“I don’t like sweet potatoes.” If you’ve ever uttered this phrase aloud, please understand that everyone in your life who cares about you has stifled the urge to yell back, “You just haven’t tried them in the right context!” Sweet potatoes are, after all, far more versatile than we give them credit for, forming the foundation of all kinds of sweet and savory dishes. Here are seven great recipes to try—there’s no way you won’t fall in love with at least one of them.
This Sweet Potato Chutney is a secret weapon of a condiment. It can make dishes as simple as rotisserie chicken, turkey wraps, and hell, even toast taste spectacular. There’s some warmth and smokiness from garam masala, and dried cherries add bursts of tartness. This is a versatile recipe, too; simply swap out the cherries for some raisins, apricots, figs, or cranberries if you want to alter the sweetness-to-tartness ratio. Get the recipe for Sweet Potato Chutney here.
Sweet potato fries contain much more starch than regular potatoes, which can make it harder to get them crispy. But there’s a secret to getting them to their most delectable state: soaking (and re-soaking) the fresh-cut fries in water to draw out their starches and using cornstarch to help develop texture. It sounds complicated, but it’s a lot of hands-off time, and it’ll result in fries with that coveted crunch. Get the recipe for The Best Sweet Potato Fries here.
Gougeres are a great party food, fluffy little puffs that are heavy on the cheese but still somehow light as a cloud—and these Sweet Potato Gougeres make a good thing even better by adding a seasonally appropriate richness to the end result. Better yet, you can make the dough in large batches, roll it into balls, and freeze for later use so you always have something on hand to serve guests. Get the recipe for Sweet Potato Gougeres here.
No, it’s not a mistake for Vegan Chocolate Frosting to be in a list about sweet potatoes. The tuber is central to creating a dairy-free, gluten-free cupcake topping that boasts just the right amount of sweetness (not cloying like a typical buttercream) and some impressive depth of flavor, thanks to the inclusion of almond extract. Serve this dessert to guests and see if they can guess the secret ingredient. Get the recipe for Vegan Chocolate Frosting here.
These Sweet Potato Parker House Rolls get the most important detail right: the butter. Already buttery on their own, they open up like little pocketbooks and invite the spreading of further butter onto their interior. The sweet potato adds a beautiful hue to the final product, and there’s just enough sweetener in the dough to complement the tuber’s flavor. Get the recipe for Sweet Potato Parker House Rolls here.
According to the developer of this recipe, cookbook author Danielle Renov, this Sweet Potato Salad is a common menu staple at restaurants in Israel, where she lives. Halloumi croutons and roasted sweet potatoes are the stars of the dish, while the dressing layers on a wealth of assertive flavors, including tart dried blueberries, Dijon mustard, balsamic, and shallot. If you haven’t topped a salad with sweet potatoes yet, let this recipe serve as your inspiration. Get the recipe for Sweet Potato Salad with Blueberry Vinaigrette here.
This casserole, like all good casseroles, is flexible; it can be made with any number of cold-weather gourds and tubers, from squash to sweet potatoes, either canned or roasted. Sweet potatoes are a great way to avoid wrestling with squash, if you go the non-canned route. Besides, when you’re adding it to a mixture of sugar, eggs, milk, butter, vanilla, and salt, do the specifics really matter? Get the recipe for Sweet Squash Pecan Casserole here.