How to Make Sweet Potato Puree

Hey Y’all.  Learning how to make sweet potato puree is an essential skill.  This blog uses lots of sweet potato puree in recipes like sweet potato pie, sweet potato biscuits and sweet potato cinnamon rolls.   Outside of baking, sweet potato puree is great for babies!  As a baby, my daughter ate so much sweet potato during the introduction to foods phase.  It was literally her favorite food for a long time! 

Jump to:

• Roasted v. Boiled Sweet Potatoes: 
• Ingredients
• Kitchen Equipment 
• Baking Temperature and Time for Sweet Potatoes
• How to Make Sweet Potato Puree:Get set up. 
• Storing Sweet Potato Puree: 
• Looking for ideas for how to use that sweet potato puree? 
• Recipe

Roasted v. Boiled Sweet Potatoes: 

In order to make sweet potato puree, you need to cook the sweet potatoes long enough that you can mash them.  You can either boil the sweet potatoes or roast them.  This recipe roasts the sweet potatoes at high heat for a long time.  I prefer this method because I find that the roasted sweet potatoes aren’t as stringy as they can be when boiled.   If you prefer the boiled method, go for it. 

Ingredients

Sweet Potatoes, any variety. 

Kitchen Equipment 

• Large Baking Sheet
• Parchment Paper
• Fork
• Food Processor 

Baking Temperature and Time for Sweet Potatoes

In order to roast the sweet potatoes relatively quickly, we bake them at 425ºF.  The baking time will vary based on how large the sweet potatoes are. Pro Tip:  Try to pick sweet potatoes that are about the same size.  That way the sweet potatoes cook in the same amount of time. 

As a starting point, check the sweet potatoes after 45 minutes in the oven.  Then check the sweet potatoes every 10 minutes until they are done. 

How to Make Sweet Potato Puree:
Get set up. 

Preheat the oven to 425ºF.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. The parchment paper is so important because as the sweet potato cooks, juices from the sweet potato drip out.  The parchment 1) makes for easier clean up and 2) prevents that liquid from burning on your cookie sheet. 

Prepare the Sweet Potatoes. 

Wash and dry 2 or 3 large sweet potatoes. Then use a fork to prick holes evenly across the sweet potato.  These holes allow steam to escape the sweet potato while baking.  

Bake the Sweet Potatoes.  

At a minimum the bake time will be 45 minutes, but it could be up to 75 minutes. The amount of time depends on the size of the sweet potatoes.  The bigger the sweet potato, the longer the bake time.  

Check On the Sweet Potatoes.  

Perform the super scientific* “squeeze test”.   To do the squeeze test take the sweet potatoes out of the oven.  Then using your hand, squeeze the potato.   If the sweet potato is soft to the touch, then it’s ready to come out of the oven.   (*This is the least  scientific method ever, you’re welcome)

Cool the sweet potatoes slightly. 

Leave the sweet potatoes on the baking sheet and allow them to cool slightly.  This can be  anywhere from 15-20 minutes.  The goal here is to allow you to remove the potato skin without burning yourself.   If the sweet potato is cooked properly the skin will peel off easily.   Cut away the ends and any stray parts. 

Make it into a puree. 

Cut the cooked sweet potatoes into large chunks.  Put those large chunks into the food processor and blend until smooth.  We use a food processor for this step because we don’t want to add any extra liquid to the sweet potato.  This way the puree can be used for multiple recipes.  

Storing Sweet Potato Puree: 

To use right away: Store the fresh sweet potato puree in an airtight container and refrigerate it for up to 3 days. 

To Freeze for later:  Frozen Sweet Potato Puree lasts for 3 months.  Just put the sweet potato puree in one of the following types of freezer safe containers:  

1. ice cube trays 
2. ½ cup ziploc containers, or 
3.  freezer quart size bags 

Looking for ideas for how to use that sweet potato puree? 

Don’t worry! I got you.  There are so many wonderful ways to use sweet potato puree:

1. Sweet Potato Maple Pecan Quick Bread
2. Sweet Potato Pancakes

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