Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Mashed Sweet Potatoes are sweet and creamy, made with only 4 ingredients and ready in under 45 minutes. Perfect for the holiday season!

We’re busy preparing for the holidays in this house, and these mashed sweet potatoes are the perfect side dish to go alongside Baked Mac and CheeseGreen Bean Casserole and Easy Corn Casserole (Just 5 Ingredients!).

Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Mashed sweet potatoes will make you question why you’ve been mashing russet potatoes as a side dish for your whole life. Don’t get me wrong, I have a deep love for classic mashed potatoes. But there’s something about sweet potatoes on the holidays that just says family dinner time. These are sweet and creamy, plus, they’re so insanely easy to make, that you’re going to want to make them every week!

This mashed sweet potatoes recipe is a Thanksgiving staple in our family, and our relatives make sure to let us know in advance that we’re expected to make them.  The holiday just wouldn’t be the same without this classic side dish.  Obviously, I’m happy to oblige (mostly because I get to eat them too, but don’t tell them that!)

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO BOIL SWEET POTATOES TO MASH?

Sweet potatoes take between 15 and 20 minutes to soften once they’re in boiling water. If you’re mashing potatoes, sweet potatoes are really similar to regular russet potatoes, so you can basically use the same technique to cook and mash them.

DO YOU PEEL SWEET POTATOES BEFORE BOILING?

Yes, you want to peel the sweet potatoes before adding them to the boiling water. Sweet potato skins are edible, and if you choose to eat them you want to make sure you wash them thoroughly first. But for mashed potatoes, I prefer to keep the skins out of the recipe to make them as creamy as possible.

Creamy Mashed Sweet Potatoes

HOW DO YOU MAKE MASHED SWEET POTATOES IN THE OVEN?

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Thoroughly wash sweet potatoes and poke a few holes in the skin with a fork. Place on a baking sheet and add to oven. Cook for 40-50 minutes, or until potatoes are soft and a fork pokes through easily.
  • Remove potatoes from the oven. Remove skins from the potatoes and add to a large bowl. Use oven mitts because the potatoes will be hot!
  • Add butter, milk, and maple syrup to bowl. Puree with electric hand mixer until everything is combined.

HOW DO YOU MAKE MASHED SWEET POTATOES WITH MARSHMALLOWS?

You can add marshmallows to this side dish recipe if you want something closer to a sweet potato casserole. I would spread the mashed potatoes in a baking dish and sprinkle mini marshmallows on top. Then broil in the oven for 1-2 minutes, or until marshmallows start to look toasted. You can stir some marshmallows into the potatoes before adding the topping, if you want some mixed in as well.

CAN YOU MAKE SWEET MASHED POTATOES WITH CINNAMON?

You can easily add cinnamon to this recipe by adding 1/2 teaspoon when you’re pureeing the potatoes. You can also sprinkle another 1/4 teaspoon on top of the potatoes before serving.

MORE SWEET POTATO RECIPES

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Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Mashed Sweet Potatoes are sweet and creamy, made with only 4 ingredients and ready in under 45 minutes. Perfect for the holiday season! 

Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword mashed sweet potatoes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Calories 281 kcal
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients

  • 6 sweet potatoes peeled and cut into cubes
  • 3/4 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup butter melted
  • 3/4 cup maple syrup

Instructions

  1. Place a large pot of water on the stovetop and bring to to a boil before boiling the potato chunks for 15-20 minutes (until fork tender).

  2. Add the milk, butter and maple syrup and blend them until creamy with an immersion blender or in a classic blender.

Recipe Notes

Note: click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.

Nutrition Facts
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Amount Per Serving
Calories 281 Calories from Fat 108
% Daily Value*
Fat 12g18%
Saturated Fat 7g44%
Cholesterol 32mg11%
Sodium 167mg7%
Potassium 426mg12%
Carbohydrates 41g14%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 23g26%
Protein 2g4%
Vitamin A 14225IU285%
Vitamin C 2.3mg3%
Calcium 91mg9%
Iron 0.6mg3%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. Do you drain the existing water from the pot of boiled sweet potatoes before adding milk, butter and syrup?

  2. Hi, if I wanted to dress the mashed sweet potatoes up with butter and brown sugar would I just omit the butter & maple syrup? Or do I need to omit the milk too?

    1. You can customize the flavorings to your liking. I would recommend using the milk, butter and brown sugar though a hint of maple syrup in there would be fantastic too. Enjoy!

  3. I have never liked the traditional holiday sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows, but this version sounds delicious. Sometimes simple is better!