Sides · American
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Orange, buttery and spoon-soft. The holiday side that works fine on a Tuesday.
- Hands-on
- 20 min
- Hands-off
- 25 min
- Total
- 45 min
- Makes
- 4 servings
- Serves
- 4
- easy
- vegetarian
- thanksgiving
- side-dish
- stovetop
- holiday
Verified against at least two trusted test kitchens or food-safety guides · Last checked · What this means
Scaling? Use a pot big enough for the chunks to stay covered with water. A bigger pot of water takes longer to come to a boil, so allow extra time. Add the milk gradually when scaling and stop when the texture looks right. Some items (like eggs) don’t halve neatly: beat them, then measure out half.
Ingredients
You need: vegetable peeler · chef's knife and cutting board · large saucepan with lid · colander · potato masher · wooden spoon
Contains: milk
Method
Peel and cut
Peel the 8 sweet potatoes and cut them into 2.5 cm (1 in) chunks, keeping the pieces as even as you can.
Otto tried this firstOtto hacks some chunks huge and some tiny. The little ones turn to mush while the big ones stay hard. Even 2.5 cm pieces cook at the same speed.Boil until very tender
Put the chunks in a saucepan, cover them with cold salted water and put the lid on. Bring to a boil over high heat, then boil for about 15 minutes.
Ready when: Very tender: a fork slides into the thickest chunk with no resistance and the piece falls apart when pressed. Bringing the water to a boil takes roughly another 10 minutes before the 15 start.
Drain
Tip the potatoes into a colander in the sink and let them drain well.
Mash and enrich
Return the potatoes to the pan and mash until smooth, then stir in 57 g (4 tbsp) butter and 180 ml (3/4 cup) milk until creamy.
Season
Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve hot.
Make ahead, store & reheat
- Storage
- Get leftovers into the fridge within 2 hours (1 hour if the room is above 32°C / 90°F), in a covered container, and eat them within 3-4 days. For longer storage, freeze within that time and use within 3-4 months.
- Reheat
- Reheat until steaming hot all the way through, 74°C (165°F), stirring partway so it heats evenly.
If something goes wrong
- Lumpy mash
The chunks weren't tender enough. Next time, boil until a fork meets no resistance, and cut the pieces evenly.
Good to know
- Garlic version: stir 3 minced garlic cloves, 2 tbsp butter and 1/4 cup heavy cream into the mash instead of the milk-and-butter mix. In this version the potatoes are boiled whole for 15-20 minutes until fork-tender and peeled after.
Safety
- Raw sweet potatoes are hard and slippery. Cut a thin slice off one side so the potato sits flat on the board before chopping. Kids can do the peeling, and an adult the chopping.
- Draining: pour away from you; the steam from the colander can burn your face and hands.