Creamy Mashed Sweet Potatoes Recipe

Do you prefer sweet or savory mashed sweet potatoes? We, personally, love the sweet rendition. This version, brought to us by recipe developer and registered dietitian nutritionist, Kristen Carli, MS, RD, highlights the natural sweetness in sweet potatoes, while adding a little boost with some maple syrup. Maple syrup is the preferred sweetener in this dish, as opposed to honey or granulated sugar, because of its nutty and caramelized flavor, which happens to pair perfectly with the earthy flavor of sweet potatoes.

With extra creaminess from half and half as well as an entire stick of butter, this dish is decadent. While you might not indulge in this side dish on a regular basis, it is the perfect addition to your holiday table. From Thanksgiving dinner or your Christmas spread, these creamy mashed sweet potatoes pair well with turkey, ham, or even pork chops. Of course, you can absolutely whip these up on any old weeknight if you're looking to add something special to the table. We recommend serving these on the side of a light green salad or simple roasted vegetables to lighten up your plate.

To make these creamy sweet potatoes, you will need sweet potatoes, butter, half and half, maple syrup, salt, and pepper.

First things first, you need to wash and peel the sweet potatoes. Wash them well, making sure to scrub off any dirt. Then, using a vegetable peeler, peel off the potato skins.

Next, roughly chop the sweet potatoes. Don't worry too much about the size of your chop here — because you are mashing later on, the size of your chop does not matter. However, smaller pieces will boil much more quickly than larger ones, which will ease the process in the next step.

Add the chopped sweet potatoes to a large pot of boiling water. Continue to boil for 20 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are fork tender. Drain the water and return the sweet potatoes to the pot.

Using a potato masher, mash down the sweet potatoes. Because they are tender, this should be fairly easy. Continue mashing until you reach your desired consistency. We like a little bit of chunky texture to them, but feel free to whip them completely smooth if you would like. Then, add in the butter, half and half, maple syrup, salt, and pepper. Stir this mixture well until the butter is completely melted. Serve with a pat of butter and an additional drizzle of maple syrup.