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Healthy Mashed Sweet Potatoes

November 17, 2020 by Tristin 2 Comments

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These Healthy Mashed Sweet Potatoes are super creamy and they have a special SECRET ingredient! This vegan mashed sweet potato recipe is the perfect addition to your fall dinner or holiday meal.

This mashed sweet potato recipe is a fun twist on a holiday favorite. But this is a lightened up version, with way less sugar!! If you are looking for another tasty side dish, try out these Brown Sugar Carrots.

A fork in a bowl of mashed sweet potatoes topped with a pat of margarine
Top These Healthy Mashed Sweet Potatoes With a Pat of Margarine to Keep it Vegan

Secret Ingredient Mashed Sweet Potatoes!!

Yes!! You read that correctly. This healthy sweet potato recipe has a SECRET ingredient. I’ll give you a hint, it’s yellow and a fruit. Nope, it’s not lemons.

It’s bananas!! Oven roasted bananas, to be exact.

The sugars in the bananas help sweeten the sweet potatoes naturally. The bananas are roasted in their peels in the oven to bring out even more flavor and sweetness. Just flip them over half way through the baking process. The peels actually end up turning black after roasting!! After they cool down a little, it’s easy to peel them. I think that the bananas add an interesting layer of flavor to the sweet potatoes.

See if your guests can guess what the SECRET ingredient is!!

A bowl of healthy mashed sweet potatoes with a banana garnish
These Simple Mashed Sweet Potatoes are Naturally Sweetened With a Secret Ingredient!!

Less Sugar = More Dessert

I like that these sweet potatoes are not overly sweet. This sweet potato recipe is definitely NOT like your traditional recipe. You know the scrumptious ones I mean…the brown sugar drenched, cinnamon-y, marshmallow dotted sweet potatoes.

I mean those are delicious, right?!…they happen to be my favorite Thanksgiving side dish. But I was looking to make a lighter, healthier version of sweet potatoes this year. This recipe is for yams that have been baked and then mashed into fluffy potatoes. They are then naturally sweetened with a splash of maple syrup, golden bananas, and a little fruit juice (the juice is optional).

Since there is less sugar added to these sweet potatoes, they are not too sweet, which means you can eat more dessert after dinner, right? For me that would be a definite yes, haha, but you may feel differently. You do you!

A baking dish full of healthy mashed sweet potatoes, a bowl of mashed sweet potatoes with banana slices sprinkled around“>
These Mashed Yams are a Perfect Fall Side Dish!!

This is a great recipe to make if you have sweet potatoes left over from baking. I like to bake a few extra when I am cooking some for a recipe to smash them up and serve at another meal. If you happen to be making a sweet potato recipe, simply throw a couple extra on the baking sheet.

Are Sweet Potatoes Good for You?

Sweet potatoes are highly nutritious. They are rich in fiber, which is great for the digestive system. They are packed full of vitamin A, you can get 400% of the daily value by eating just one sweet potato!! Vitamin A is great for your eyes, immune system, heart and kidneys.

Did you know that sweet potatoes aren’t even potatoes? I know, crazy right?! They are actually a sweet root belonging to the morning glory family.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes Ingredients

  • Sweet Potatoes: Three large cooked and mashed sweet potatoes.
  • Bananas: I like to use bananas that have maybe a couple brown spots. Not overly ripe but not green bananas. These get baked in the oven to bring out their natural sweetness. Try using two bananas to start out.
  • Non-Dairy Milk: I used almond milk. You can use regular milk or could even try coconut milk (let me know how it turns out).
  • Apple Juice: I used unfiltered apple juice. You could also use apple cider or prune juice. The juice is optional.
  • Maple Syrup: Use real maple syrup, not pancake syrup.
  • Allspice: Ground allspice.
All of the ingredients to make  mashed sweet potatoes such as non-dairy milk, baked sweet potatoes, maple syrup, apple juice, and the secret ingredient...bananas.
Healthy Mashed Sweet Potatoes Only Require a Few Simple Ingredients

How to Make Mashed Sweet Potatoes

  1. Preheat the oven and bake the bananas in their peels in the oven.
  2. Once roasted, set the bananas aside.
  3. Next, in a stand mixer combine the mashed sweet potatoes and roasted bananas. You can smash any lumps with the back of a spoon.
  4. Add in milk, maple syrup, allspice, apple juice (optional), and cinnamon (optional) together. Blend until smooth, but don’t over mix.
  5. Spread the mixture into a greased, oven-proof dish.
  6. Bake until golden brown.
All of the steps to make mashed sweet potatoes
Sweet Potatoes are Full of Nutrients Like Beta-Carotene and Fiber

