4 Sweet Potato Recipes That Go Beyond Just A Side Dish

Sweet potato is everything. Fact. It’s sweet (obviously), filling and delicious. But often it gets pushed away to just be a side dish and we think that’s a disgrace. Something so special deserves to be its own meal. Plus they’re packed with high amounts of fiber and potassium and often thought to be healthier than the common white potato. To honor our beloved here are 4 sweet potato recipes that go beyond just a side dish.

1. Satay Sweet Potato Curry

A sweet twist on a classic curry dish. Perfect if you’re sensitive to spicy foods and vegan-friendly!

Melt one tablespoon of coconut oil in a saucepan and add one chopped onion to soften for five minutes. Next, add two grated or finely chopped garlic cloves and a small amount of ginger for one minute. Now you want to stir in your Thai red curry paste, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter for that iconic taste and finally 500g of cut into pieces sweet potato.

Bring it to boil then reduce to a simmer, left uncovered, for around thirty minutes, until the sweet potato is soft and edible. Chuck in 200g of spinach and season well.

2. Sweet Potato Jackets with Guacamole and Kidney Beans

While a jacket potato is a go-to meal for lunch we can’t help but admit to getting a little bored time to time of its simpleness. Well no more! Using a sweet potato instead really makes a huge difference.

Heat the oven to 220C and put a jacket potato into the oven oiled. Roast for forty-five minutes until tender all the way through with the inside soft and the outside crunchy. You can test this with a knife. While that is cooking, mash an avocado with lime juice into a bowl. Add one finely chopped red chilli, 1 chopped tomato, ⅓ small pack coriander leaves, and 1 small finely chopped red onion. All for flavour!

3. Baked Sweet Potatoes with Steak Fajita Filling

The title says everything really. Mexican is the best food and I’m hungry just thinking about it.

To begin you need to roast your sweet potato. Do this by setting the oven to 220C and leaving in for 45 minutes until soft. Make the marinade by mixing the juice of one lime, 2 tsp of chilli powder, 1 tsp of garlic powder, 1 tsp of cumin and 1 tbsp of olive oil in a bowl. Pour half of this into another bowl and add the steaks. Leave this for now.

When the sweet potatoes have around twenty minutes left, fry two onions and 2 chopped peppers. Add the steaks and cook to your desired well-done level. Mash an avocado and season well. Combine the steak and marinade and serve over the jackets with the guacamole.

4. Sweet Potato and Spinach Bake

Super easy, healthy and makes for a scrumptious meal for a cold winters night.

Preheat the oven to 200C. In a saucepan put 300ml of cream, one garlic clove and a handful of herbs and bring to boil. Remove from heat and put to one side to season and infuse. Onto the spinach which is really easy. Pour a kettle of boiling water over, drain and squeeze out as much as possible and season.

Place 850g of peeled and thinly sliced sweet potatoes into a greased ovenproof dish. Top with a layer of spinach, then the remaining potato and finally the cream mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 45-55 mins until golden and tender.

All of these recipes are delicious and easily made vegetarian/vegan or the opposite. We’ve easily proven just how fab and versatile sweet potato is and hopefully you’re inspired to make one of these meals or even an idea of your own.