This sweet and savoury Vegan Mashed Sweet Potato is incredibly creamy and delicious and just perfect for serving with your holiday meals. The sweet potatoes are first roasted with herbs and garlic to concentrate the flavours, then they are mashed with spices and coconut cream to make them even better!
Your favourite sweet and savoury fall flavours come together in this super delicious and easy vegan mashed sweet potato recipe. It's the perfect easy vegan side dish to impress your friends and family and makes a lovely alternative to regular vegan mashed potatoes.
My secret for the best Vegan Mashed Sweet Potatoes ever is to start by first roasting the potatoes with garlic and rosemary. It concentrates the flavour, rather than diluting it which is what happens when they are boiled.
Through the roasting that amazing sweet potato flavour is sealed right in. Then it's made even better when they are mashed with more lusciousness in the form of coconut cream, cinnamon, and maple syrup.
They are so delicious on the side of a vegan roast with gravy, cranberry sauce, and the rest of your vegan Thanksgiving or holiday dishes.
Jump to:
- Can vegans eat sweet potato?
- What ingredients do I need?
- How to mash sweet potatoes
- How to make vegan mashed sweet potatoes
- Success tips
- Some ways you can adapt this recipe
- How to make this recipe oil-free
- Serving suggestions
- Storage, reheating and freezing tips
- Hungry for more?
- 📖 Recipe
- Recipe FAQS
- Comments
These mashed sweet potatoes are naturally gluten-free, nut-free, refined sugar-free, and easy to make oil-free and despite this recipe being pretty minimal, it's still:
- Warm and comforting
- Velvety smooth
- The best mix of sweet and savoury
- Perfect for your vegan holiday spread
Can vegans eat sweet potato?
Sweet potatoes are a vegetable so are suitable for vegans to eat. It's the toppings and mix-ins like butter and sour cream that often aren't vegan, but that's an easy problem to rectify with vegan substitutes like my vegan butter recipe that can be used instead. Sweet potatoes are also full of nutrients like Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Potassium and fibre so are a beneficial addition to most people's diet, whether vegan or not. Read more about the benefits of sweet potatoes at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
What ingredients do I need?
All you need are 7 simple ingredients to make this easy vegan side dish for the holidays! Yes, roasting takes a little bit of extra time (not much), but it’s so worth it to get an extra layer of flavour. and you can even make them ahead if you want to.
Here's what's going in:
- Sweet potatoes - Soft and pillowy orange sweet potatoes are a staple around the holidays. Look for potatoes with copper skin and a vibrant orange flesh.
- Garlic and fresh rosemary - These will sit underneath the potatoes in the oven and release their flavours into the orange flesh. Thyme works well too if you don't have rosemary.
- Coconut cream - This is the hard creamy part at the top of a can of full-fat coconut milk. Use what's left in the can to make a smoothie.
- Cinnamon - So warm, fragrant and comforting, cinnamon is a sweet potato’s best friend.
- Maple syrup - A touch of smoky sweetness for balance.
- Salt and pepper - Of course!
How to mash sweet potatoes
You can mash sweet potatoes using a handheld potato masher, an immersion blender, food processor, or a handheld or stand mixer.
To be honest though, by the time these potatoes are roasted they are so soft that a handheld masher, is just fine and almost effortless. A blender, food processor, or mixer will make them even smoother if you repfer that over a more rustic look. My sweet potatoes in the pictures were mashed with a handheld masher.
How to make vegan mashed sweet potatoes
Here’s how to make this super flavourful vegan side dish for the holidays:
Step 1 - Preheat the oven and line a large baking tray. Cut each potato in half, rub with some oil and lay each piece face down on some slices of garlic and a sprig of rosemary.
Step 2 - Bake until the sweet potatoes are soft and fork-tender. Turn them over, discard the garlic and rosemary, then scrape out the potato flesh into a bowl.
Step 3 - If you have dogs, Charlie says you must feed them the sweet potato skin as soon as it cools ;O) Here he is waiting for his:
Step 4 - To the sweet potato flesh, add the other ingredients and mash well then give it a quick beat with a wooden spoon. Have a taste and stir in more salt, pepper, or cinnamon if you think it needs it.
Step 5 - Serve immediately, topped with a few knobs of vegan butter, or keep warm in a covered dish in a low oven until needed.
Success tips
- You must use orange sweet potatoes or yams. White, yellow, or purple potatoes aren't anywhere near as good in this recipe.
- Roasting the potatoes might take longer than boiling or steaming them, but it condenses the flavour and makes for a much better tasting and not so wet mash.
- Be generous with the seasoning!
Some ways you can adapt this recipe
- Use vegan butter instead of the coconut cream.
- Add more cinnamon if you want a more pronounced flavour. Just go easy and only add a tiny bit at a time.
- For a less rich mashed sweet potato, replace the coconut cream with some dairy-free milk.
- Use yams or butternut squash if you can’t find sweet potatoes.
How to make this recipe oil-free
This recipe calls for olive oil and optional vegan butter but you can omit both to make this recipe oil-free. The olive oil is brushed on the cut surface of the potatoes so they don't stick. Omit it and use a silicone baking mat and they should cook without any sticking.
The optional butter is recommended when serving only and isn't actually mashed into the potato so it's very easy to avoid.
Serving suggestions
- Use the potatoes to top my Lentil Shepherd's Pie instead of the regular mashed potato.
