Regardless of the season, sweet potatoes are always a versatile, healthy option for a colorful, filling meal. Not only are they beautiful, they’re also loaded with fiber and nutrients, including beta-carotene, vitamins A and C, and antioxidants. They can be grilled, baked, sautéed, and prepared in a huge variety of dishes—as you’ll learn from perusing this list of 45 healthier recipes sourced from around the web [1]. Read on and get cooking!
Breakfast and Brunch
Photo: Running to the Kitchen
1. Quick Sweet Potato Hash
Antioxidant-rich red bell peppers, onions, lycopene-boasting grape tomatoes, and spicy cayenne combine with the star ingredient for a quick and easy hash. Add an egg on top for some extra protein, or eat it as a side or small meal.
2. Roasted Sweet Potato and Kale with Poached Eggs
Talk about your breakfast of champions: Sweet potatoes, heart-healthy olive oil, a whole bunch of kale (which is a great source of fiber, calcium, iron, and vitamins K, A, and C), and some protein-packed eggs offer up a filling, well-balanced morning meal.
3. Baked Sweet Potato Latkes
These are a delightfully simple, healthier version of the classic latke: Sweet potatoes mixed with onions, eggs, a few spices, and the flour of your choice (choose whole-wheat for an extra health boost) are baked—not fried—into pancake-y perfection.
4. Sweet Potato Scone
These cute little morsels make great fare as part of a relaxed weekend brunch. Vegan and free of gluten, soy, and dairy, they still manage to pack a health punch thanks to their low sugar content as well as the addition of cinnamon, pecans (which are a good source of magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, and additional nutrients), and quinoa flour.
5. Sweet Potato Pie Smoothie
Yes, you read that correctly. This smoothie packs in sweet potato, soymilk (or another milk of your choosing), protein-rich yogurt, honey, anti-inflammatory cinnamon, and some vanilla to taste. It’s like liquid pie (without all the sugar and crust and stuff).
6. An ‘Egg’cellent Baked Sweet Potato
These are so cool. Bake a sweet potato, cut it in half, scoop out a little bit of the flesh, add a tiny bit of butter, and crack an egg in the hole. Bake, season with salt and pepper, and shabam: You’ll be full till lunch, for sure. (Alongside a small green salad, this could also make a great lunch or light dinner!)
7. Sweet Potato Pancakes
These pancakes are full of healthy, wholesome ingredients: Whole oats, a bit of almond milk, an egg, some pecans, and super-spice cinnamon bring the structure and flavor, while sweet potato brings a beautiful orange shade and healthy dose of fiber to these cheerful morning ‘cakes.
Snacks, Sides, and Small Bites
Photo: VV
8. Spiced Sweet Potato Hummus
Hummus just got even more exciting. The standard chickpea-tahini-olive oil recipe takes a turn on the wild side with the addition of garlic, sweet potato, Sriracha, nutmeg, and cinnamon. For an extra-sweet-potato-ey snack, pair this dip with the sweet potato crackers below.
9. Sweet Potatoes with Pecans and Goat Cheese
Wow your dinner guests with these adorable little bites packed with flavor (thanks to some pepper, red wine vinegar, and Dijon mustard) as well as protein from goat cheese, healthy fats from pecans and olive oil, and vitamins from sweet potatoes, celery, and shallots.
10. Sweet Potato Crackers
These cheery crackers share the color of Goldfish—only their hue comes naturally, thanks to the sweet potatoes. Add in the baking flour of your choice and just a wee bit of butter, salt, sugar, and baking powder, and you’re good to go.
11. Honey-Roasted Root Vegetables
Perfect for meeting your veggie quotient on a cool day, these roasted sweet potatoes, carrots, and parsnips get kicked up a notch with the addition of heart-healthy walnuts and honey, which research suggests may have antibacterial properties, especially in raw form.
12. Roasted Rosemary Sweet Potatoes
This one’s pretty much as simple as it gets. Gather your sweet potatoes, some rosemary, sea salt, pepper, heart-healthy olive oil, and garlic—and that’s it. Mix ‘em all together, pop ‘em in the oven, and in no time you’ll have a nutritious savory side or snack.
13. Baked Sweet Potato Fries
As if we’d forget! These are so good you won’t even miss the Burger King variety. Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet, cut up some sweet potatoes, toss with any seasonings of choice (experiment with sweet options—like cinnamon or nutmeg—and savory ones—like cayenne pepper or curry powder—to vary the flavors), bake, and enjoy! Easier than easy.
