Servings
Font
Back
Best Mashed Sweet Potatoes
5 from 12 votes

Best Mashed Sweet Potatoes

These mashed sweet potatoes are tender and chunky, roasted in their skins for sweetness and depth, then blended with rich browned butter and maple syrup for a balanced flavor. Lightly seasoned with salt and pepper, this recipe emphasizes the natural taste of red garnet, beauregard, or jewel sweet potatoes. The texture remains satisfying with some chunks, making it a hearty side dish.

Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
1 hr 30 mins
Total Time
1 hr 45 mins
Servings: 8
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

  • 4 lbs. sweet potato about 5 large or 4 extra large)*, such as red garnet, beauregard or jewel (not white or purple varieties
  • 8 Tbsp butter diced into 1 Tbsp pieces, plus more for serving if desired, salted
  • 1 Tbsp maple syrup then more to taste for a sweeter option, real
  • salt freshly ground
  • black pepper freshly ground

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prick sweet potatoes once on both sides with a fork. Wrap each sweet potato with a sheet of aluminum foil.
  2. Place sweet potatoes on baking sheet and bake in preheated oven 40 minutes*. Turn to opposite side and continue to bake until a knife easily glides through potatoes, about 30 - 50 minutes longer.
  3. Near the end of potatoes baking, place butter in a light colored medium skillet or saucepan. Heat over medium heat, and let cook, stirring occasionally until butter has browned (brown flecks should just start to bubble up into foam if using a saucepan it's harder to tell). Pour into a dish so it doesn't continue to cook and burn.
  4. Once potatoes are cool enough to handle or using oven mitts, peel potatoes or scoop flesh from peels into a large bowl.
  5. Mash with a potato masher. Texture will be chunky.
  6. Add browned butter and maple syrup. Using an electric hand mixer blend on low speed until combined, season with salt and pepper to taste. Increase mixer speed and whip until smoother and creamy.
  7. Serve warm topped with more browned butter if desired.

Notes

  • Adjust baking time based on sweet potato size: small potatoes about 40 minutes, medium about 50 minutes, large up to 90 minutes.
  • Turn larger sweet potatoes halfway through baking to avoid excessive browning on one side; smaller ones do not require turning.
  • Browned butter enhances flavor but should be poured into a dish immediately to stop cooking and prevent burning.
  • Optional variations include adding herbs, spices, cheeses, or toppings like crumbled bacon or toasted nuts for extra texture and taste.