These Bourbon Mashed Sweet Potatoes are a true treat (one of my favorite side dishes!!) with such depth of flavor from only a few really great ingredients. Roasted sweet potatoes combined with smoky bourbon, pure maple syrup, butter, and nutmeg then whipped until absolute silky perfection.
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Ingredients
Check out the ingredients needed below to make this bourbon mashed sweet potato dish
- Sweet potatoes: Sweet potatoes are fantastic this time of year with their orange flesh and pleasantly sweet flavor.
- Bourbon: Adds a little kick with a smoky edge to a classic sweet potato dish. A little goes a long way here.
- Pure maple syrup: Really helps the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes shine. Be sure you’re using pure maple syrup, not the artificial stuff with added sugars and ingredients.
- You could sub light brown sugar if you prefer.
- Butter: Unsalted butter is preferred that way you can add salt to taste.
- If you don’t have unsalted butter, you can use salted butter but pull back on the added salt until after you’ve made the dish and can taste it.
- Nutmeg: Just a hint of this warm wintery spice adds the perfect little hint of flavor.
- You can use cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice instead.
- Pecans: Chopped pecans or pecan halves added on top to serve add the perfect crunch.
- Salt: Kosher salt!
Step by step instructions
With this easy recipe that's just a few steps you’ll have this sweet potato side dish ready to go.
1. Roast the potatoes. Pierce the potatoes with a fork, wrap them in aluminum foil, and roast at 375℉ for 1 hour until fork tender.
2. Mash the potatoes. Discard skins and add the sweet potatoes to either a large bowl or food processor. Add the remaining ingredients – melted unsalted butter, bourbon, pure maple syrup, nutmeg, and salt. Mash or whip on high speed until desired consistency. Taste and add more salt if desired.
3. Serve. Scoop the potato mixture into a serving bowl. Serve with a pat of butter and a sprinkling of chopped pecans.
How to mash and whip sweet potatoes
There are a few different ways to mash sweet potatoes and it all boils down to the texture you prefer.
- If you like them really smooth and silky: whip them in a high powered food processor
- If you like them smooth and silky with a little texture: whip them with an electric mixer (hand mixer) or stand mixer
- If you like them a little chunkier: mash them by hand with either a potato masher or a fork.
Tips and tricks
- If you’re using small sweet potatoes, an hour in the oven should be good. But if you’re using large sweet potatoes, they may need a bit longer.
- Make sure when you wrap the potatoes they’re fully covered and sealed in, this will help make sure they steam properly.
- To get the sweet potatoes out of the skin after baking, cut them in half and then when cool enough to the touch you can pinch the top and the inside should slip out.
- I used plain bourbon, but if you can find maple bourbon that would be delicious too.
- If you prefer a stronger taste of bourbon, add an extra splash!
- If you’re serving this dish to kids, you can skip the bourbon. It doesn’t get cooked, so there is a bit of alcohol in these potatoes. Add a dash of vanilla extract to get a similar flavor profile.
- If you love sweet potato casserole, after you mash these you can put them in a baking dish, top with mini marshmallows, and bake for 20 minutes at 350℉ until the marshmallows are golden brown.
- If you want even more depth of flavor, try browning your butter before you add it to the sweet potatoes!
Storage and reheating
To store this dish: allow it to come to room temp, then place in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
To reheat this dish: warm in the microwave for a few minutes until heated through. You could also warm on the stove over low heat stirring often.
What to serve with mashed sweet potatoes
This dish leans on the sweeter side, so I’d serve with something savory to balance it out. P.S. it’s a great side dish to serve on Thanksgiving!
Roasted chicken, turkey, or braised short ribs would be delicious.
Side dishes such as brussels sprouts, green beans, and a fresh salad would compliment the potatoes perfectly.
FAQs
While often confused for one another, sweet potatoes and yams are actually completely different, although they are both root vegetables. Visually, a sweet potato has more of a warm reddish-brown skin with a bright orange inside, and a yam has a brownish skin with a white inside. Taste wise, sweet potatoes are sweeter and have a creamier texture, whereas yams are starchier and closer in flavor to a russet potato. More on their differences here.
Bourbon is a type of whiskey that’s made in the USA with 40% alcohol content. Other types of whiskey include scotch which is made in Scotland, Irish whiskey which is made in Ireland, and Canadian whiskey and Japanese whiskey, which are made in Canada and Japan respectively.
Close to it. If you swap the butter for vegan butter, then it is! Sweet potatoes, pure maple syrup, bourbon, nutmeg, and pecans are all vegan.
Sure! I’d recommend no more than 2 days in advance, and skip adding the pecans until you’re ready to serve. Warm in the microwave.
Sure! Peel them, cut them into large cubes, then boil just the sweet potato chunks in a large pot for about 15-20 minutes until fork tender. From there, follow the recipe starting at step 2.
More sweet potato recipes
Recipe
Bourbon Mashed Sweet Potatoes
INGREDIENTS
- 5 medium sweet potatoes
- 2 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 3 tablespoon bourbon whiskey
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 375℉.
- Pierce the potatoes with a fork, wrap them in aluminum foil, and roast for 1 hour until fork tender.
- Discard skins and add the sweet potatoes to either a large bowl or food processor. Add the remaining ingredients – 4 tablespoon melted unsalted butter, 3 tablespoon bourbon, 2 tablespoon pure maple syrup, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, and 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Mash or whip on high speed until desired consistency. Taste and add more salt if desired.
- Scoop the potato mixture into a serving bowl. Serve with a pat of butter and a sprinkling of chopped pecans.
NOTES
- If you’re using small sweet potatoes, an hour in the oven should be good. But if you’re using large sweet potatoes, they may need a bit longer.
- Make sure when you wrap the potatoes they’re fully covered and sealed in, this will help make sure they steam properly.
- To get the sweet potatoes out of the skin after baking, cut them in half and then when cool enough to the touch you can pinch the top and the inside should slip out.
- I used plain bourbon, but if you can find maple bourbon that would be delicious too.
- If you prefer a stronger taste of bourbon, add an extra splash!
- If you’re serving this dish to kids, you can skip the bourbon. It doesn’t get cooked, so there is a bit of alcohol in these potatoes. Add a dash of vanilla extract to get a similar flavor profile.
- If you love sweet potato casserole, after you mash these you can put them in a baking dish, top with mini marshmallows, and bake for 20 minutes at 350℉ until the marshmallows are golden brown.
- If you want even more depth of flavor, try browning your butter before you add it to the sweet potatoes!
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