14. Healthy Sweet Potato Chips
This healthier take on chips is delicate, beautiful, and made with only three ingredients: sweet potatoes, coconut oil (one of our favorite cooking oils thanks to its connection to digestive health), and sea salt.
15. Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Rosemary
No need to add the marshmallow topping: These yams bring all the necessary sweetness to the table. Add in olive oil, rosemary, and an optional garnish of toasted pecans, and you’ve got yourself a much better-for-you version of this classic comfort food.
Soups and Salads
Photo: Chocolate-Covered Katie
16. Sweet Potato Chili
Loaded with onions, zucchini, tomatoes, and protein-rich black beans, this vegan recipe is hearty and packed full of nutrients. Bonus: The recipe only uses one pot for easy clean-up!
17. Sweet Potato Bisque
With a slew of veggies and superfoods, including garlic and fresh ginger plus peanut butter for added protein, this vegetarian bisque packs a nutritional punch.
18. Caramelized Onion and Sweet Potato Soup
This recipe gives away nearly all its ingredients in the title. Good-for-you onions and sweet potatoes meet up with some chicken broth, a bit of butter and sugar, and several fragrant spices (including nutmeg and thyme) for a meals that’s simple, tasty, and perfect for hot or cold weather.
19. “No Cook” Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup with Spinach
If you own a blender, you’re ready to “cook” this easy-peasy soup recipe. Sweet potatoes, carrots, avocado, dates, spinach, and a few spices combine in a creamy, nutrient-packed, colorful concoction.
20. Caramelized Onion and Sweet Potato Salad
Grilled sweet potatoes mix with sweet-and-sour onions for a simple, pretty side salad. This one’s ideal for warmer weather—who wants to grill on the deck when it’s 32 degrees outside?
21. Mexican Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad
Hearty enough to be a light meal, this salad is packed with filling quinoa, a plethora of nutrient-rich veggies, some avocado (and its healthy fats), a bit of olive oil, and a fresh squeeze of lime.
22. Roasted Beet and Sweet Potato Salad
What a beaut! And this salad comes chock full of nutrients and crunch thanks to antioxidant-rich beets and sweet potatoes, and avocado and pumpkin seeds, which provide healthy fats.
23. Curried Sweet Potato Salad
No potluck or tailgate is complete without potato salad. Try this healthier twist on the classic favorite: sweet potatoes, protein-rich Greek yogurt, toasted cashews, and some sweet and salty additions make this side dish good for the body and the taste buds.
Main Entrees
Photo: Dishing Up the Dirt
24. Balsamic Glazed Sweet Potato Pasta
This dish is love at first site and bite. Sweet potatoes, the pasta of your choice (go with whole-wheat for a healthier twist), a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and a few heaping cups of superfood spinach make for a healthy, filling, meal that’s fit for lunch or dinner and hot or cold weather. Nom!
25. Curry-Spiced Sweet Potato Samosas with a Persimmon-Tomato Marmalade
The name alone makes us drool. A sweet and garlicky sauce gets paired with a surprisingly good-for-you dough (it’s full of superfood spices such as ginger, turmeric, and cinnamon) and a delicious, wholesome filling of onions, sweet potatoes, curry paste, carrots, garlic, coconut milk, and lime juice.
26. Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burger
Black beans bring the fiber and protein, ginger and garlic bring the flavor, and almond butter adds some healthy fats and a creamy texture to these easy-to-make vegetarian burgers.
27. Quinoa Sweet Potato Cakes
These versatile mini cakes can be used in a variety of ways: Top a salad, eat as a veggie burger, toss in a pita with some veggies and tzatziki, or just eat ‘em on their own. Veggies, garlic, quinoa, eggs, a small amount of whole-wheat breadcrumbs, and our dear sweet potatoes form the base for these pretty, wholesome entrees.
28. Tempeh and Sweet Potato Collard Wraps
These wraps are stuffed with (and wrapped in) veggies in addition to tempeh and hummus. Perfect for a light lunch on a warm spring day.
29. Baked Sweet Potato with Kale and Ricotta
Say good-bye to bacon bits: Top a baked sweet potato with garlic, olive oil, a whole bunch of kale, and protein-packed ricotta for complete meal that’ll leave you satisfied ‘til the next one.
30. Sweet Potato-Quinoa Tacos with Chipotle Sauce
Yes, these are as healthy as they sound: Veggies, avocado, and fruits such as cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper, and lime combine with the complete protein of quinoa and (of course) sweet potatoes to make the filling for these corn tortillas. The sauce calls for half mayo, half plain yogurt, but feel free to up the yogurt ratio if you’re looking to cut back on calories.