- With vegan beef or vegan turkey roast
- With my baked tofu or bbq tofu
- Bake them in a casserole dish with Dandie’s vegan marshmallows on top (like a vegan marshmallow sweet potato casserole).
- Top each serving with candied pecans and red wine gravy.
- Mix up the spices and add in some ground ginger or curry powder.
- Serve some on the side of a portobello pot roast for a comforting meal.
- Include it along with vegan yorkshire pudding, green bean casserole, roasted red cabbage and salad for your vegan holiday celebration.
Storage, reheating and freezing tips
Storage - Leave the mashed potatoes to cool completely and store them in a covered container in the refrigerator. They’ll keep for 3 to 4 days.
Reheating - Place the leftovers in an ovenproof dish, cover with a lid or some foil, and bake at 350 °F (175°C) for about 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in a little more coconut cream or vegan butter to serve. Alternatively, reheat them in a microwave on half-power for about five minutes, stirring occasionally.
Freezing - You can freeze the mashed sweet potatoes for up to 2 months. Allow to thaw in the fridge overnight then place in an ovenproof dish covered with a lid or some foil, and bake at 350 °F (175°C) for about 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in a little more coconut cream or vegan butter to serve. Alternatively, reheat them in a microwave on half-power for about five minutes, stirring occasionally.
Hungry for more?
Want more vegan sweet potato recipes? I've got lots! I recommend you trying:
- Vegan Sweet Potato Biscuits
- Sweet Potato Smoothie
- The Best Vegan Sweet Potatoes
- Vegan Sweet Potato Pancakes
- Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Bread
- Cauliflower Rice Bowl
📖 Recipe
Vegan Mashed Sweet Potato
Author:
Ingredients
- 3lb / 1360 grams sweet potatoes/yams , about 4 medium to large potatoes
- 1 to 2 teaspoons olive oil , OPTIONAL
- 4 cloves garlic
- about 8 small 2 inch sprigs fresh rosemary , or fresh thyme (enough for one to go under each potaot half)
- 4 tablespoons coconut cream , scraped from the top of a can of full-fat coconut milk
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon , plus more to taste
- 30 mls / 2 tablespoons maple syrup , real maple syrup not pancake syrup
- 1 teaspoon salt , or to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper , or to taste
To serve
- vegan butter , (OPTIONAL)
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 450 °F (230 °C)
- Line a large baking tray with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Cut each sweet potato in half lengthways and rub each one with a little oil (omit to keep the recipe oil-free).
- Peel the garlic cloves and cut each one lengthways into about 4 thin slivers.
- Lay the potatoes cut side down on the baking tray and tuck a couple of slices of garlic under each one along with a sprig of rosemary. Place in the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until nice and soft and a fork will stick into them easily.
- Remove from the oven and carefully turn over the potatoes, discard the pieces of garlic and rosemary, and scrape the flesh out of each potato with a spoon and place in a mixing bowl. I cover one hand with a clean dish towel to protect it from the heat so I can hold the potatoes and stop them from wobbling around while I do this. Discard/compost the skins (If you have dogs they love to dispose of them for you ;O)
- To the bowl add the coconut cream, cinnamon and maple syrup. Mash well then add the salt and pepper to taste, making sure to stir it in really well. Give it a quick beat with a wooden spoon, then taste and add more cinnamon f you want a more pronounced flavour but go easy and add a tiny bit at a time.
- Serve immediately, topped with a few knobs of vegan butter (optional), or keep warm in a covered dish in a low oven until needed.
NOTES
- You must use orange sweet potatoes or yams. White, yellow, or purple potatoes aren't anywhere near as good in this recipe.
- Roasting the potatoes might take longer than boiling or steaming them, but it condenses the flavour and makes for a much better tasting and not so wet mash.
- Be generous with the seasoning!
How to make oil-free - This recipe calls for olive oil and optional vegan butter but you can omit both to make this recipe oil-free. The olive oil is brushed on the cut surface of the potatoes so they don't stick. Omit it and use a silicone baking mat and they should cook without any sticking. The optional butter is recommended when serving only and isn't actually mashed into the potato so it's very easy to avoid.
NUTRITION
Nutritional information is provided for convenience & as a courtesy. The data is a computer generated estimate so should be used as a guide only.
Recipe FAQS
Not at all. The coconut cream adds a lovely silky richness and the flavour is undetectable.
Fresh thyme works well in this recipe in place of the rosemary. I don't recommend using dried herbs. Sprigs of fresh rosemary are really easy to get in the produce section of just about any grocery store or greengrocer.
Roxana says
Can I make the lentil shepherd pie in a air fryer?
A Virtual Vegan says
You'd have to make the filling and the mashed potato on the stovetop as per the recipe, but I'm sure it could be baked in the air fryer once it was assembled assuming you had an oven-proof dish that would fit in the air fryer. As for timings etc, I can't help with that because I've never tried it. Keep a careful eye on it while it's cooking though as I'd imagine it would get over brown on the top pretty easily.
Sunny says
I typically don't use any dairy-free milk; is there alternative to the coconut cream I can use instead of buying a product I won't use again and risk it going to waste?
Melanie McDonald says
I wouldn't advise using milk in this recipe because it will make the sweet potato mash too thin. That's why I recommend coconut cream from a can of full-fat coconut milk. You can use what's leftover in a curry or smoothie maybe or it freezes well if you won't use it immediately. It really helps make the sweet potato nice and rich. If you don't want to but a can of coconut milk then just omit it. Hope that helps!