12 Sweet Potato Recipes That Don’t Involve a Blanket of Marshmallows

Marshmallows put me off sweet potatoes for years, almost decades. As a gelatin-adverse child, the broiled, puffy confection kept me from appreciating the vegetable beneath. It wasn’t until I tried a simple baked sweet potato, with butter and lots of salt, that I became a sweet potato enthusiast.

Now the challenge lies in choosing which sweet potato dish to serve alongside the Thanksgiving turkey. Right now I’m leaning towards the simple but impressive Spiced Sweet Potato Tian, but Matt Card recently made a compelling case for our Sweet Potato Gratin with Vanilla and Bay Leaves, which swaps out the cloying marshmallow layer for a real vanilla bean and a crackling brûléed top. The good news? There are no wrong choices here.

Citrus-Sesame Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Pistachios

This warmly spiced sweet potato dish takes inspiration from tzimmes, a classic Ashkenazi Jewish side of root vegetables and dried fruit, simmered together in orange juice. To facilitate caramelization and coax brighter flavor, we roast rather than stew. The combination of sweet potatoes and shallots, studded with sweet-tart dried cherries, is both familiar and unique, especially when enhanced by coriander, caraway seeds and strips of orange zest. Finish with a citrus-tahini drizzle and a smattering of vibrant pistachios to bring nutty richness and crunch to each bite.

Baked Sweet Potatoes with Maple Crème Fraîche

It’s OK to leave some vegetables un-casseroled, especially sweet potatoes. This baked sweet potato dish, from Nik Sharma’s “The Flavor Equation,” revolutionizes the simple side, making it holiday dinner-worthy. Partially steaming the potatoes before roasting keeps them nice and moist. Once thoroughly tender, we make a dressing of crème fraîche, maple syrup, lime juice, fish sauce and pepper, then spoon it while still warm over the bright orange flesh. Finish with scallions, peanuts, red chili flakes, and lime zest for punchy pops of flavor and texture. Serve with the extra dressing on the side.

Spiced Sweet Potato Tian

The perfect sweet potato dish is all about balance. You want it to be sweet but not too sweet, and tender, yet crispy. This recipe will get you there. Quarter-inch slices are tossed with fruity acid, rings of shallot, and earthy spices, yielding tender, buttery rounds with crisped, browned edges that are sweet but not cloying. It’s just as pretty as it is delicious, and perfect with a pork roast or your Thanksgiving turkey.

Savory Sweet Potato Gratin

Umami-rich miso adds savoriness to this smooth, sweet potato gratin spiked with fresh ginger and soy sauce. We liked mellow white miso best, which has a milder flavor than yellow or red miso. For a crispy topping, we toasted panko breadcrumbs in butter, then mixed them with sesame seeds, brown sugar and white pepper. To make holiday-dinner prep more convenient, the gratin can be made up to a day ahead.

Tahini-Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Za’atar

Nutty, creamy tahini and earthy, zesty za’atar boost the flavor of sweet potatoes in this flavorful side dish. First we coat the potato wedges with tahini, za’atar and cornstarch, then roast them in a hot oven until golden brown and meltingly tender. The cornstarch helps bind the fatty tahini and produces a deliciously crisp coating. For the finishing sauce, we stir more tahini and za’atar into creamy yogurt, then add lime juice for a refreshing tang.

Sweet Potato Gratin with Vanilla Bean and Bay Leaves

This sweet potato gratin boasts a crackling brûléed crust. Roasting rather than boiling produces cleaner, deeper flavors and a better, less watery texture. In lieu of marshmallows we infuse cream with vanilla bean and bay leaves and add a dusting of black pepper for an overall effect that hints at marshmallow but is far more nuanced, compelling and aromatic. A crunchy topping of dark brown and white sugar with a touch of cayenne keeps the dish adults table-appropriate.

Braised Sweet Potatoes with Coriander, Orange and Olives

Earthy sweet potatoes pair well with the subtle citrusy notes of coriander and the fruitiness of orange juice, while savory onion, spicy cayenne and salty olives balance the natural sugars. We love the texture and flavor pop of lightly crushed coriander seeds; a mortar and pestle are the best tools for the task, but the bottom of a heavy skillet works, too.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Scallions and Lime

In this colorful side, the tartness of lime counters the natural sugars in sweet potatoes. We roast the potatoes in chunks on a sheet pan, leaving them alone for the entire time so that the sides that are against the hot pan brown nicely and add notes of caramel. When done, we immediately toss the potatoes with lime zest and juice plus scallions and seasonings, so they absorb the flavors as they cool.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Harissa and Pistachios

In this recipe, sweet potatoes are enriched with browned butter, then are roughly mashed. We add spice with harissa, but balance it with cooling yogurt. A sprinkle of chopped pistachios adds contrasting color and texture. The perfect last-minute addition to the Thanksgiving table, it takes all of 25 minutes to prepare and doesn’t hog valuable oven space.

Japanese-Style Glazed Sweet Potatoes with Sesame

Candied sweet potatoes, or daigaku imo, a favorite Japanese snack, inspired this recipe. To make daigaku imo, chunks of Japanese sweet potatoes, or satsuma imo, are deep-fried then coated in a syrup and sprinkled with sesame seeds. To make a side dish out of a snack, we simmer the potatoes in a skillet with water and seasonings, then cook off the moisture at the end, leaving the potatoes coated with a savory-sweet glaze. Common orange-fleshed sweet potatoes work in this recipe, but use Japanese sweet potatoes if you can find them. They have dry, starchy flesh and a sweet, chestnut-like flavor.

Sweet Potato and Shallot Casserole with Fennel Seed

Shallots, thyme, fennel seed and mustard balance the natural sugars in the sweet potatoes, and a cheese and breadcrumb topping add crisp texture. We couldn’t resist finishing the casserole with a drizzle of honey or sorghum syrup to pull it all together. If you own a mandoline, it makes quick work of slicing the shallots and sweet potatoes. (Just be sure to use the guard or a cut-resistant glove.)

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Claire Lower

Claire Lower is the Digital Editor for Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street, with over a decade of experience as a food writer and recipe developer. Claire began writing about food (and drinks) during the blogging boom in the late 2000s, eventually leaving her job as a lab technician to pursue writing full-time. After freelancing for publications such as Serious Eats, Yahoo Food, xoJane and Cherry Bombe Magazine, she eventually landed at Lifehacker, where she served as the Senior Food Editor for nearly eight years. Claire lives in Portland, Oregon with a very friendly dog and very mean cat. When not in the kitchen (or at her laptop), you can find her deadlifting at the gym, fly fishing or trying to master figure drawing at her local art studio.