Mashed sweet potatoes are often smothered in sugar, but this savory recipe is just as delicious! Garlicky, creamy sweet potato mash is a great, lighter alternative to traditional mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving dinner. Your loved ones will keep coming back for more.
Easy Mashed Sweet Potato Recipe
Sweet potatoes can be prepared in many ways, but mashing them is perfect when you want something a little more nutrient-dense than traditional Mashed Potatoes. My mashed sweet potatoes skip the sugar, and instead, I flavor the mash with a combination of garlic, butter, and sour cream. These savory mashed sweet potatoes are an excellent addition to your holiday table, but if you’re looking for something sweeter, try this Mashed Sweet Potatoes Brulée or my Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows.
What Makes This the Best Sweet Potato Mash
When I’m not whipping up mashed sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, I’ll serve this easy sweet potato side dish with Roasted Chicken, Salisbury Steak, Pork Chops, or Turkey Meatloaf. Here’d why this mashed sweet potatoes recipe has everyone coming back for seconds:
- Savory, not sweet. While it’s true that sweet potatoes pair beautifully with brown sugar, I wanted a mash that leaned into the savory flavors. You still get a little sweetness from the sweet potatoes in every bite.
- Easy to prepare. All you need to do is boil your sweet potatoes, season them, and mash! The recipe takes one pot and 25 minutes, and you can even prep your mashed potatoes in advance if you’d like.
- Lighter than traditional mashed potatoes. I love the comfort in dishes like Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes. These mashed sweet potatoes have all that comfort in a lighter format, with a slightly richer texture than, say, Mashed Cauliflower.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s a look at the ingredients for this savory mashed sweet potatoes recipe. See the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Sweet Potatoes: Peel and cube two pounds of sweet potatoes.
- Unsalted Butter: Sauté the garlic in one tablespoon of butter. You could use olive oil if you prefer.
- Garlic: Crush three cloves. If you don’t have fresh garlic, substitute 1 tablespoon of jarred minced garlic per clove.
- Milk: Use 1% milk if you’re keeping this dish light. Or, swap 1% milk with 2%, whole milk, or even almond milk.
- Light Sour Cream: Stir in two tablespoons for creamy potatoes. Greek yogurt is a good substitute.
- Salt and Black Pepper to taste.
How to Make Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Here’s a step-by-step overview showing how easy it is to make these fluffy, creamy mashed sweet potatoes in one pot.
- Boil sweet potatoes in a large pot of salted water. Once tender, drain them in a colander.
- Sauté the garlic. Melt the butter in the pot and sauté the garlic until lightly golden.
- Mash the potatoes. Return the sweet potatoes to the pot with the garlic and add the milk and sour cream. Mash the mixture with a potato masher until smooth, and season with salt and pepper.
Tips for Success
- Peel the sweet potatoes: While you can eat the skin of sweet potatoes, it’s best to peel them for mashed potatoes, so they’re smooth. Peel the potatoes before dicing and boiling them.
- How long to boil sweet potatoes: This depends on how big the sweet potato pieces are. Use a sharp knife to test if they’re done; they should be tender, without overcooking.
- Mash the potatoes while they’re hot: This is important! Mashing the freshly boiled and drained potatoes prevents them from becoming lumpy and gluey. Don’t wait too long to mash them after cooking.
- Serving a crowd? Double or triple this easy mashed sweet potato recipe and add it to your Thanksgiving menu.
Variations
- Bake the potatoes: Instead of boiling, bake the sweet potatoes at 425° for 45 to 50 minutes. Alternatively, follow the cooking directions for my Air Fryer Baked Sweet Potato recipe. Once roasted, remove the skins and continue with step two.
- Add sweetness: If you’d like, add maple syrup, brown sugar, or honey to taste.
- Creaminess: Feel free to add more sour cream or milk for creamier mashed sweet potatoes.
- Herbs and spices: Before serving, sprinkle fresh chives on the potatoes for color. You can also add spices, like cinnamon, pumpkin spice, or smoked paprika, for more flavor in the mash.
- Make it cheesy: Fold in grated Parmesan cheese.
What to Serve with Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Serve this savory sweet potato mash as a side dish with your Christmas spiral ham or Thanksgiving turkey this year, or any of the dinner ideas below.
Mains
Mashed sweet potatoes and quick and easy to serve with just about any meal.
Holiday Sides
Planning a holiday menu? Try these festive side dishes.
How to Store
- Storing whole sweet potatoes: Uncooked sweet potatoes will stay fresh for several weeks if stored in a cool, dry, dark place.
