Sweet Potato Recipe Winners: Three Award-Winning Sweet Potato Recipes
Looking for a new way to serve up sweet potatoes? The results from our 2021 recipe contest are in and these 3 dishes are winners. Give them a try!
The Farmers’ Almanac runs a yearly recipe contest with a different theme each season. The sweet potato year drew hundreds of entries, and the three winners below cover dessert, main course, and bread. All three are reliable enough to bake again.
Quick Reference
- Three winners: dessert (pecan crisp), main (tacos), and bread (chipotle biscuits).
- Best sweet potatoes: Beauregard, jewel, or garnet for sweet recipes; Japanese (purple-skinned) for savory.
- Sweet potato vs yam: the American “yam” is almost always actually a sweet potato. True yams are large tubers from West Africa rarely sold in U.S. stores.
- Storage: 2-3 weeks in a cool dark pantry. Do not refrigerate; cold turns the starches gummy.
- Curing trick: homegrown sweet potatoes cure 10 days in a warm spot (80-85°F) before storage.
- Health note: high in beta-carotene (vitamin A), fiber, and potassium.
Sweet Potato Pecan Crisp Recipe
Ingredients (serves 8):
- 4 cups peeled, cubed sweet potatoes
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 4 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Topping: 1 cup rolled oats, ½ cup flour, ½ cup brown sugar, ½ cup chopped pecans, 6 tablespoons cold butter cubed, 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Boil sweet potato cubes 10 minutes until tender. Drain.
- Mash with brown sugar, spices, butter, and vanilla. Spread in a buttered 9×13 dish.
- Cut topping ingredients together until crumbly. Sprinkle over sweet potato.
- Bake 35-40 minutes until topping is golden and bubbly.
Drunken Sweet Potato Tacos With Pickled Red Onions And Pineapple Salsa Recipe
Sweet potato filling:
- 2 large sweet potatoes, cubed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup tequila or mezcal
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- Salt
Pickled red onions: 1 red onion thinly sliced + ½ cup white vinegar + 1 tablespoon sugar + 1 teaspoon salt. Combine, refrigerate 30 minutes.
Pineapple salsa: 1 cup diced pineapple + ¼ cup diced red bell pepper + ¼ cup chopped cilantro + 1 jalapeño + lime juice + salt.
- Toss sweet potato cubes with oil and spices. Roast at 425°F for 25 minutes.
- Add tequila. Roast 5 more minutes.
- Warm tortillas. Pile with sweet potato, pickled onions, and pineapple salsa.
Sweet Potato Chipotle Biscuits Recipes
Ingredients (makes 8):
- 1 cup mashed cooked sweet potato
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo, minced + 1 teaspoon adobo sauce
- ¼ cup cold butter, cubed
- ½ cup buttermilk
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter until pea-sized lumps.
- Combine sweet potato, chipotle, adobo sauce, and buttermilk. Add to dry ingredients.
- Stir until just combined. Pat to ¾-inch thickness.
- Cut into 8 biscuits. Bake 15-18 minutes until golden.
Congratulations to All Our Winners
Thanks to all who submitted recipes. The variety of sweet potato uses across cuisines is staggering.
With Special Thanks
To the home cooks who keep traditional and inventive recipes alive.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a sweet potato and a yam?
What Americans call a yam is almost always a sweet potato. True yams are starchy West African tubers rarely sold in U.S. stores; they are large, brown-skinned, and not sweet.
Should sweet potatoes be refrigerated?
No. Cold storage turns the starches into a gummy texture. Store in a cool, dark pantry for 2-3 weeks.
What are the best sweet potatoes for baking?
Beauregard, jewel, and garnet are the orange-fleshed sweet potatoes most common at grocery stores; all work for sweet recipes. Japanese purple-skinned sweet potatoes are sweeter and drier; great for chips and fries.
How do you make sweet potatoes sweeter?
Slow roasting at 325°F for 90 minutes converts starches to sugars and concentrates flavor. Faster roasting at 425°F leaves more starch.
Can I freeze sweet potatoes?
Yes. Cook (boil, roast, or mash), cool, then freeze in airtight containers for up to 3 months.
This article was published by the Staff at FarmersAlmanac.com. Any questions? Contact us at questions@farmersalmananac.com.
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