Our Best Sweet Potato Recipes for Thanksgiving (2024)

FAQs

Why do you soak sweet potatoes before baking? ›

TIPS & TRICKS to Make this Recipe: The main secrets to achieving that incredible crispy texture, is to soak the cut sweet potatoes in cold water for at least 30 minutes. This helps remove the starch from the sweet potatoes so they´re not limp & soggy.

Scrub and pat potatoes dry. Pierce potatoes all over with the tines of a fork and bake in oven, directly on rack, until soft and caramelizing, 1 1/2 hours. Slash the tops of potatoes open with the tip of a sharp knife and push ends of each potato toward each other to open.

Place the sweet potato meat into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and add the orange juice, cream, butter, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Mix together until combined but not smooth and transfer to a baking dish. Bake the potatoes for 20 to 30 minutes, until heated through.

Do You Have to Peel Sweet Potatoes Before Roasting Them? Not at all! However, if you'd prefer to do so you certainly can! The skin of the sweet potato is thicker and tougher than the rest of your sweet potato, so if that's undesirable to you feel free to remove the skin.

There is not much difference between boiling sweet potatoes with the skins on versus peeling them, but you will get a boost of fiber and potassium if you keep the skin on. The skin also adds a subtle texture to each bite. If you're looking for a smoother mash, peel the potatoes first before boiling.

Wrapping sweet potatoes in foil helps in a few ways. It prevents the exterior of the tuber from drying out and overheating too quickly, which would minimize enzymatic activity; it also results in a more evenly cooked texture.

Baking a sweet potato in the oven is great, but requires time. When you need a quicker solution, the microwave is your best friend — we're talking 5 minutes flat!

Boiling sweet potatoes retains more beta-carotene and makes the nutrient more absorbable than other cooking methods such as baking or frying. Up to 92% of the nutrient can be retained by limiting the cook time, such as boiling in a pot with a tightly covered lid for 20 minutes.

Add the potatoes and boil for 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes thoroughly. Directly on a rimmed baking sheet (avoid using foil as the potatoes may stick), sprinkle the par-boiled potatoes with the potato starch, oil, ½ teaspoon of salt, half of the rosemary, and the pepper. Toss gently to coat.

Should you soak sweet potatoes before cooking? ›

Please do not soak sweet potato. You must pierce the sweet potato on all the sides with a fork before baking it. This will ensure it comes out soft from inside. You can put butter on the top.

Soaking helps keep cut potatoes from browning. Also to season them if you add salt. The water flushes the surface starch too. But soaking a whole potato is not needed.

Why use salt water for soaking potatoes? There's moisture naturally found in potatoes, and moisture is drawn to higher concentrations of salt. (This is a process called osmosis.) So, if you put the potatoes in a salt water bath, that will help draw out some of their moisture, resulting in crispier fries.

The reason is to prevent the potatoes exposure to air, which causes dehydration, oxidation, and discoloration. Immersing cut potatoes will also help rinse off excess starch.