Your Step-by-Step Guide For Boiling Sweet Potatoes

By
Ariel H
-
Image by Beverly Buckley from Pixabay

While sweet potatoes are great any time of year, they’re even more popular once fall rolls around. Sweet potatoes taste amazing in pies, casseroles, and mashed, and to get them ready for your dishes, you have to know how to boil them. The first thing to look out for is choosing sweet potatoes that are small to medium size and that have smooth skin and are firm and free of soft spots. Now that you know the basics, here’s your step-by-step guide to boiling potatoes.

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For your Thanksgiving dinner consideration: Brown Butter Whipped Sweet Potatoes. You're welcome. 😉⁠ (PS – head up to my Insta Stories to see my quick tip for cleaning your food processor blade when making these!)⁠ 🍠⁠ Hit SAVE to keep the full recipe, below, before it's published on the blog!⁠ ⬇️⁠ INGREDIENTS⁠ 4 pounds sweet potatoes, scrubbed⁠ 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-sized pats⁠ 3/4 to 1 cup heavy cream, heated⁠ 1 to 2 tablespoons brown sugar or maple syrup (optional)⁠ salt and pepper, to taste⁠ ⁠ INSTRUCTIONS⁠ ⁠ 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place sweet potatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet. Use a fork to pierce sweet potatoes all over. Bake, turning once, until soft. (Time will depend on the size of your sweet potatoes. Mine took a little over an hour today. Smaller potatoes have taken me as little as 30-40 minutes.)⁠ ⁠ 2. When the potatoes are almost finished baking, melt butter over medium heat in a small heavy-bottomed skillet. Choose a skillet that's light in color (stainless or white/ivory enameled) so you can monitor the color of the butter as it browns. As foaming subsides, continue cooking, swirling the pan frequently, until the milk solids are golden brown and the butter has a nutty aroma. (Watch it closely! It can burn quickly.)⁠ ⁠ 3. Immediately pour brown butter into a bowl, leaving behind any very dark solids in the pan. ⁠ 4. Scoop flesh from potatoes (you should have 6 cups worth) and discard skins. Place in the bowl of a food processor and pulse for about 10 seconds, until the potatoes are starting to look smooth.⁠ ⁠ 5. Add brown butter, 3/4 cup cream, and sugar or maple syrup (if using). Process for about 5-10 seconds until very smooth. Add additional cream, if needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm.⁠ ⁠ *A note on the sugar: I really wanted the beautiful flavor of the sweet potatoes and brown butter to come through in this recipe, so I've made additional sweetening agents optional . Many sweet potatoes are sweet enough on their own; others need a little boost. Taste yours before including sugar and add it in to your preferences.⁠

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Step 1: Prep Sweet Potaotes

Start by washing the sweet potatoes by thoroughly scrubbing them with a clean produce brush and rinse them with cold water. Peel the sweet potatoes with a paring knife or vegetable peeler. With a sharp knife, cut off any woody portions and the ends. Cut the potatoes into bite-size cubes, making sure the pieces are about the same size.

Step 2: Boil Sweet Potatoes

In a saucepan or Dutch oven, add enough cold water to cover the potatoes and sprinkle with salt. Bring to a boil and cover them until they’re tender. You should be able to easily pierce the sweet potatoes with a knife or fork.

Step 3: Drain and Use

Remove the lid and carefully pour the sweet potatoes into a colander to drain them. Set the potatoes aside to cool or run cold water over them if you’re not using them right away. If you want to make an easy side dish, toss the potatoes with butter, salt, and pepper or you can use them in quesadillas, pot pies, or casseroles.