They will be nice and golden brown on the first side. It will be hard to resist eating one, but just you wait--they're going to get even better.
6. After 20 minutes roasting on the other side, they look like this. Which is glorious, in case you couldn't tell.
I kinda sorta forgot to take photos of the wet pecan sauce, but it's very simple.
Gather your ¼ cup of chopped pecans and ¼ cup of maple syrup per pound of sweet potatoes.
Bring the maple syrup to a boil in a small pan. Add the chopped pecans. Bring it back to a boil, then cook for 1 minute, and you're done!
You can use all of the sauce for the melting sweet potatoes, but I think the recipe makes a bit much. (I didn't want you to be lacking on the big day).
The pecans do get softer and softer the longer they sit in the maple syrup, so try to use it up in 2 days.
Drizzle it over the melting sweet potato disks, and serve with a smile.
These melting sweet potatoes are so good that I made them 3 times in one week. The texture of the sweet potatoes indeed is like velvet. I love them on top of Buddha Bowls for lunch, and with fried eggs for breakfast. Yes, they are that good.
And we haven't even talked about the sauce. I made a wet pecan sauce to top them for your Thanksgiving festivities. It's entirely optional, but when you see that it only has 2 ingredients and comes together in 7 minutes, you won't be one to opt out.
Yield: 4 servings
A small Thanksgiving: Melting Sweet Potatoes (with Maple-Pecan Sauce)
These melting sweet potatoes topped with pecans and maple syrup are a delicious side dish everyone will love.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Ingredients
2 pounds of sweet potatoes
4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
½ teaspoon salt
For the maple pecan sauce:
½ cup maple syrup
½ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425. Have ready a roasting pan.
Peel and slice the sweet potatoes into 1" thick slices, and scatter them on the roasting pan, not touching.
Melt the butter, and drizzle it on top of the sweet potatoes. Sprinkle on the salt. Toss to coat, and then redistribute on the pan in a single layer, not touching.
Roast for 20 minutes.
Flip with tongs, and roast for another 20 minutes.
The potatoes are done when they're golden brown and crisp, and the insides are light and fluffy.
To make the maple pecan sauce: bring the maple syrup to a boil in a small sauce pan.
Add the pecans.
Wait for the sauce to come back to a boil, cook for 1 minute, and then remove from heat.
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.
How to tell if sweet potatoes have gone bad. 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.
There is not much difference between boiling sweet potatoes with the skins on versus peeling them, but you will get a boost of fiber and potassium if you keep the skin on. The skin also adds a subtle texture to each bite. If you're looking for a smoother mash, peel the potatoes first before boiling.
Baking Soda – boiling the potatoes in baking soda draws out the starch and allows the outside to get brown and crispy. Sweet Potatoes – yams work fine too. Extra Virgin Olive Oil – gets infused with rosemary and garlic and is the key to getting that crispy exterior.
Despite their sweet taste, these potatoes have an intermediate glycemic index (GI) level, meaning they are digested and absorbed fairly slowly, leading to a more gradual increase in blood sugar levels. But, a lot of these benefits, including nutrients and taste, can be lost by boiling sweet potatoes.
Soaking potatoes in water helps remove excess starch. Excess starch can inhibit the potatoes from cooking evenly as well as creating a gummy or sticky texture on the outside of your potatoes. Cold water is used because hot water would react with the starch activating it, making it harder to separate from the potatoes.
“Sweet potatoes are a source of carbohydrates, which raise blood sugars,” says White. “People with diabetes can eat carbs but need to watch portions of foods with carbs.” What this means: Limit portions to half a sweet potato per meal or snack.
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.
Boiling may actually retain most of the antioxidant power of sweet potatoes, compared to roasting and steaming. If we compare baking to boiling microscopically, boiling helps thin out the cell walls and gelatinize the starch, which may enhance the bioavailability of nutrients.
Bring the water to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and let the potatoes cook 15 to 20 minutes, or until you can easily pierce several pieces (always test more than one) with a knife. Potatoes cut into small pieces will take less time to cook.
Add enough cold water to cover potatoes and sprinkle with salt. Bring to boiling, cover, and cook until tender. How long can you boil sweet potatoes: For one pound of sweet potatoes, cover the pan and cook sweet potatoes in the boiling salted water 20 to 25 minutes or until just tender.
Yams and sweet potatoes differ in flavor and appearance, and they are not related. Sweet potatoes are in the morning glory family, while yams belong to the lily family. Yams aren't as sweet as sweet potatoes, and they are starchier and drier. Their texture and flavor are more similar to potatoes or yuca.
Browning butter packs in tons of flavor, without dulling the sweet potatoes. Slow-roasting the sweet potatoes activates endogenous enzymes that bring out their natural sweetness. A touch of maple syrup, butter, and a bit of chopped thyme are the only embellishments these naturally sweet sweet potatoes need.
Because of their fiber and vitamin contents, sweet potatoes are often considered the healthier choice between the two. Sweet potatoes are likely healthier than regular potatoes. They have a lower GI, more fiber, and large amounts of beta carotene.
The reason is to prevent the potatoes exposure to air, which causes dehydration, oxidation, and discoloration. Immersing cut potatoes will also help rinse off excess starch.
Some recipes call for soaking the sweet potatoes in water before cooking them to help remove some of the starch and make them more crispy but have found that this step isn't necessary for sweet potatoes as they don't have as much starch as regular potatoes.
How should I store cut sweet potatoes? Cut sweet potatoes are best when used right away. However, if you want to prepare them in advance, submerge the sliced pieces in water, dry them off, and transfer them to an airtight container or sealable bag.
When chopping sweet potatoes in advance, make sure to store them in cold water in the refrigerator. That said, if you're cooking sweet potatoes in advance, don't worry about the water. Cooked sweet potatoes do just fine when stored in an airtight container.
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