Sweet potatoes are a nutrient-dense, incredibly satisfying and delicious vegetable that everyone seems to love, both kids and adults alike! Here we learn how to meal prep sweet potatoes so we can save time and easily incorporate them into healthy recipes ranging from breakfast to dessert.
I absolutely love sweet potatoes and am always looking for ways to include them in my diet. In addition to being loaded with vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants, they have a sweet and nutty taste along with a creamy texture that makes them such a unique and versatile veggie.
But if there was one knock on sweet potatoes, I'd say it's that you can't just quickly throw one into a quick recipe on the fly. They need to be cooked first which, while easy to do, takes some time and can hold you up when pulling together a meal.
The solution? Meal prepping sweet potatoes! Having them prepped and ready for the week ahead makes cooking with them so much more efficient. Just grab them from the fridge and you're good to go!
How to Meal Prep Sweet Potatoes
The beauty of meal prepping sweet potatoes is that you can cook them all at once and they can be stored in an airtight container to last in the fridge for a week. I prepare my sweet potatoes either by baking or using the Instant Pot, both of which are easy.
Leave the skin on when cooking! The skin contains more nutrients which is why I love to season and stuff them. However, you can remove the skin after cooking and just use the inside for certain recipes. If you plan to use the sweet potato for sweet recipes and only plan to use the inside, then you can skip the oil and salt.
See the recipe card at the very bottom of this post for detailed instructions on both methods.
How to Bake Sweet Potatoes in the Oven
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Wash and dry the sweet potatoes well.
- Put 4 sweet potatoes in a 12-inch cast iron skillet. I typically double it up and put a total of 8 in two skillets.
- Rub olive oil on the sweet potatoes and then sprinkle generously with salt (leave the skin on).
- Poke each potato 4 times with a fork and bake for 50-60 minutes (more time for larger sweet potatoes).
- Cut in half and enjoy!
How to Cook Sweet Potatoes in the Instant Pot
- Place as many sweet potatoes that can fit in your Instant Pot using the steamer basket.
- Add 1 cup of water and cook for 15-25 minutes on manual high heat with the valve on sealed (more time if the sweet potatoes are large).
- Release the steam and the skin peels right off, which works well for mashing the inside for veggie burgers or tots.
Nutritional Benefits of Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes provide several nutrients such as vitamins A, B6 and C, potassium and fiber (source). They also contain calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium, potassium and copper.
Their orange color is a clear indicator that it contains a large amount of beta carotene (which converts to vitamin A). Vitamin A boosts your immune system and is also helpful for vision and bone health. One medium sweet potato actually offers almost 7x more vitamin A (and nearly double the vitamin C) than a russet potato.
Easy Vegan Sweet Potato Recipes
Below are some of my favorite sweet potato recipes, from savory to sweet:
Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Everyone needs a new go-to when it comes to weeknight dinners! These vegan Mexican stuffed sweet potatoes were an instant favorite in my house and a super filling plant-based meal.
Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers
These sweet potato veggie burgers could not be any more perfect. The ingredients are simple and nutritious and the process to make them is easy. The result is full of flavor and the perfect crispy-on-the-outside, firm-yet-tender-on-the-inside texture that you want in a veggie burger.
Sweet Potato Quinoa Tots
Get ready to make everyone at your table happy with these vegan sweet potato quinoa tots. They are gluten-free, nut-free and refined sugar-free. With just a couple ingredients, these simple and flavorful tots are going to become a fast favorite.
Enchilada Stuffed Bell Peppers (with Sweet Potato)
These vegan enchilada stuffed bell peppers are bursting with flavor and texture. They are stuffed with a satisfying plant-based mixture of quinoa, black beans, diced veggies, puréed sweet potato and cilantro. Plus, they are smothered in a homemade enchilada sauce that boasts bold flavor in this dish.
Easy Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
This simple weeknight dinner is easy to prep ahead of time, has perfectly well-rounded nutrition, and it's an absolute crowd pleaser! This stuffed sweet potatoes recipe creates a dish roasted to golden perfection, then filled with plant-based protein from creamy hummus, crispy chickpeas, savory tahini sauce and sliced avocado.
