The Best Way to Boil Sweet Potatoes (2024)

FAQs

The Best Way to Boil Sweet Potatoes? ›

Add enough water to just cover the potatoes, and a pinch of salt. Boil sweet potatoes for 15 to 20 minutes, until they are tender when pierced with a fork. It will take less time if you cut the sweet potatoes into smaller pieces. Drain and return to the pot.

Boiling may theoretically be best, but sweet potatoes are so incredibly healthy that the actual best way to prepare them is whichever way will get you to eat the most of them! The exception is deep frying, which can lead to the formation of acrylamide, a potential human carcinogen.

(Another hot tip if you're boiling your sweet potatoes: Don't overcook them! They tend to absorb water, which could make the filling watery.) So, say you do have some undercooked bits of sweet potato. You have two choices: Pick them out or bake your sweet potato casserole long enough to soften the underdone pieces.

And, if you're worried about nutrients. Don't. All foods lose some of their nutritional value once they've been cooked. But, microwaved sweet potatoes actually retain more of their nutrients as opposed to boiled sweet potatoes.

TIPS & TRICKS to Make this Recipe: The main secrets to achieving that incredible crispy texture, is to soak the cut sweet potatoes in cold water for at least 30 minutes. This helps remove the starch from the sweet potatoes so they´re not limp & soggy.

Wash sweet potatoes and boil or steam until partially soft (15 to 20 minutes). Cool only enough to handle and remove skins. Cut medium potatoes if needed so that pieces are uniform in size, no larger than 2¼ inches (6 cm) in diameter. Fill sweet potatoes into hot jars, leaving a space of 1 inch (2.5 cm) below the rim.

Boiling With or Without Skin

There is not much difference between boiling sweet potatoes with the skins on versus peeling them, but you will get a boost of fiber and potassium if you keep the skin on.

Sweet potatoes are nutritious, high in fiber, very filling, and delicious. They can be eaten boiled, baked, steamed, or fried. Sweet potatoes are usually orange but also found in other colors, such as white, red, pink, violet, yellow, and purple.

Sweet potatoes are rich in beta-carotene – in fact, it's what gives this root its bright-orange colour. When we eat beta-carotene, our body converts it to vitamin A, which is then used to form light detecting receptors in the eye. This is important for night vision and maintaining the health of the eye.

Sweet potatoes are rich in oxalate content and can result in the formation of kidney stones. Consuming sweet potatoes in excess can result in sweet potato side effects such as Vitamin A toxicity, which is manifested in skin rashes and headaches.

Can I drink the water after boiling sweet potatoes? ›

Sweet potatoes are creamy and sweet enough to be made into delicious holiday pies, but they are also surprisingly healthy and nutritious. In addition to this, new research suggests that even the cooking water from sweet potatoes may help with digestion and weight loss.

The takeaway. If you want to eat sweet potatoes and maintain blood sugar balance, Sapola suggests boiling rather than roasting them. This method will take the glycemic index impact down a few points and maybe even challenge your cooking creativity.

Bring the water to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and let the potatoes cook 15 to 20 minutes, or until you can easily pierce several pieces (always test more than one) with a knife. Potatoes cut into small pieces will take less time to cook.

Sweet potatoes are full of antioxidants, vitamins and fiber to support your eye, digestive and heart health. They're generally safe to eat daily, especially if you eat them with calcium to prevent calcium oxalate kidney stones. There are so many fun and tasty ways to eat sweet potatoes.

The healthiest ways to prepare sweet potatoes are to steam or boil them. You can also bake, roast, or fry sweet potatoes, but you should take care to limit these preparation methods, which will cause the sugars to break down in different ways and often include extra recipe ingredients like oil, butter, or sugar.

If you cook them and then put them in the fridge or wait until they are cold to peel them, they can be extremely difficult to peel. I boil mine until they are no longer firm in the center when tested with a knife, remove them from the boiling water, rest them just for a minute or two, and then peel.

If you're trying to make the most out of your sweet potatoes and mitigate a potential spike in blood sugar, Sapola suggests boiling this veggie rather than roasting it. "The preparation technique for a sweet potato can drastically affect the glycemic impact of that sweet potato," Sapola explains.

When boiled, sweet potatoes are low on the glycemic index (GI), which means they won't raise your blood sugar as quickly as high-GI foods. Heart disease. Research shows that sweet potatoes can lower your LDL "bad" cholesterol, which may lower your odds of heart problems.

Density. So the basic answer is that sweet potatoes are less dense than regular potatoes, (and water) causing them to float rather than sink.