Learn about the 5 most popular methods you can cook sweet potatoes at home. Whether it's a stove-top, oven, instant pot, or air fryer - you will get a perfect side dish every time.
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Sweet potatoes varieties
Sweet potatoes are very nutritious and taste absolutely delicious when cooked the right way.
There are a lot of different varieties of sweet potatoes that are more or less popular in different parts of the world. Some of them can only be imported as they grow only in specific countries.
The most popular types of sweet potatoes I usually find in American grocery stores are Garnet, Beauregard, Jewel, Hannah, and Stokes Purple sweet potatoes.
Hannah and purple sweet potatoes are considered dry types and they are best for mashing or baking whole. Their flesh remains firm when cooked. Dry types taste less sweet compared to moist ones.
Garnet, Beauregrds, and Jewels are the most types and are used in the most popular ways such as casseroles, roasting, and mashing. All three varieties have orange flesh and orange, copper, or red skin. Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between the three. The most accurate way is to check the labels the grocery store proved.
Lots of times, the above varieties are called yams. It is common to call any sweet potato a yam, but it is not very correct.
The skin of yams looks very barky and has a dark brown color. They are not very common in American grocery stores. Yams are starchy and dry when cooked.
There are a lot of ways to cook and enjoy this root vegetable. Below, there is an overview of each method you can choose. Both have pros and cons and are better for one of another variety.
In this article, you will learn how to use different devices and appliances to prepare sweet potatoes. I also suggest which varieties are best to cook in one or another device, so as pros and cons for each method.
Stove-top
You can easily boil or steam sweet potatoes on your stovetop. I do not recommend boiling a whole sweet potato as it will take a long time to get cooked and can absorb too much water. Instead, cube the potato and use a steamer basket to make creamy but not soggy sweet potatoes.
Pros: easy with minimum clean-up, accessible, retains most nutrients.
Cons: boiling sweet potatoes can result in them being too soggy and watery.
Varieties: all. My favorite is our purple mashed sweet potatoes with crispy sage.
Oven/roasting
You can cook almost any sweet potato in the oven. The best temperature to roast or bake sweet potatoes in the oven is 400°F. Baking a whole sweet potato will require between 45-60 minutes. Roasting sliced sweet potato or thinly cut fries takes only 25-30 minutes.
Pros: available at any home, the potato cooks evenly.
Cons: oven heats the house, takes longer to cook.
Varieties: you can cook any variety in the oven. The dry types are best to bake whole, while moist ones are great for roasting and fries.
Air Fryer
If you have an Air fryer, it is the fastest way you can bake a whole sweet potato. Small or medium potatoes will take only about 30 minutes to cook. You can also easily roast cubed sweet potatoes. They come out super crispy with minimum olive oil.
Pros: cook fast, not much oil needed, less smoke.
Cons: requires money to purchase the air fryer, cannot cook for a big crowd as most of the air fryers are small compared to the oven.
Varieties: garnet or jewel are the best ones to cook in the air fryer.
Instant pot
Pressure cooking is another way you can use to cook sweet potatoes. I used it only if I need a lot of steamed sweet potatoes to mash or if needed for the recipes, such as casseroles. You will need only about 20 minutes to have a tender and creamy steamed potatoes.
Pros: fast, easy, convenient.
Cons: requires money to purchase the pressure cooker, bulky, hard to clean.
Varieties: all but if you are looking for creamy and moist steamed sweet potatoes, use garnet or jewel.
Microwave
When you are in a rush to put dinner on a table, a microwave can be a real saver. I would only use this method if any other ones are not available at the moment. When I lived in the barracks and I had no kitchen (only a microwave), it was the best option for me to make a baked sweet potato.
How to cook:
- Wash the potato well. Use a fork to prick the skin about 8 times to prevent the potato from exploding.
- Place it on a paper towel and cook at high for about 3 minutes. Flip it and cook for another 3 minutes or until you can easily insert the fork in it without any resistance. Be careful, as it may be very hot.
Pros: fast and convenient.
Cons: potato can get easily too dry, and often cooks unevenly.
Varieties: if you decide to cook sweet potatoes in a microwave, use only moist varieties such as garnet or jewel.
Conclusion
There are 5 main methods to prepare sweet potatoes: stove-top, oven, air fryer, or pressure cooker. It's hard to pick the best one as it all depends on the sweet potato variety, the recipe itself, the time, and the equipment available.
Personal note: my favorite method to cook sweet potatoes is the oven. And my favorite varieties are Jewel or Hannah.
Frequently asked questions about cooking sweet potatoes
Refrigerate cooked sweet potatoes in an air-tight container for up to 3-4 days. You can also freeze mashed sweet potatoes for up to 3 months.
Sweet potato skin is edible and nutritious. It is up to you to leave it on or to peel it. I prefer peeling it if it is mashed and leaving the skin on when making fries or roasting.
Insert a fork or a knife in the middle of the sweet potato. If it goes in and comes out easily without any resistance, the potato is cooked.
Refrigerate cooked sweet potatoes in an air-tight container for up to 3-4 days. You can also freeze mashed sweet potatoes for up to 3 months.
Yes, sweet potatoes are naturally gluten-free and paleo-friendly.
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