Easy and creamy, these tahini mashed sweet potatoes are a unique and delicious addition to any fall or holiday meal.
I love sweet potatoes any number of ways during most of the year; whether they’re stuffed or skewered, as toast or even in my drinks, but around the holidays I especially love them mashed.
It’s hard to find a holiday table that doesn’t have sweet potatoes on it; their sweet flavor and rich color fit right in with the other seasonal offerings. Without a doubt, sweet potatoes are a crowd favorite this time of year and mashing them is one the simplest and tastiest ways to prepare them. This year, I’m making tahini mashed sweet potatoes.
If you aren’t a fan of sweet potato casserole, this is the dish for you.
The problem is, sweet potatoes are already sweet enough on their own, yet we tend to drown them in more sugary sweetness when we serve them for the holidays. What sweet potatoes really need is a little bit of savoriness to balance out all that sweetness. That’s where the tahini comes in. Creamy, nutty tahini tones down the sweetness while amplifying the overall flavor of the mashed sweet potatoes. Olive oil and garlic further round out those savory flavors and create a silky mash with a rich depth of flavor that complements instead of competes with the inherent sweetness of the potatoes.
How to make mashed sweet potatoes:
The easiest way to make mashed sweet potatoes is by roasting them in the oven. Roasting them concentrates their flavor and is completely hands off. The potatoes are pricked all over with the tines of fork then left to roast inside their skins for about an hour. Once done, the skin is simply peeled off and the flesh pulsed in a food processor along with the tahini, garlic, and olive oil until plush and fluffy. A sprinkle of sesame seeds on top and it’s ready to serve.
Because there’s no butter or cream, these tahini mashed sweet potatoes are both vegan and paleo, making them a welcome addition to the menu for any family members with food allergies or special diets.
Simple to prepare but elegant enough to serve for a special occasion, these sweet potatoes are a perfect fit for the holidays or any time of year.
More sweet potato sides to try:
- Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Butternut Squash Gratin (Paleo, Vegan)
- Moroccan Spiced Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Carrots
- Baked Sweet Potatoes Stuffed with Feta, Olives and Sundried Tomatoes
Serves 4
Sylvie Shirazi
Easy and creamy, these tahini mashed sweet potatoes are a unique and delicious addition to any fall or holiday meal.
15 minPrep Time
1 hrCook Time
1 hr, 15 Total Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 4 small or 3 large sweet potatoes
- 3 Tablespoons/45ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
- 1 small head of garlic
- 3 Tablespoons/45ml tahini
- 1 Tablespoon/15ml fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Sesame seeds for serving
- Sumac for serving
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400 F.
- Wash and prick sweet potatoes on all sides with a fork. Place on a sheet pan and bake for 1-1:30 hours or until tender when pierced with a knife.
- Peel most of the loose papery outer layers of the garlic head leaving the cloves intact. Using a sharp knife cut a 1/4 inch off the top. Place garlic in the center of a piece of aluminium foil and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap foil around garlic to create a package and place in oven on sheet pan alongside sweet potatoes to roast. Roast for 1 hour.
- Remove from oven and let sweet potatoes and garlic cool until cool enough to handle but still warm.
- Cut open sweet potatoes and scoop flesh into a food processor. Squeeze out the insides of the roasted garlic into the food processor, discarding the papery outer skin. Add olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, and salt and pulse until smooth; season with pepper to taste.
- Drizzle mashed sweet potatoes with more olive oil and top with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and a pinch of sumac to serve.
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Sylvie Shirazi is the recipe developer and food photographer behind Gourmande in the Kitchen. For the last 10 years she’s been making eating more healthfully easy and accessible with gluten-free, grain-free, paleo and vegan recipes that are free from processed ingredients.
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