Sweet Potato Puree is made with fresh, roasted sweet potatoes and is a kitchen staple that is easy to make, economical and tastes exceptionally better than the canned stuff. The holidays taste so much better when you add this recipe to your baking schedule.
*This post is an updated version of one I originally published in December 2020. I’ve updated the images and copy to simply the article.*
Why Make Sweet Potato Puree At Home?
If you’ve ever used canned sweet potatoes to make your puree or bought canned sweet potato puree, you know how bland and tasteless it often is. Homemade sweet potato puree is simple to make, less expensive than the canned stuff, and tastes purer and more flavorful than canned.
Purchasing the sweet potatoes in the can also means removing sugary syrup from the sweet potatoes before using them. Sweet potatoes, when properly chosen, are sweet enough on their own without the added sugars. Roasting them, as we do in this recipe, brings out even more of their sweetness.
What Are Sweet Potatoes?
Sweet potatoes are autumn/winter produce known as tubers native to the Americas. They are starchy vegetables with off-white, purple, yellow, or deep orange-colored flesh that range in taste from mealy and dry to moist and dense. The flesh of all sweet potato varieties becomes soft and sweeter after cooking. Sweet potatoes have a sweet flavor, similar to pumpkin, with a slight nuttiness.
Potatoes and sweet potatoes belong to the same plant order, solanales, but in different families. Yams belong to a different plant order (dioscoreales) but can be used interchangeably with sweet potatoes in most recipes.
The orange Beauregard sweet potato is one of the sweetest and most moist varieties because of its higher sugar content. Beauregard’s flavor and texture make it a great choice for pureeing. You can make this sweet potato puree using any sweet potato, however.
Sweet potatoes are low in fat, high in fiber and antioxidants, and rich in beta carotene (indicated by its orange color), which is converted to vitamin A to support good vision and the immune system. They are also a good source of protein.
Sweet potatoes are versatile and can be prepared in sweet and savory dishes. Sweet potato puree is best in soups, bisques, breads, pies, and even as baby food.
What Do I Need To Make Sweet Potato Puree?
To make sweet potato puree, you need whole, cleaned, and dried sweet potatoes. Buy sweet potatoes that weigh between 12-14 ounces each. I usually roast 3 pounds of sweet potatoes, which produces around 4 cups of puree.
Purchase sweet potatoes that are heavy for their size and have peels without too many blemishes or dry dark spots. Avoid sweet potatoes that are wrinkled, shriveled, and soft, as well.
Additionally, you need a sheetpan, fork, kitchen towel, and a potato masher or food processor.
What Other Types Of Sweet Potatoes Can I Puree?
White Boniato, the milder Okinawa, and the yellow-fleshed Satsuma-imo are suitable substitutes for Beauregard sweet potatoes. These varieties are ideal when preparing puree for savory or less sweet recipes.
Recipes like this sweet potato casserole work best with the less-sweet Boniato.
How Do I Prepare The Sweet Potatoes For Roasting?
Heat an oven to 400°F (204°C), then lightly grease a sheet pan with cooking spray.
Use a clean, damp kitchen towel to scrub loose dirt from the sweet potato skins and allow them to air dry or dry them with a clean kitchen towel. If your sweet potato has dry vines protruding, tear them off and discard them. Use the tip of a paring knife to remove any eyes from the potatoes.
Arrange the sweet potatoes on a sheetpan. Poke venting holes in the potatoes with the tines of a fork. This step avoids a sweet potato explosion in the oven by allowing steam to escape through the holes.
How Long Does It Take To Roast A Sweet Potato?
It takes 45 minutes to 1 hour to roast a sweet potato until it’s soft enough to mash. This roasting time varies depending on the size of the potato, however.
To test if the sweet potatoes are tender, poke a paring knife into the thickest part of the potato. It’s soft enough to remove from the oven if the knife slides in and out without resistance.
Continue roasting the sweet potatoes for another 10-15 minutes if the knife meets any resistance when you poke the sweet potatoes.