The Best Vegan Mac and Cheese
This lusciously creamy and rich vegan mac and cheese is perfect for a cold winter night as an entree or side dish. It has an easy one-minute dairy-free cheese sauce that is made in your blender with pantry ingredients you likely have on hand.
Easy Vegan Sweet Potato Breakfast Bowls
This is the perfect breakfast recipe for prepping the night before and throwing together quickly the next morning. It contains sweet potato, almond butter, vanilla plant-based yogurt, homemade granola and berry chia jam, fresh blueberries and hemp seeds, but can be easily customized to fit your preferences.
You can also easily turn this into a breakfast stuffed sweet potato by putting the toppings inside a roasted sweet potato. I use avocado oil and salt on the skin in this case. My kids love them for breakfast stuffed with almond butter, cinnamon, maple syrup, banana slices and hemp seeds.
Purple Sweet Potato Smoothie
This no-fruit smoothie tastes like a thick and creamy (purple) milkshake. It is naturally sweetened with dates and purple sweet potato and flavored with sweet cinnamon and vanilla. It basically tastes like dessert!
If you're into purple sweet potatoes, definitely try these crispy oven-roasted purple sweet potato halves!
Sweet Potato Muffins
These easy vegan and gluten-free blender sweet potato muffins are made with all pantry staples and ready in 25 minutes! They are light, fluffy and naturally sweet. You can top with hemp seeds or mini vegan chocolate chips.
Chocolate Sweet Potato Frosting
This chocolate sweet potato frosting is fudgy, creamy and the perfect addition to your favorite cakes and cookies! It's totally vegan, free of refined sugar and it's even paleo. It's always time for chocolate!
Vanilla Sweet Potato Frosting
Take your desserts to the next level with this decadent yet secretly healthy frosting! Made in a blender and naturally sweetened with simple wholesome ingredients (no powdered sugar!), this fluffy, thick and spreadable frosting is perfect for swirling on top of cupcakes or for when you want to frost a cake.
Sweet Potato Brownies
These vegan and gluten-free sweet potato brownies with an almond butter swirl are every bit as decadent and amazing as they sound. Each bite is so rich and fudgy you will be in total chocolate nirvana.
Chocolate Sweet Potato Cupcakes
These rich and decadent vegan chocolate sweet potato cupcakes with chocolate sweet potato frosting are dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, nut-free, refined sugar-free and loaded with nutritious sweet potato in every bite! They only require ten ingredients and are made in your blender.
Meal Prepping Sweet Potatoes (and Easy Recipes)
- Total Time: 15 minutes (up to 60 minutes if baking))
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Sweet potatoes are a nutrient-dense, incredibly satisfying and delicious vegetable that everyone seems to love, both kids and adults alike! Here we learn how to meal prep sweet potatoes so we can save time and easily incorporate them into healthy recipes ranging from breakfast to dessert.
Ingredients
- 4-8 sweet potatoes
Instructions
How to Bake Sweet Potatoes in the Oven:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Wash and dry the sweet potatoes well.
- Put 4 sweet potatoes in a 12-inch cast iron skillet. I typically double it up and put a total of 8 in two skillets.
- Rub olive oil generously on the sweet potatoes and then sprinkle generously with salt (leave the skin on). If you are planning to use just the inside of the sweet potato for a sweet recipe you can skip the oil.
- Poke each potato 4 times with a fork and bake for 50-60 minutes (more time for larger sweet potatoes).
- Cut in half and enjoy!
How to Cook Sweet Potatoes in the Instant Pot:
- Place as many sweet potatoes that can fit in your Instant Pot using the steamer basket. They will be touching and resting on each other.
- Add 1 cup of water and cook for 15-25 minutes on manual high heat with the valve on sealed (more time if the sweet potatoes are large).
- Release the steam and the skin peels right off, which works well for mashing the inside for veggie burgers, tots or baked goods. See the recipes linked in the post above for how to use sweet potatoes in recipes.
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