- Store leftover mash: The mashed sweet potatoes will last up to four days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. I like to use leftover sweet potato mash as a topping for Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie!
- Reheat: These mashed sweet potatoes can be reheated in the microwave.
Make Ahead
I do find these mashed sweet potatoes have the best flavor and texture when they’re made and served the same day. However, if you want to make ahead:
- Make them one or two days early.
- Refrigerate them once cool in a baking dish covered tightly with foil.
- Reheat them in a 350°F-oven for about 20 to 30 minutes until warm.
More Sweet Potato Recipes You’ll Love
Mashes Sweet Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a large pot boil sweet potatoes in salted water until tender, drain in a colander.
- Meanwhile, melt butter and sauté garlic until lightly golden.
- Return potatoes to the pot with the garlic, add milk and sour cream; mash until smooth and creamy. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Loved it. Very tasty. . Big fan of Skinnytaste.
Absolutely delicious, serve with a multitude of things everybody raves about it👨🍳👨🍳👨🍳👨🍳
Now only 1 point per serving!
I paired this with a slow cooker chuck roast. The roast had carrots, peppercinis, au ju packet and ranch packet with a can of tomato sauce. It paired beyond better than I had imagined. I ended up being out of regular russets and found this recipe. This recipe also is surprisingly SO good! Honestly a new go to. Thanks so much!!!!!!
Mashed sweets are so good & good for you. I cube &steam the potato in the IP for 6 min. That way the potato doesn’t get water logged. Also a little pure maple syrup mixed in compliments the sweetness of the tater quite nicely. Husband loves this mash.
Thanks for the post.
This is perfect. The proportion of the potatoes/butter/sour cream was just right.
This was so good!
I had to come straight here from just having a TASTE of it after cooking and it’s 🔥 🔥 🔥 – I HATE sweet potatoes, I was going to force myself to eat it because I needed a carb for my meal prep but this actually tastes good!
Glad you are enjoying it! 🙂
So far we have not enjoyed mashed sweet potatoes and this was not an exception. Theres something about the caramelization that happens in the oven…
Except, there’s no oven cooking for this recipe, they need to be boiled. Perhaps following the directions will yield a better result.
These are great!!! Added parsley, put them into orange shells and topped them with a couple sautéed pecans. Served for holiday dinner. Beautiful and tasty. Thanks for the recipe.
De-licious!
yum. Making this for thanksgiving as I hate the sweet version but love sweet potatoes. Here is a trick I learned in cooking school. It always is a pain to peel and chop up sweet potatoes because they are so hard. Simply wash them and bake them. Peels on. When they are done the peels will slide off and your ready to mash. Saves a few steps and makes life a little easier. No, I do not even wrap them in foil, although you could. Just simply put them on a sheet pan and bake.
I have made this for my family and we loved it! I would like to take it for a potluck this weekend. Can you recommend something that would compliment the flavours that I could top it off with just to make it appealing to the eye. Parsley, green onion, etc… not sure what would be best. Thank you 🙂
Maybe chives?
These came out great!
Made this and used some garlic that I had roasted and had in the freezer (I throw it in everything from sauce to baked beans)! Yummy! Thanks!
Can you make a big batch and freeze these?
I’m not sure how this would freeze? My guess is fine.
I only found out last night that I like sweet potato ,but only savory mashed with a little pepper and butter ,….love them !!!!
Can i use almond milk in place of the regular milk?
I just made this last night to accompany a boneless pork roast. I made roasted parsnips with apples also, so the savory aspect of this was perfect. I mashed it up with chicken broth, and added a dollop of sour cream. It was heaven.
These are so easy & quick to make. My family loves them, the kids eat them like they are candy! I've taken these to a potluck too and they were a hit! Thank you!
Absolutely yummy and very quick and easy to make. Didn't use sour cream but it was still fab. thanks for sharing
Gina, I just absolutely love this site – it is my first go-to when I'm looking for a lightened up version of a recipe or just need ideas. Thank you so much for what you do – it has made a huge difference in my life! Gonna try this recipe, since my husband bought about 50 pounds of sweet potatoes from a farmer. Changing my lifestyle and learning to love them! I'm going to try your shepherd's pie with mashed sweet potatoes since we aren't doing white potatoes anymore.
