How to Make Sweet Potato Main and Side Dishes

Cook up Delicious Dishes with this Vegetable

© Deborah Harding

Nov 11, 2008

Sweet potatoes are just that – “sweet”. This makes it easy to get most fussy eaters who hate vegetables to eat them. Most dishes are sugary and delicious and appeal to the sweet tooth.

The flesh of the sweet potato is usually a bright to light orange in contrast to the white of a regular potato. As with regular potatoes the flesh will darken once coming in contact with air so either cook them immediately or cut them into a bowl of water that covers them completely and keep them there until ready to cook.

You can use either sweet potatoes from the produce department of your grocery or from your garden or you can use canned sweet potatoes commonly called yams. Interestingly enough yams are a completely different thing grown in the tropics coming from another family that the sweet potato. When the orange fleshed potato was introduced in America in the 1920’s they were called yams in order to differentiate them from the regular white potato.

Sweet potatoes contain vitamin A, C, and manganese. They also have good quantities of fiber, B5, potassium and iron.

The following are recipes using sweet potatoes in main or side dishes:

This recipe is a great combination of ham and sweet potatoes with cheese.

Sweet Potatoes with Ham

• 2 pounds sweet potatoes
• Salt
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 3 cups cooked ham, diced
• Pepper to taste
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• ½ cup milk
• 1 cup shredded, sharp Cheddar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Wash, skin, and cut potatoes in slices and put in sauce pan with enough water to cover.
3. Add salt to taste and bring to a boil. Cover and cook about 10 to 20 minutes until tender. Drain.
4. Arrange in layers with ham in a 1 – ½ quart casserole.
5. Sprinkle each layer with salt, sugar, pepper, and a little cheese, leaving most the cheese for the top.
6. Dot with butter. Add milk.
7. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.
8. Remove and sprinkle with cheese and bake 15 minutes longer. 6 servings.

Pork Roast and Sweet Potatoes

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 – 3 pound boneless pork roast
• 2 to 3 large sweet potatoes
• 1 green pepper
• ¾ cup apple cider
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ginger
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat a large skillet and add olive oil. Once hot brown the pork roast on all sides.
2. Remove and place in a crock pot.
3. Remove skin from sweet potatoes and cut in pieces placing them in the crock pot.
4. Cut up green pepper and place in pot.
5. Mix remaining ingredients together and pour over top.
6. Cook 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high. If sauce needs thickening just add a cornstarch-water mixture after removing vegetables and meat.
7. Pour sauce over and serve. Serves 6.

Sweet Potato Side Dish

• 3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 teaspoons brown sugar, packed
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Place potato chunks in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle with olive.
3. In a small bowl combine the sugar and seasonings.
4. Sprinkle evenly over potatoes and onions and toss so that they are evenly coated.
5. Spread onto a baking sheet that has been sprayed with a non stick spray.
6. Bake 15 minutes, turn potatoes and bake another 10 or 15 minutes more.

Sweet Potato Marshmallow Casserole

• 1 – 16 ounce can sweet potatoes
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 egg, beaten
• 4 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 package large marshmallows

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter a baking dish.
2. In a bowl combine all ingredients except marshmallows and carefully combine. Try not to break up the sweet potatoes too much to make them mush.
3. Place half of the mixture with mixture and cover with marshmallows. A
4. Add remaining sweet potato mixture.
5. Bake 30 minutes and remove from oven.
6. Cover with more marshmallows and put back in oven for 10 more minutes.
7. Remove and serve.

sweet potatoes in basket

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