What’s The Easiest Way To Peel The Roasted Potatoes?
Remove the tender sweet potatoes from the oven and cover the pan with a clean kitchen towel. Steaming sweet potatoes under a towel after roasting them helps to loosen the skins, which makes them easier to peel. Allow the potatoes to steam under the towel for 10-15 minutes or until they are cool enough to handle.
Use your fingers to remove the sweet potato peels and compost or discard them.
What’s The Most Efficient Way To Puree Sweet Potatoes?
You can puree sweet potatoes in various ways: mash them with a fork, press them through a potato ricer, with a potato masher, or pulse them in a blender or food processor.
Recipes where you desire texture– like casseroles or simple mashed sweet potatoes– benefit from a rough mash, which you can accomplish with a sturdy fork or a potato masher.
Use a blender or food processor to puree sweet potatoes you plan to use in cheesecakes, muffins, or pies. Since these recipes rely on smooth batters, you want to make your puree chunk-free.
Blenders aren’t as efficient because of their narrow carafes, so I recommend dicing or roughly mashing the sweet potatoes before adding them to the machine. With their wider bowls, food processors are more efficient in pureeing sweet potatoes.
Add the peeled, cool sweet potatoes into the food processor and puree them for thirty seconds, scrape down the bowl, and puree for 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until really smooth. Pureeing hot sweet potatoes isn’t something I recommend because it develops more starch and makes your puree gummy.
How Do I Store Sweet Potato Puree?
Store sweet potato puree in a freezer food storage bag in 15-ounce (425 grams) or 1-cup (225 grams) quantities. I recommend packing your sweet potato puree in these quantities because most recipes call for these amounts.
Label and date the bags of sweet potato puree, then press out as much of the air from the bag as possible before sealing them. If you freeze the bags of sweet potato puree lying flat, when they’re frozen solid, you can stand them up in the freezer, which takes up less space.
Freeze sweet potato puree for 2-4 months. You can thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before bringing it to room temperature and using it as instructed in your recipe. You should strain off excess liquid, which develops when the water in the potatoes freezes and thaws. To do this, press the sweet potato puree into a cheesecloth-lined sieve and let the excess liquid drip into a bowl beneath the sieve.
How Long Can I Store Sweet Potato Puree In The Refrigerator?
Store sweet potato puree in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days. If you don’t think you’ll be able to use all of the puree you’ve made within 7 days, it’s best to freeze it.
How Do I Use The Puree In Recipes?
Because it’s so easy, I strongly encourage you to make plenty of this sweet potato puree so you’ll always have it when a recipe calls for it.
Always bring your sweet potato puree to room temperature before using it in recipes. This will keep your batters or doughs from curdling. It’s also best to strain any excess liquid from the sweet potato puree before using it for the same reason.
Once you make your first batch of Sweet Potato Puree, you’ll appreciate how much more flavor it will give your desserts, breads, and side dishes. With little effort, you’ll produce sweet potato recipes with more flavor, more economically, and less additives and preservatives than the canned version. Be sure to pin this post to your baking boards for easy finding later, and don’t forget to share it with your sweet potato-loving friends and family.
Sweet Potato Puree for Cooking and Baking
at Sense & EdibilityEquipment
- sheetpan
- kitchen towel
- potato masher, fork, or food processor
Ingredients
- 3 1/4 pounds (1 1/2 kilograms) sweet potatoes
- cooking oil for greasing the sheet pan
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C).Lightly grease a sheet pan with cooking spray or a light coating of vegetable or olive oil.
Wash and Dry the Sweet Potatoes
- Use a clean, damp kitchen towel to scrub loose dirt from the sweet potato skins and dry them with a clean kitchen towel. If your sweet potato has dry vines protruding, tear them off and discard them. Use the tip of a paring knife to remove any eyes from the potatoes.