My husband, who works in a restaurant and does not embrace cooking healthy items, said these are the best mashed potatoes, not just mashed sweet potatoes, but best mashed potatoes he has ever had. He asked where the recipe was and said we have to make these again. He saw that I cooked the diced sweet potatoes and was not looking forward to them…..until he tried the finished product. I told him the website I got the recipe from is awesome and that people love this website. I was very surprised at his reaction. I told him that all the credit goes to the recipe. You have great recipes.
Not a fan of "sweetened" sweet potatoes, so can't wait to try these!
I made the turkey meatloaf this am and its waiting for me to throw in the oven tonite. Then I saw these potatoes, doing them as well. Ive had the chicken parm meatballs, they were incredible.
Loved this variation of sweet potatoes. I paired it with Skinnytaste Pork Chops with Shallots and Mushrooms. So good, and the BF (who doesn't eat pork) loved this and requested to have it again. Couldn't pin it fast enough. Thanks for all the great recipes.
I use two tablespoons of butter a pinch of cayanne and garlic delish!!!!!!
Fresh take on the typical SWEET Sweet Potato! Thanks! My husband and I absolutely loved it.I paired this with Slow cooker BBQ Pulled beef sandwiches and broccoli slaw. Outdoor BBQ flavor on a Monday night.
I made this three times since 2013 began and it is a huge hit with the family. #4 is currently in the oven. It goes perfectly with my turkey meatloaf that's topped with real bacon.
My version is 'skinnier' with fat-free Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and fat-free Half & Half instead of milk. I have nothing against fat at all. I just prefer my fat in meat like bacon and steaks. 😉
Awesome recipe, Gina. Thank you! 🙂
This is a new favorite in our house! 🙂
I tried this and unfortunately it was awful. I used a third of the garlic in the recipe and it was still like eating a mouthful of mush and garlic. Yuck!
I loved them!! Bummer my kids didn't. 🙁 I guess they are too used to the maple-flavored version. Thanks for a yummy recipe, and I'll try them again!
These were great! I used one of those microwavable sweet potatoes that come wrapped in plastic and these came together in under 10 minutes.
Has anyone tried baking the potatoes in the crock pot then mashing them?
I microwave, then scoop out and mash with other ingredients.
Super quick, super easy, and a crowd pleaser!!! They were delicious. I now prefer savory to sweet sweet potato mash!
How long does this recipe take to make?
I made these as a side for Thanksgiving as well, and I left out the sour cream. They turned out to die for… will definitely be making these again! So much better than traditional mashed potatoes! I never knew how much I loved sweet potatoes…
Any way to change this to a crock pot recipe?
Just made this for the first time, I am never making regular mashed potatos again. Thank you!
These turned out great. I used fat free milk and subbed fat free greek yogurt for the sour cream. I didn't have any and didn't want to run out for it. Either way, it was very tasty and a big hit for the my husband, who normally doesn't believe in sweet potatoes. I put the ingredients into the WW calculator and they came out to 5 points a serving. I did it using your ingredients and then my subs and it was still the same. Any ideas why that happened? I couldn't figure it out. Thanks as always.
SO glad you all liked them!!
These were a perfect side!!!! So delicious. Thank you Gina!!
I made these for dinner on the weekend. My Family and friends both raved about them! Thanks!
Sweet potatoes are one of my FAVORITES!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS AMAZING RECIPE!!! 😀
I made a double batch of these yesterday with your roasted chicken. They were delish! I took the leftovers and made the parmesan mashed potato patties. They were awesome! My picky kids and husband liked them even better today!
made this tonight and it was great!!!
Can I do this w butternut squash?
Just made these. Delicious! Thanks.
I sometimes put a tiny dash of maple syrup and some ground cumin in my sweet potato mash. Highly recommend!
… Oh God. I love sweet potatoes. Need. To. MAKE!
Natalya, Ruff House Art
Gina, this looks amazing!!!! 🙂
This recipe was so incredibly good that my husband and I have decided to substitute the mashed sweet potatoes for the sugary, marshmallow-covered ones for Thanksgiving. What a great recipe.
Love to hear that!
How have I never thought to mash sweet potatos before!?
I, too, prefer my sweet potatoes, also winter squash, savory instead of sweet. Don't get me wrong, at Thanksgiving I make a sweet potato mash that has lots of butter, cream, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg with a pecan struesel topping & I enjoy that, but it's soooo not healthy that I only do it once a year. The rest of the time, I choose savory. A couple of days ago, I did a post on my blog for savory acorn squash. I oven-roasted it with olive oil, onions, garlic, rosemary, crushed black peppercorns, & a little fennel, and topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. It was so yummy! Thanks for sharing your recipe! I will definitely be giving this a try!
