Name: Easy Mashed Sweet Potatoes Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (cut into 4 pieces); 2 tablespoons heavy cream; 2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes (3 medium-sized ); 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt; ¼ teaspoon black pepper; 1 teaspoon maple syrup; 2 tablespoons pecans as garnish

Easy Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Published on November 20, 2019 ·

Updated on October 6, 2022

This Easy Mashed Sweet Potatoes Recipe is my favorite Thanksgiving side dish that I have been making over 10 years. Made with only 7 ingredients, it is a simple recipe that doesn’t require you to bake sweet potatoes in the oven. Rather, everything is cooked on the stove top and ready in about 40 minutes. Add this delicious yet simple mashed sweet potatoes recipe to your Thanksgiving menu. I promise it is a good one.

Yields: servings

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 30 mins

Total: 40 mins

Today’s recipe, easy mashed sweet potatoes, is one of my go-to recipes that I make every year for our Thanksgiving meal. Made by cooking the sweet potatoes on the stove top with a little bit butter and heavy cream, it is easy and quick to make.

Maple sweetened easy mashed sweet potato recipe placed on an oval dish served with pecans

I love this simple mashed sweet potatoes recipe because:

It does not require baking sweet potatoes, which is great because then I do not need to use my oven when I need it for other things.
I can use this basic mashed sweet potatoes recipe and flavor in any way I like. It is easy to switch it up by adding fresh herbs like rosemary or sage or use different seasonings.
It can be served with or without maple syrup making it very easy to adapt to your taste buds.
It is a super easy recipe that is perfect for beginners who are new to making mashed sweet potatoes. It doesn’t require any special equipment. All you need is a saucepan to cook and a fork to mash the potatoes.

Ingredients:

This recipe has only 7 ingredients.

You will need unsalted butter, heavy cream, sweet potatoes, and salt and pepper. The rest of the ingredients, maple syrup and pecans are optional.

About the recipe – How To Make Mashed Sweet Potatoes?

When it comes to simple mashed sweet potatoes most people ask the same question: Bake, steam or boil? While I am sure the world of internet offers a recipe for every one of those methods, I found that the best way to make mashed sweet potatoes includes none of those methods.

Learn how to make mashed sweet potato recipe - A woman is pouring maple syrup into butter and sweet potato mixture.

To do so, simply:

Cook the sweet potatoes: Place peeled and cubed sweet potatoes in a saucepan with a little bit of butter, heavy cream, and a splash of maple syrup. No need to add water or any other liquid. Since they already contain so much liquid, when heated, they release their juices and with the help butter they become perfectly mashable (is there a word like that?).
Let them cook until softened: It takes about 30 minutes or so for them to cook. I highly recommend giving keeping an eye on them and stirring occasionally.

How to mash sweet potatoes?

I mashed mine with a fork (or a potato masher would be ideal) as I like my mashed sweet potatoes on the chunkier side, but if you like yours smooth try using an immersion blender, high powered blender (like Vitamix) or a food processor. You can’t go wrong either way.

It is optional, but if you want you can put it back in the saucepan and warm it up if you like to serve your mashed sweet potatoes warm.

Simple Mashed Sweet Potatoes garnished with pecans in an oval plate from the top view

Can I make it ahead?

This sweet potato mashed potato recipe can be made a day in advance. Be sure to keep it in an airtight container in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

You can serve it cold but I usually warm it up on the stove top with a tablespoon of butter in low heat. If you decide to do so be sure to stir it constantly to prevent it from sticking to the pan.

How to Store Leftovers?

If you have any leftovers, place them in an airtight container with a tight lid. It should keep fresh up to 2 days.

Variations:

As I mentioned earlier, this simple and basic mashed sweet potatoes recipe is so easy to flavor and adapt to make it work for your taste buds. Here are a few ideas:

To make it vegan: If you’d like to turn this into a vegan mashed sweet potato dish you can swap butter with the same amount of vegan butter and heavy cream with the same amount of full-fat coconut milk.
Flavor with fresh herbs: Add in a small amount of chopped rosemary or sage to make it even more festive.
Make it sugar free: If you want to make it without sugar simply omit using maple syrup.

What Does Sweet Potato Mash Go With?

While traditionally most people serve this whipped sweet potato recipe with turkey on Thanksgiving, I also serve it as a side dish when I make my Cornish Game Hen recipe or Whole Roasted Chicken.

Other Sweet Potato Recipes You Might Like

Double Layered Mashed Potato Casserole – one of my other favorite mashed sweet potato recipes
Sweet Potato Souffle
Sweet Potato Noodles Recipe
Vegan Sweet Potato Soup Recipe
Roasted Sweet Potato and Brussel Sprouts
Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie
Sweet Potato Biscuits

Other Thanksgiving Side Dishes You Might Like

There you have it, friends. It is as easy as putting all the ingredients in a saucepan, turning the stove on, cooking them until smooth, mashing them up, and accepting all the compliments. I promise I won’t take any credit for this delicious savory mashed sweet potato recipe.