Roast the Sweet Potatoes Until Fork-Tender
- Arrange the sweet potatoes on a sheetpan. Poke venting holes in the potatoes with the tines of a fork to allow steam to escape from the roasting sweet potatoes, which will keep them from exploding while they roast.
- Roast the sweet potatoes for 45 minutes to 1 hour. This roasting time varies depending on the size of the potatoes. To test if the sweet potatoes are tender, poke a paring knife into the thickest part of the potato. It's soft enough to remove from the oven if the knife slides in and out without resistance. Continue roasting the sweet potatoes for another 10-15 minutes if the knife meets any resistance when you poke the sweet potatoes.
Steam the Sweet Potatoes For Easy Peeling
- Remove the tender sweet potatoes from the oven and cover the pan with a clean kitchen towel to steam the sweet potatoes and loosen the skins, which makes them easier to peel. Allow the potatoes to steam under the towel for 10-15 minutes or until they are cool enough to handle.
- Use your fingers to remove the sweet potato peels and compost or discard them.
Mash or Puree the Sweet Potatoes
- Puree sweet potatoes by mashing them with a fork, pressing them through a potato ricer or a potato masher, or pulsing them in a blender or food processor.
- Recipes where you desire texture– like casseroles or simple mashed sweet potatoes– benefit from a rough mash, which you can accomplish with a sturdy fork or a potato masher.
- Use a blender or food processor to puree sweet potatoes you plan to use in cheesecakes, muffins, or pies. Since these recipes rely on smooth batters, you want to make your puree chunk-free.Add the peeled, cool sweet potatoes into the food processor and puree them for thirty seconds, scrape down the bowl, and puree for 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until really smooth.
Use as Your Recipe Instructs
- Sweet potato puree is best used in soups, bisques, breads, pies, and even as baby food.
Notes
- Boniato, Okinawa, and Satsuma-imo are suitable substitutes for Beauregard sweet potatoes. These varieties are ideal when preparing puree for savory or less sweet recipes.
- Purchase sweet potatoes that are heavy for their size and have peels without too many blemishes or dry dark spots. Avoid sweet potatoes that are wrinkled, shriveled, and soft.
- Avoid pureeing hot sweet potatoes because it develops more starch and makes your puree gummy.
- Blenders aren't as efficient because of their narrow carafes, so I recommend dicing or roughly mashing the sweet potatoes before adding them to the machine. With their wider bowls, food processors are more efficient in pureeing sweet potatoes.
- Always bring your sweet potato puree to room temperature before using it in recipes to prevent batters or doughs from curdling.
- Strain excess liquid from the sweet potato puree before using it in recipes to avoid creating an imbalance in your dough or batters.
- Store sweet potato puree in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days.
- If you don't think you'll be able to use all of the puree you've made within 7 days, it's best to freeze it.
- Store sweet potato puree in a freezer food storage bag in 15-ounce (425 grams) or 1-cup (225 grams) quantities, since most recipes call for these amounts.
- Label and date the bags of sweet potato puree, then press out as much of the air from the bag as possible before sealing them. Freeze sweet potato puree for 2-4 months.
- If you freeze the bags of sweet potato puree lying flat, when they're frozen solid, you can stand them up in the freezer, which takes up less space.
- Thaw the puree in the refrigerator overnight before bringing it to room temperature and using it as instructed in your recipe.
- Strain off excess liquid, which develops when the water in the potatoes freezes and thaws by pressing the sweet potato puree into a cheesecloth-lined sieve and allowing the excess liquid drip into a bowl beneath.
I used this sweet potato puree for my bread pudding and it was just perfect!
That sounds like a delicious recipe, Jazz. Thanks for the feedback & ideas!
This is a great, easy-to-follow recipe for making sweet potato puree. My little one loves sweet potatoes, so I use this as my guide for making a big batch for him. Sometimes I stir in a bit of maple syrup and spices, but usually, just butter does this trick! The freezing instructions are really helpful, I will try that for my next batch.
It helps for last minute cravings, Krysten.