Anita
http://theunabashedkitchenwench.blogspot.com/
These were so delicious! I am a huge fan.. I use your recipies at least 3 times a week! My boyfriend loves everything
I love sweet potato soufflé but I also love to experiment with my food. I made these potatoes tonight and my entire family LOVED them. My hubby even requested that I make these in place of the soufflé for Thanksgiving. Thanks for another winning recipe!
I am going to try this with your pork chop and apple sauce recipe in place of the skinny buttermilk mash (just for a nice change!!) I have been using your website for a couple months now and I have been menu planning each week for about 5 weeks and all my meals come from your website…its a bit of an effort to convert some measurements as I live in the UK but its worth the research lol
Thanks for all your hard work and sharing Gina xxx
Yum! I'm going to make this dish for Thanksgiving!
I am gonna make this – looks so good!
Hmm maybe I will make this tonight with some winter squash I have
My hubby LOVES sweet potatoes but I have only made them once in my life and that was recently to puree for baby food! I'm not a fan of them sweet at all but I LOVE potatoes so I bet a savory version would be quite tasty. I just might jump outside my comfort zone and try it! Thanks Gina!
I want to try this recipe, but have a dairy allergy… do you or any other commenters have substitution suggestions? Can coconut milk be used instead of the 1%? How would you sub for the sour cream?
You can use chicken broth in place of the milk and sour cream. It will be less creamy, but still very good.
You can use coconut milk, or almond milk. The sour cream isn't essential to the recipe.
I love your site! You have some of the best recipes.
I have been making this for years. Everyone that tries it loves it. Most can't believe that anyone would put garlic in sweet potatoes. I usually wrap a whole head of garlic in aluminum foil and bake or throw on the grill. After it cools you can grab a clove and just squeeze out the garlic. Baked sweet potatoes are just as good with a little butter and a couple cloves of garlic.
Wow …. What a delight!
Although I like sweet potatoes and garlic mashed never done this, but now I do. I loved the recipe. Kisses Gina
Great! Now, I'm torn. I was going to make BBQ chicken with grilled corn and baked beans, but now I'm thinking I need to make this instead. Or perhaps I should pair it with one of your other dishes and still do my BBQ dish. Decisions, decisions. It's always difficult when there are so many delicious (and healthy) choices available.
made this recipe with mashed butternut squash. It was fantastic.I'll try the sweet potatoes next.I love your site since I discovered it last week.I just got a laptop last year for the first time. I'm 85 yrs young and Ive always loved to cook. I've been a lifetime member of W.W
for many yrs.
Thanks twinshirl!..I was just going to ask whether this could be done with butternut squash as well!…This would make it much lower if one considers the glycemic index levels..Also, I suggest whole-heartedly the use of fromage blanc 0% or a non-fat greek-style yogurt. This site is fantastic..and one gleans so many options/ideas in the comment section alone!
I'm so happy you all enjoyed this! Greek yogurt would be great too!
I am going to have to make this! I'm also on the hunt for apple recipes. I created a tribute post to apple season with these scrumptious photos:
http://bohochiccafe.blogspot.com/2012/10/apples-on-my-mind.html
I've been making roasted sweet potatoes for years and prefer them to the sugary casseroles. I dice the potatoes, drizzle with olive oil, add a generous amount of minced garlic, and sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper. Roast uncovered. Solo delicious!
Oops. That's 'so delicious!'
I grew up hating sweet potatoes as a kid (we only had them in casseroles smothered in sugar and butter) but after a short stint going paleo, I started eating them with nothing but garlic! I just microwave mine for six minutes and smother it in Garlic and Herb Ms. Dash and I'm DONE for a good snack, or even a small lunch depending on the size of my potato.
This looks great. I grow sweet potatoes, but eat them infrequently, as they are really too sweet for me even without added sugar etc. I am always trying to come up with ways to balance out their natural sweetness. I hate to give up on them because they are so good for you and really easy to grow. Easier than butternut squash, which I like better.
This sounds yummy Gina. My biggest beef against sweet potatoes is the sweetness as I greatly prefer savory and spicy. To vary this a bit I'd try a little cracked fennel seed, cracked coriander seed and/or cracked cumin seed along with the cracked pepper.
I just made these for dinner. Delicious and so easy! I added a handful of cilantro and 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice for a little Caribbean flair. Turned out great!
I love cooking with Sweet Potatoes – they are so easy to prepare low-fat!