31. Baked Sweet Potato Falafel
A healthier falafel? Yes, please! These balls of chickpea flour, a whole bunch of spices, some garlic, and a baked sweet potato are baked, not fried. Serve them just as you would the real deal.
32. Wild Rice Pilaf, Heavy on the Veggies
This hearty dish is chock full of veggies (seriously—we’re talking 12-plus varieties of produce!). It works well as a side dish or a full meal if you’re not in the mood for protein.
33. Whole-Wheat Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Chicken Sausage and Kale
Beautiful to behold, this creative recipe is also full of protein and good-for-you ingredients like whole-wheat pastry flour, sweet potatoes, olive oil, garlic, kale, and just a bit of white wine (which is rich in antioxidants).
34. Sweet Potato Sushi with Brown Rice
Better-for-you brown rice is rolled up with vitamin-rich sweet potato, bell pepper, and spinach to make a pretty, light lunch or dinner.
35. Curried Lentils and Sweet Potatoes
Save this warm, hearty curry for a cooler day to maximize the comfort-food element. A whole bunch of bosy-boosting spices go into this mixture of protein-rich lentils (which are also a good source of folate, iron, potassium, and antioxidants), nutrient-dense veggies, and a garnish of superfood almonds for crunch.
36. Sweet Potato-Stuffed Bell Peppers
You might want to wear sunglasses while cooking: This meal is seriously bright. Cook together onions, garlic, cauliflower, sweet potato, tomato, raw cashews, and a slew of healthy spices (including cumin, turmeric, and cayenne pepper) with lentil sprouts before scooping them into red and orange pepper “bowls.” They’re sure to dazzle guests and delight your senses any day of the week.
37. Braised Coconut Spinach and Chickpeas with Lemon Over a Baked Sweet Potato
Here’s another one for a cool spring day. Veggies, chickpeas, spinach, and seasonings are sautéed together to form a warm, nutrient-rich topping to be ladled over a baked sweet potato. It’s nutritious, comforting, and lovely all at the same time.
38. Spinach and Sweet Potato Quesadilla
These bright quesadillas are filled with baked sweet potato, chopped spinach, and a little bit of cheese before getting all kinds of gooey in the oven. Top with fresh salsa and, if you’re feeling extra healthy, Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.
39. Sweet Potatoes with Coconut, Pomegranate, and Lime
Fruit, veggies, and low-sugar sweetness, oh my! Pomegranate’s rich red color complements the sweet potato’s orange hue, while shaves of coconut and cilantro make this baked sweet potato almost too pretty to eat.
Sweets
Photo: Healthy Food for Living
40. Sweet Potato Chocolate Pudding
Um, YES. Pureed sweet potatoes provide the base for this remarkably healthy pudding recipe, which gains more sweetness and flavor from just a bit of maple syrup, almond milk, unsweetened cocoa powder, espresso powder, and vanilla extract. We’ll take three cases to go, please.
41. Sweet Potato and Apple Casserole
Healthy spices, apples (a superfood in our book), a couple sweet potatoes, and a smidgen of maple syrup make for a pretty, healthier take on dessert.
42. Crustless Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Pie
This one offers further proof that going gluten-free doesn’t have to mean going without baked goods for the rest of your life. This wholesome-looking pie is made with only six ingredients: eggs, mashed sweet potatoes, some sugar, pumpkin pie spice, coconut milk, and gluten-free flour. Pop it in the oven and you’ll be spooning pie in no time.
43. Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake with Sweet Potato
Yet another gluten-free option, these gooey, flourless cakes are held together with sweet potatoes, potassium-rich bananas, honey, egg, and plenty of antioxidants thanks to dark chocolate.
44. Sweet Potato Cake Bites
Dates and fiber-loaded oats hold together these bite-size morsels, which draw added sweetness from coconuts and honey, and a healthy crunch from chopped walnuts.
45. Fudgy Sweet Potato Brownies
We may have saved the best for last. These chewy brownies look like the old-school variety but use some seriously healthy replacements for classic pantry staples. Sweet potatoes, dates, avocado, applesauce, almond meal, vanilla, and raw cacao make for a sweet (yet relatively low-sugar), gooey concoction perfect for capping off a backyard potluck. Bonus: They’re gluten-free!
*This article was originally published August 4, 2013.
Works Cited +
- Effects of baking and boiling on the nutritional and antioxidant properties of sweet potato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.] cultivars. Dincer, C., Karaoglan, M., Erden, F., et al. Faculty of Engineering, Department of Food Engineering, Akdeniz University, Turkey. Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, 2011 Nov;66(4):341-7 ⤴
