Mashed Purple Sweet Potato Recipe (taste the rainbow!)

If you want to eat a rainbow, these sweet potatoes have just the color purple you’re looking for.  These sweet Asian yams will make the most striking addition to your every day and even holiday dinner plate.

What are Purple Sweet Potatoes?

They are root vegetables, similar to orange sweet potatoes, that come in two varieties:

1. Okinawan – Light brown/white skinned and can fit in the palm of a large hand.  Grown in Hawaii and exported.
2. Stokes – Purple skinned and the shape of longish, regular orange sweet potaotes

Not to be confused with Ube

Ube is a Filipino yam that grows on a vine above ground and has a dark brown, rough skin.

Purple sweet potatoes may be called ube, but they are technically different.

What do they taste like?

If you close your eyes, it probably tastes like an orange sweet potato.  However, I find them to be a little bit stringier and starchier.

Like Dave Chapelle’s grape drink, it has a lot of purple!

Where can you buy purple sweet potatoes?

Normally, an Asian market will have them, specifically one that stocks Chinese, Japanese, or Filipino products.

Alternately, it looks like Amazon conveniently sells them too, though the reviews could be vastly improved.

How sweet are they?

Oh, that all depends.  I’ve found the tiny, white skinned ones to be much sweeter than the large dark skinned varieties.

I’ve added honey in this recipe, but you can add more or less sweetness to taste.

How to Make Mashed Purple Sweet Potatoes

Step 1: Prick with a fork

Once it heats up, that steam needs to escape.  Prick a few holes on all sides of the potatoes with a fork.

Step 2: Bake at 350 degrees F

How long do you need to bake it for?

Some publications such as Southern Living and Parade say that you need to bake it for 90-120 minutes at 350 degrees F for premium moistness.

I cooked mine at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes until tender and still found them moist.  They are starchier than orange yams anyway, so I didn’t expect them to be terribly moist.

Step 3: Scoop flesh

Remove potatoes from the oven, cut in half, and scoop out all that purple goodness.

If too hot, let sit a bit until cool enough to handle.

Step 4: Mix in the goodies

To make this vegan, you can use a vegan butter or coconut milk instead of regular butter.

I mixed in butter for creaminess and honey for additional sweetness.

You could substitute with vegan butter or coconut milk and the sweetener of your choice (agave, maple syrup, coconut sugar, etc.)

Also, a pinch of salt brings out the flavor of all that purple.

Step 5: Serve hot or cold

A pound and a half of sweet potatoes makes a good sized bowl of mash, enough for 2 people.

Ideally, this is served hot as a Barney inspired bed of sorts for your protein of the day.

Alternately, I’ve seen this cooled, refrigerated and sprinkled onto salad as a healthy, colorful topping.

Expert Tips

1. Look for white skinned or dark skinner purple sweet potatoes at Chinese, Filipino, and Japanese grocery stores.
2. Since they are so starchy, mash in some grassfed butter, vegan butter, or coconut milk.
3. Add more honey or other sweetness to taste.
4. Serve hot as a mash or cold by sprinkling bits of it onto salads.

More Easy Side Dishes

Fish Fragrant Fairy Tale Eggplant – Vegan

Simple & Succulent Edamame that’s not Boring

Healthy Bell Pepper Recipe with Black Bean Sauce (Vegan)

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5 from 2 votes

Mashed Purple Sweet Potatoes

If you want to eat a rainbow, these sweet potatoes have just the color purple you're looking for.  Try these sweet Asian yams for the most striking addition to your every day and even holiday dinner plate.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Asian, Hawaiian

Keyword purple sweet potatoes, purple yams, ube recipes

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Calories 518kcal

Author Agile Test Kitchen

Ingredients

• ▢ 1.5 lb purple sweet potatoes
• ▢ 2 Tb butter or coconut milk
• ▢ 1/4 tsp salt
• ▢ 1/2 Tb honey or maple syrup, sugar, other sweetener

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Wash and prick the sweet potatoes with the tines of a fork a few times on all sides.
• Place on a baking sheet, and roast until completely soft and easily pierced with a fork or knife.
• Cut sweet potatoes in half, and scoop out flesh. Let cool if too hot to handle.
• Mix the mash with butter, salt, and honey. Serve hot or cool and reheat for later.

Notes

1. Look for white skinned or dark skinner purple sweet potatoes at Chinese, Filipino, and Japanese grocery stores.
2. Since they are so starchy, mash in some grassfed butter, vegan butter, or coconut milk.
3. Add more honey or other sweetness to taste.
4. Serve hot as a mash or cold by sprinkling bits of it onto salads.

Nutrition

Calories: 518kcal | Carbohydrates: 99g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 421mg | Potassium: 2776mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 819IU | Vitamin C: 58mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 2mg

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Do you love purple sweet potatoes?  Spread the ♥, and please share!