Savory Mashed Sweet Potatoes are creamy, buttery, and easy to make in just 30 minutes! This is one of my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes to whip up every year. Once you make it, it’ll probably become your new favorite way to prepare sweet potatoes!
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What’s in Sweet Potato Mash
Sweet potatoes are made deliciously creamy with cream cheese and butter! Other than that, all you need is a little salt, pepper, and herbs to create the best flavor.
- Sweet Potatoes: They’ll need to be peeled and diced into 1 inch cubes.
- Salt and Pepper: A little goes a long way! Also, keep in mind that freshly cracked black pepper will create the very best flavor.
- Parisien Bonnes Herbes: This is a mix of chives, dill weed, French basil, French tarragon, chervil, and white pepper.
- Cream Cheese: For the best thick and creamy consistency, use regular cream cheese (not low-fat).
- Butter: Unsalted and softened. Be sure to reserve some for topping.
Pro Tip: If you prefer, you can try this Instant Pot mashed sweet potato recipe instead. Both versions are delicious!
What herbs go with sweet potato mash?
To make this sweet potato mash recipe more on the savory side, I used Parisien Bonnes Herbes. This is a mix of chives, dill weed, French basil, French tarragon, chervil, and white pepper. This creates a great blend of flavor in these savory mashed sweet potatoes.
Some other herbs and spices that would taste great in sweet potato mash are rosemary, oregano, and basil. Or you could lean more towards the sweet side by adding in brown sugar.
To make mashed sweet potatoes, you will need to cook the potatoes first in order to make them mash-able. You can boil them or steam them, whichever you prefer. To boil sweet potatoes for mashing, simply peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes. Then, place potatoes in a pot of water and boil until soft (about 15 minutes). Once they are fully cooked, drain them over a colander.
You don’t have to peel sweet potatoes before mashing or boiling. Some people prefer to leave the skin on, and eating the skin does add a bit of nutritional benefit. However, I chose to peel the potatoes for these savory mashed sweet potatoes. I peeled them while I was cutting them into cubes, before boiling/steaming.
Nope! Since we’re boiling these sweet potatoes to be mashed, they do not need to be soaked beforehand.
How to Store and Reheat
Once cooled to room temperature, you can store left over sweet potato mash in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring each time it stops, until warmed through.
Serving Suggestions
Enjoy all of the best food on Thanksgiving with classic recipes like Thanksgiving turkey, homemade stuffing, turkey gravy and homemade cranberry sauce.
Savory Mashed Sweet Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 pounds sweet potatoes about 6 medium, peeled and cut into 1” cubes
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon Parisien Bonnes Herbes A blend of chives, dill weed, French basil, French tarragon, chervil and white pepper.
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter softened & more for garnish
Instructions
- Steam or boil the sweet potatoes until it is easy to slide a thin knife in and out, about 15 minutes.
- If boiling, drain the potatoes over a colander. If steaming, remove the potatoes and drain the water from the pot.
- Return the potatoes to the pot set over medium-low heat. Mash the potatoes for 20-30 seconds – just until excess liquid has cooked off. (This will remove any residual water in the pot and on the potatoes.) Remove the pot from the heat and mash the potatoes until a chunky consistency is achieved.
- Add the salt, black pepper, herbs, cream cheese and butter.
- Season to taste, if necessary and mash the potatoes until they are smooth and creamy.
- Top the potatoes with a sprinkling of Parisien Bonnes Herbes and a couple of pats of softened butter. Serve immediately.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this? Leave a comment!