Mashed Sweet Potatoes Tips

  • Baking the bananas on parchment or aluminum foil will make clean-up a lot easier.
  • The next time you are making sweet potatoes, make a few extra to have on hand to make mashed sweet potatoes. They are good sprinkled with a little brown sugar and cinnamon.
  • Use bananas that are ripe but not too ripe.
  • Don’t overmix the sweet potatoes or they may become gummy.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes Variations

  • Try using different types of milk in this recipe. I used almond milk, but you could try coconut milk, cashew milk, oat milk or regular milk. I have only tried it with almond milk so you’ll have to comment below to let me know how it turned out with a different milk!!
  • Leave out the juice to keep it refined sugar free, you don’t have to replace the liquid.
  • Add in a teaspoon of cinnamon when combining all the ingredients together for extra flavor.
A forkful of mashed sweet potatoes above the bowl which is blurred in the background“>
Try These Easy Mashed Sweet Potatoes if you Need a Reduced Sugar Recipe

Storage Instructions for Mashed Sweet Potatoes

  • How to Refrigerate Sweet Potatoes: Let the mashed sweet potatoes cool and put in a glass container or BPA-free airtight plastic container or zipper bag. The sweet potatoes should last about 4 days in the fridge.
  • How to Reheat Sweet Potatoes: Reheat cold mashed sweet potatoes in the microwave for a minute at a time until desired warmth is reached. Or re-heat on the stove in a sauce pan or dutch oven until heated through.
A white bowl of healthy mashed sweet potatoes with a pat of margarine
Creamy and Deliciously Roasted Mashed Sweet Potatoes are the BEST

Try these other fall recipes!

  • Brown Sugar Carrots
  • Lentil Soup
  • Apple Cider Slushies
  • Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

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A fork in a bowl of mashed sweet potatoes topped with a pat of margarine
Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Healthy Mashed Sweet Potatoes

These Healthy Mashed Sweet Potatoes are super creamy and they have a special SECRET ingredient! This vegan mashed sweet potato recipe is the perfect addition to your fall dinner or holiday meal.
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time1 hr 5 mins
Total Time1 hr 15 mins
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8
Calories: 89kcal
Author: Tristin @ Home Cooked Harvest

Ingredients

  • 3 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes about 3 large sweet potatoes
  • 2 bananas medium
  • 1/2 cup almond milk unsweetened
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon allspice
  • 1/4 cup apple juice optional
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon optional

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Put bananas on baking sheet covered in parchment paper.
  • Put bananas in oven on middle rack. Cook bananas for 6 minutes and then flip them over. Cook the other side for another 6 minutes.
  • Remove bananas from oven and set aside to let them cool.
  • Add mashed sweet potatoes to the bowl of a stand mixer. Peel bananas and add them in. Blend until smooth. If you have any banana lumps you can smash them with the back of a spoon.
  • To the sweet potato and banana mixture, add the almond milk, maple syrup, vanilla extract, allspice, apple juice (optional), and cinnamon (optional). Beat until fluffy.
  • Pour the mixture into a greased 8×8 square dish. Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden brown on top.

Notes

  • Don’t over mix the sweet potatoes or they may get gummy.
  • Use bananas that are ripe, but not overly ripe.
  • Let the mashed sweet potatoes cool down completely before storing in an airtight container and refrigerate up to 4 days.
 
 
* Please note that all nutrition information are just estimates. Values will vary among brands, so we encourage you to calculate these on your own for most accurate results

Nutrition

Calories: 89kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 29mg | Potassium: 293mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 7095IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out!

If you’ve tried this or any other of my recipes, don’t forget to rate the recipe below and leave me a comment. I love hearing from you! Share a picture on Instagram and hashtag it #homecookedharvest.

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Filed Under: Side Dishes

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Comments

  1. Katara W.

    April 30, 2021 at 4:15 pm

    5 stars
    The “secret ingredient” was so much fun! My family could not figure out what it was. Making this again, everyone loved it.

  2. Tristin

    April 30, 2021 at 4:23 pm

    I bet that was fun, playing the guessing game with the “secret ingredient.” Thanks, Katara W.

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Hey there! Welcome, I am so glad you are here. I’m Tristin, the food-lover, recipe-maker, and photo-taker behind Home Cooked Harvest, which features easy recipes made with tasty ingredients. Read More…

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