Favorite Healthy Sweet Potato Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the healthiest way to eat sweet potatoes? ›

Boiling sweet potatoes retains more beta-carotene and makes the nutrient more absorbable than other cooking methods such as baking or frying. Up to 92% of the nutrient can be retained by limiting the cook time, such as boiling in a pot with a tightly covered lid for 20 minutes.

Absolutely. Besides their health benefits, sweet potatoes are a great addition to any weight loss diet. First up, they're very high in fibre — especially soluble fibre. Soluble fibre is excellent because it slows down your digestion and helps you feel full, which can curb the urge to snack between meals.

If you enjoy sweet potatoes, you can absolutely enjoy them daily. However, eating multiple sweet potatoes every day could cause a harmless condition called carotenodermia, where your skin turns yellow-orange. You may also want to be cautious about your sweet potato intake if you have a history of kidney stones.

The Bottom Line

You can eat sweet potato skin. It's a good source of fiber, a nutrient that may help lower the risk of heart disease and keep you feeling full for longer periods of time. The next time you make a sweet potato dish, whether it's a roasted side dish or a hearty, cozy casserole, leave the peel on.

If you're trying to make the most out of your sweet potatoes and mitigate a potential spike in blood sugar, Sapola suggests boiling this veggie rather than roasting it. "The preparation technique for a sweet potato can drastically affect the glycemic impact of that sweet potato," Sapola explains.

However, depending on how they're cooked and any condiments or sides, they can also spike your blood sugar and have high amounts of added fat, sugar, and calories. For the most weight loss-friendly version, boil sweet potatoes for 30 minutes and enjoy with herbs, spices, hot sauce, a little Parmesan, or garlic.

Sweet potatoes are rich in fibre, which can help you lose weight and belly fat. The high fibre content of sweet potatoes makes you feel 'full' after your meal, helping you stick to a calorie-restricted diet. The root vegetable also contains a specific kind of fibre called resistant starch.

It will be good for your body if eating sweet potatoes in the morning, with fresh milk or yogurt, some seeds and green vegetables will be a nutritious breakfast and provide an abundant source of energy for the body.

Then don't eat sweet potatoes and persimmon together. In fact, based on this list, it seems like persimmon is a fruit worth eliminating from your diet altogether.

Consuming sweet potatoes in excess can result in sweet potato side effects such as Vitamin A toxicity, which is manifested in skin rashes and headaches. Due to high fibre content, excess intake of sweet potatoes can result in bloating, stomach pain and diarrhoea.

What are the cons of sweet potatoes? ›

Sweet potatoes contain high amounts of oxalates that may increase the risk of calcium-oxalate kidney stones. Sweet potatoes contain beta-carotene, and their excessive consumption can lead to hypervitaminosis A (vitamin A toxicity), in which excess vitamin A accumulates in the liver.

Slow-roasting the sweet potatoes activates endogenous enzymes that bring out their natural sweetness.

Are Yams and Sweet Potatoes the Same? No, yams and sweet potatoes are not the same. Yams have rough, dark brown skin that is often compared to tree bark, and their flesh is dry and starchy like a regular potato. Sweet potatoes have smooth reddish skin, softer flesh (when cooked), and a sweet flavor.

It's really the best way. Microwaving sweet potatoes cuts down cook time by 45 to 55 minutes, and, according to a 2018 study, helps maintain the potato's nutritional value. All cooking methods cause foods to lose some of their nutrients, but the quicker your potato cooks, the more nutrients it will retain.

Although cooking sweet potatoes slightly reduces their beta carotene content according to some older studies, they still retain at least 70% of this nutrient and are considered an excellent source ( 33 , 34 ).

Steaming is also one of the best ways to keep sweet potatoes' nutrients intact; their naturally high vitamin, potassium, fiber, and beta-carotene content won't be burned off in a steamer basket. Both boiling and steaming also keeps the potatoes' glycemic index down, meaning less of a blood sugar spike for you.

Baked sweet potatoes are a nutritious and healthy complex carbohydrate that you can enjoy year-round. Both sweet and savory, this top potato pick is packed full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. Sweet potatoes can be mashed and served as a side, in casseroles, or sliced and baked for sweet potato fries.