In the past I've used Cinnamon & Splenda Brown Sugar for a sweeter version. As a protein junkie, I'd swap out the sour cream for some non-fat greek yogurt to really pump things up 🙂
Yum oh yum! I love garlic mashed potatoes and I love sweet potato, so YES.
How long do you boil the potatoes?
looks great! I'll be trying this, I have a steamer on my counter, and will use that instead of boiling, that way I will keep the nutrients.
I just bought sweet potatoes last night, and will definitely be trying this! I found your website on Pinterest a couple months back and have been making Skinnytaste meals a few times a week ever since!
I love the way roasting vegetables brings out deeper flavors. So when I make mashed sweet potatoes, I roast them for about an hour at 450, then mash them up (skins and all for extra nutrients!) with a potato masher, a fork, or an immersion blender. I often use cinnamon and nutmeg – will have to try chipotle and/or cumin!
I always buy the smallest (less stringy) and roast in the oven at around 250 degrees for several hours (cover pan with foil). Then use the sweet potato anyway you want. Or, toss them in the frig to use during the week. Most of the sugar is in the layer of the skin closest to the potato. Delicious!
Is this sweet potatoes or yams? It looks like yams to me so just checking I wanna make this tomorrow night!
True yams only come in white, purple, and a sort of reddish color in terms of flesh color. What you're thinking of yams are actually truly sweet potatoes which come with white or orange flesh. They're just commonly mislabeled and called yams in the U.S.—the USDA calls the orange ones yams to differentiate from the white variety of sweet potatoes, for some reason. 🙂
These are sweet potatoes, I'm sure yams would work as well.
Could i used greek yogurt instead of the sour cream?
Sure
As this recipe is already Skinny-fied, realize that you can cut back further on any ingredient, but know that you are probably cutting back on taste which is important to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
I actually never liked sweet potatoes much growing up because they were always smothered in sugar — But I have grown to love them when they are savory like this! Sounds great!
I do a similar preparation of mashed white potatoes and butternut squash or sweet potatoes, but instead of sautéing the garlic, I roast a head or two in the oven. So much flavor!!! I've never done it this way but I bet it's also delicious!!
Garlic makes everything better!
This sounds delicious! I'm a new fan, btw. Stumbled across your website via Ziplist and have now tried several of your recipes. All were delicious!
We had the lemon oregano chicken w/ feta last night. And I've made the huevos rancheros twice now.
Wonderful, I'm so glad you found me!
What about using fat free sour cream and skim milk to help reduce the fat content? Do you think it would still turn out okay?
Sure, a little less creamy but would still be fine.
Could I make the recipe without the sour cream and without a substitute? If I halved it, is the one tablespoon of sour cream totally necessary? Would I need to sub Greek yogurt in for it (I dislike the way sour cream tastes 🙂 ) or could I just do the half recipe without substitution?
You can do it without, I like adding it to make it a bit creamier since I'm cutting back on butter and milk.
Greek yogurt to replace sour cream every time ftw!
Yummy! Love my sweet potatoes with some CUMIN – absolutely delicious – ever tried that?
Yes, sometimes I add chipotle for a spicy side.
Yum! These look awesome.
Sounds delicious! Where was this recipe when I made mashed sweet potatoes on Sunday night? I'll remember this for next time. 🙂 Thanks!!
This doesn't sound too bad!
LOL! I had the same reaction! I'm not normally a fan of sweet potatoes. My husband loves them! I always think they're too sweet but this may work for me!!
If you normally don't like them, then this is the recipe for you! Try them!
Yum! Savory sweet potatoes are the best. These look delicious.
I love sweet potatoes and prefer them savory to sweet. I can't wait to try this recipe. Have you ever mashed them with some butter, lime juice, and cilantro? If not, try it. They are amazing served this way! Very tropical, and the lime juice really complements their natural sweetness.
ooh, gonna try that!
So "+1" on Heather's suggestion…the lime/cilantro would be heaven…Gina…your recipe is superlative and so very well explained as usual. This screams Fall and is perfect and a light take on the oft-seen "heavy mashes" at this time of year. Thanks for another "win" in the side-dish category!
Hi Heather, can you add the amount of ingredients that you use for the tropical version? Thanks!!
So far, I am convinced that the best way to eat sweet potatoes is baked with a little butter and salt…. simple and delicious! I can't wait to try both of these savory ideas.
I tried it Heather, and it was delicious! I add some french onions on top for the crunch 🙂