The Best Recipes With Sweet Potato: 30+ Favorite Sweet Potato Recipes to Make

Sweet potatoes have a reputation for showing up once a year under a layer of marshmallows, but they deserve a much bigger role in the kitchen. These naturally sweet, nutrient-dense root veggies can become everything from a cozy breakfast to a hearty dinner, a crispy side, or a surprisingly good dessert.

Whether you have a pile of cooked sweet potatoes waiting in the fridge or you’re simply looking for a new idea for dinner, there are plenty of ways to put them to work. From pancakes and savory hash to curry, tacos, brownies, and classic pie, these are some of the best sweet potato recipes to add to the rotation.

Sweet Potato Breakfast Recipes to Start the Day

Breakfast is an underrated place for sweet potatoes. Their creamy texture and naturally sweet flavor make them a great addition to pancakes, biscuits, muffins, and breakfast skillets. In other words, breakfast recipes with sweet potatoes do not have to involve reheating Thanksgiving leftovers at 8 a.m.—although leftover mashed sweet potatoes can certainly get the job done.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Sweet potato pancakes are fluffy, warmly spiced, and just sweet enough to feel special without requiring an entire bottle of syrup. They’re an especially tasty way to use leftover sweet potato puree.

Sweet Potato Pancakes — Food Network

Sweet Potato Hash

A hash brings together roasted or sautéed sweet potatoes with ingredients such as onions, peppers, greens, and eggs. It’s hearty enough for a weekend brunch but simple enough for a weekday breakfast.

Sweet Potato Hash — The Kitchn

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Sweet potato biscuits have the tender, flaky appeal of a traditional biscuit with an additional subtle sweetness. They’re delicious alongside eggs or sausage, but also work beautifully with butter and honey.

Sweet Potato Biscuits — King Arthur Baking

Muffins With Sweet Potato

For an easy grab-and-go option, muffins are hard to beat. Pureed sweet potatoes add moisture and are the perfect complement to pecans or even chocolate chips.

Sweet Potato Muffins — Pinch of Yum

Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls

Give classic cinnamon rolls a fun twist by using sweet potato in the dough. The flavor pairs naturally with cinnamon, brown sugar, and warm spices, making this the perfect upgrade to a classic breakfast recipe.

Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls — Jo Cooks

Sweet Potato Lunch Recipes for Easy Midday Meals

Sweet potatoes can easily become a satisfying lunch without requiring a complicated recipe. Roast them ahead of time, and suddenly several easy sweet potato recipes are within reach.

Sweet Potato Salad

A sweet potato salad can be as simple or elaborate as desired. Roasted sweet potatoes pair particularly well with leafy greens, grains, beans, herbs, and a tangy vinaigrette.

This is also one of those recipes that can change with the seasons. Add crisp apples in the fall, fresh herbs in the summer, or hearty grains when a more substantial lunch is needed.

Sweet Potato Salad — Love & Lemons

Sweet Potato Noodles

Spiralized sweet potatoes create long, colorful strands that can be used much like pasta. Toss with pesto, garlic and olive oil, peanut sauce, or a creamy curry sauce. They’re also perfect for prepping ahead of time and taking on the go.

Sweet Potato Noodles — Foolproof Living

Loaded Sweet Potato

Take a baked sweet potato, split it open, and the possibilities are almost endless. A loaded sweet potato can be topped with black beans, avocado, salsa, cheese, Greek yogurt, roasted vegetables, or even leftover chili.

The best part? There’s no single correct combination. Think of it as the baked-potato bar’s more colorful cousin.

Savory Sweet Potato Dinner Recipes for Cozy, Satisfying Meals

When it comes to dinner, sweet potatoes can play both supporting and starring roles. They can make a traditional comfort-food recipe more interesting, bulk up a vegetarian meal, or become the centerpiece of a completely plant-based dinner.

Sweet Potato Chili

Sweet potato chili is exactly the kind of meal that makes a cold evening better. The sweet potatoes bring natural sweetness and substance to a combination of beans, tomatoes, peppers, and warming spices. Make a big pot and serve it with avocado, cilantro, lime, or your favorite chili toppings.

Vegetarian Chili With Sweet Potatoes — Well Plated

Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie

Sweet potato shepherd’s pie puts a colorful spin on classic comfort food. Instead of the usual mashed potato topping, creamy sweet potatoes sit over a savory filling of vegetables and meat or lentils. This is a particularly smart recipe to keep in mind after a holiday meal when there are leftover mashed sweet potatoes in the refrigerator.

Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie — Wholesome Yum

Curry With Sweet Potatoes

Few ingredients complement curry spices like sweet potatoes. A sweet potato curry can combine coconut milk, chickpeas, spinach, tomatoes, ginger, and warming spices for a flavorful meal that happens to be vegetarian or vegan-friendly.

Sweet Potato Curry — BBC Good Food

Sweet Potato Tacos

Sweet potato tacos are an excellent choice for a meatless dinner. Season roasted sweet potatoes with cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, or lime, then tuck them into tortillas with black beans, avocado, salsa, and crunchy cabbage.

Crispy Chipotle Sweet Potato Tacos — Half Baked Harvest

Sweet Potato Soup & Other Healthy Recipes

When you’re looking for lighter options that don’t sacrifice flavor, sweet potatoes shine in their versatility. They can add creamy texture to soup, substance to a salad, or natural sweetness to a puree without requiring a long list of ingredients. Consider these recipes a reminder that nutritious meals don’t have to be boring—or look like a bowl of lettuce.

Vegan Sweet Potato Soup

Creamy sweet potato soup is cozy without necessarily being heavy. Ginger, garlic, apple, and coconut milk can turn sweet potatoes into a silky soup with plenty of flavor. A sprinkle of toasted seeds or a finishing swirl of coconut milk makes a simple bowl feel decidedly restaurant-worthy.

Sweet Potato Soup — Love and Lemons

Baked Sweet Potato

A baked sweet potato requires very little preparation, yet it can become the foundation for an entire meal. Bake the potatoes until the centers are soft enough to scoop with a fork, then split them open and add whatever toppings you desire.

For a savory sweet potato, try black beans, sautéed greens, avocado, salsa, or Greek yogurt. Tahini, chickpeas, roasted vegetables, and fresh herbs are other easy options. If a sweeter version is more your style, cinnamon and a little nut butter can turn a baked sweet potato into a satisfying breakfast or snack.

Sweet Potato Puree

Nutrient-dense sweet potato puree can be used as a simple side, stirred into soups and sauces, or incorporated into baked goods. Making a batch ahead of time is an easy meal-prep move. Roast or steam the sweet potatoes until tender, remove the skins, and blend the flesh until smooth. Store the puree in the refrigerator for short-term use or freeze portions for another day.

Silky Sweet Potato Puree — Allrecipes

Sweet Potato Side Dish Recipes

Sometimes sweet potatoes don’t need to be reinvented. The classics are classics for a reason, and these recipes make excellent companions for everything from roast chicken to holiday turkey.

Roast Sweet Potatoes

When done right, this simple dish can easily become the star of the show. This is also a great opportunity to experiment with other varieties, such as Japanese sweet potatoes.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes — Once Upon a Chef

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Mashed sweet potatoes are one of the easiest ways to transform cooked sweet potatoes into a comforting side. Keep them simple with butter and salt, or lean into their natural sweetness with maple syrup and cinnamon. For a savory version, add garlic, rosemary, sage, or a little Parmesan. 

Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes — Simply Recipes

Glazed Sweet Potatoes

This recipe leans into the sweet potato’s natural sweetness with additions such as brown sugar, maple syrup, butter, or warm spices. The result is sticky, caramelized, and extremely hard to resist.

Glazed Sweet Potatoes — Taste of Home

Sweet Potato Gratin

Think of gratin as the sophisticated relative of the casserole. Thinly sliced sweet potatoes are layered with a creamy sauce and baked until tender and bubbling. It’s an excellent choice when the goal is a sweet potato side that feels a little more dinner-party than weeknight.

Sweet Potato Gratin — Food Network

Sweet Potato Fries, Wedges & Other Crispy Recipes

Sweet potatoes become especially snackable when they hit a hot oven or air fryer. The outside caramelizes while the inside becomes tender, making fries and wedges among the most popular ways to serve them.

Sweet Potato Fries

This classic recipe uses simple ingredients to turn sweet potatoes into a satisfying, vitamin-packed side. For a restaurant-worthy finish, serve with chipotle aioli or honey mustard dipping sauce.

Sweet Potato Fries — Gimme Some Oven

Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries

Air fryer sweet potato fries are a quick alternative to oven-baked fries, with plenty of crisp edges and tender centers. The key is giving the pieces enough room to cook rather than piling them into one crowded layer.

Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries — Skinnytaste

Sweet Potato Wedges

Potato wedges are usually associated with russet potatoes, but sweet potatoes make an excellent version. Cut them into thick wedges, season generously, and roast until browned around the edges.

Sweet Potato Wedges — A Couple Cooks

Loaded Sweet Potato Fries

Loaded sweet potato fries take an already excellent side dish and make it the main event. Pile on black beans, cheese, avocado, scallions, salsa, chili, or a drizzle of spicy sauce.

The Best Sweet Potato Recipes for Holidays

Sweet potatoes tend to have their biggest moments at holiday meals, and there is certainly nothing wrong with sticking with tradition. Whether it’s Thanksgiving, Christmas, or another cause for celebration, these recipes are guaranteed to impress.

Sweet Potato Casserole

This holiday classic comes with one surprisingly divisive question: marshmallows or no marshmallows? Some prefer the gooey, toasted sweetness of a marshmallow topping, while others swear by a buttery pecan crumble—or skip the topping altogether to let the sweet potatoes shine.

Sweet Potato Casserole — Sally’s Baking

Maple Meringue Sweet Potato Casserole

This recipe is for sweet potato casserole lovers who are ready to take it up a notch. Once you try this elevated twist, you’ll wonder how you ever set a holiday table without it.

Maple Meringue Sweet Potato Casserole — Country Living

Candied Sweet Potatoes (AKA Candied Yams)

Candied sweet potatoes are another holiday favorite, often made with butter, brown sugar, and spices. And here’s where the yam confusion comes in: recipes and menus sometimes call this dish candied yams, even when the ingredient is actually a sweet potato.

In everyday American grocery-store language, the terms are often used interchangeably, but true yams are a different root vegetable. For the classic holiday dish, either name may appear on the recipe card.

Candied Sweet Potatoes — Carla Hall

Sweet Potato Latkes

Sweet potato latkes put a colorful spin on the classic potato pancake. They’re crisp around the edges, tender in the center, and excellent with sour cream or applesauce.

Sweet Potato Latkes — Martha Stewart

Sweet Potato Dessert Recipes Worth Making

If sweet potatoes can work in pancakes and biscuits, it should come as no surprise that they also have a place in the dessert section. Their natural sweetness and creamy texture make them surprisingly versatile in cakes, bars, brownies, and pies.

Sweet Potato Pie

This is arguably one of the most iconic sweet potato desserts, and for good reason. The filling is creamy and warmly spiced, with cinnamon, nutmeg, and other baking spices complementing the sweet potatoes. If pumpkin pie is usually the star of the Thanksgiving dessert table, sweet potato pie makes a very compelling alternative.

Sweet Potato Pie — Preppy Kitchen

Sweet Potato Cake

This cake is moist, warmly spiced, and an excellent use for leftover puree. Add cream cheese frosting and it becomes the kind of dessert that disappears suspiciously quickly.

Sweet Potato Cake — Southern Living

Sweet Potato Brownies

Adding sweet potato to brownies may sound unconventional, but the ingredient can add moisture and richness to a fudgy brownie recipe. They’re an especially good idea when you’re looking to lighten up the usual chocolate dessert.

Sweet Potato Brownie Bites — EatingWell

Sweet Potato Bars

Sweet potato bars are another easy way to turn the flavors of sweet potato pie into a handheld dessert. Depending on the recipe, they can feature a shortbread crust, creamy filling, streusel, or cheesecake-inspired topping.

No-Bake Sweet Potato Bars — Sweet Potato Soul

Sweet Potato Cheesecake

Sweet potato cheesecake combines the silky texture of cheesecake with the warm spices associated with pie. Prepare this one a day before serving to allow ample cooling time—we promise it’s worth the wait.

Sweet Potato Cheesecake — Sense and Edibility

Why Sweet Potatoes Belong in the Regular Recipe Rotation

The best sweet potato recipes aren’t necessarily the most complicated ones. The most successful recipes tend to have one thing in common: they make the most of the vegetable’s naturally sweet flavor, which works just as beautifully in decadent desserts as it does in savory dishes.

So the next time you bring a bag of sweet potatoes home from the grocery store, think beyond the casserole. There are pancakes to make, tacos to fill, noodles to spiralize, fries to crisp, and desserts to bake. In short, there are plenty of delicious sweet potato ideas worth trying.

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