60+ Delicious Sweet Potato Recipes You'll Want In Your Life ASAP (2024)

FAQs

Is it okay to eat a sweet potato every day? ›

If you enjoy sweet potatoes, you can absolutely enjoy them daily. However, eating multiple sweet potatoes every day could cause a harmless condition called carotenodermia, where your skin turns yellow-orange. You may also want to be cautious about your sweet potato intake if you have a history of kidney stones.

The beta-carotene in sweet potatoes has been shown to fight inflammation, and eating them regularly can help ease joint pain and other symptoms of inflammatory conditions like arthritis. If you're looking for a delicious way to reduce inflammation, add some sweet potatoes to a salad or bake alongside protein!

Use 1 medium sweet potato per person.

Sweet Potatoes and Health

Sweet potatoes with orange flesh are richest in beta-carotene. Sweet potatoes with purple flesh are richer in anthocyanins. Beta-carotene and anthocyanins are naturally occurring plant “phyto” chemicals that give vegetables their bright colors.

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. Due to high fibre content, excess intake of sweet potatoes can result in bloating, stomach pain and diarrhoea.

How to tell if sweet potatoes have gone bad. If your sweet potato is soft in spots, smells rotten, or oozes a mysterious liquid, that potato should be discarded. Another sign that sweet potatoes have taken a turn for the worse is if they start growing stalky purplish sprouts.

Just one sweet potato gives you 102% of the vitamin A you need each day. This helps keep your eyes healthy as well as your immune system, your body's defense against germs. It's also good for your reproductive system and organs like your heart and kidneys.

Gastrointestinal Health

Along with anti-inflammatory properties, sweet potatoes have plenty of gut-friendly fiber, especially if you eat the skin. They are a mixture of soluble fiber, which can lower cholesterol and balance glucose, and insoluble fiber, which helps keep your bowels healthy and regular.

So, what are yams? True yams are part of an entirely different genus (Dioscorea; sweet potatoes belong to Ipomoea in the morning glory family) and are more akin to yuca in texture and flavor. Yams are commonly used in Caribbean and West African cooking and can grow as long and thick as an adult arm.

Can I substitute canned sweet potatoes for fresh sweet potatoes? ›

Yes you substitute canned vegetables in any recipe. Remember they are cooked and sometimes salty so drain and rinse ( i just drain) and add at the end of your cooking time. How do I cook fresh sweet potatoes? Cooking fresh sweet potatoes is a simple and delicious way to enjoy this nutritious root vegetable.

The popular canned yams that you see around the holidays are technically sweet potatoes. Use this as a guide to determine yam vs sweet potato: Sweet Potatoes - The most common varieties of sweet potatoes in the US have smooth orange or reddish skin, orange flesh, and a sweet flavor.

If knowing the benefits of sweet potatoes has you ready to eat them regularly, you may be wondering if the adage “too much of a good thing” applies. While both our experts say eating a sweet potato a day is certainly healthy, they don't recommend more than that, since there are plenty of other vegetables to enjoy too.

Baking can also cause an 80% drop in vitamin A levels, twice as much as boiling. Therefore, from a nutritional standpoint, boiling rather than baking should be recommended for cooking sweet potato.

Yes, you can eat sweet potato skin, whether it's an orange, white or purple sweet potato. So the next time you make sweet potatoes, try keeping the skin on. Not only will it save you prep time and add a textural component to the dish, but there are also nutritional benefits to leaving the peel on.

They're high in fiber and antioxidants, which protect your body from free radical damage and promote a healthy gut and brain. They're also incredibly rich in beta carotene, which is converted to vitamin A to support good vision and your immune system.

~ Eating sweet potatoes for breakfast or lunch can provide you with sustained energy throughout the day. They can also be a great post-workout meal due to their balance of complex carbs and nutrients.

‌Sweet potatoes have a lot of carbohydrates. One 5-inch sweet potato has about 26 grams of carbohydrates. In a low-carb diet, one sweet potato has half of the calories from carbohydrates that you may be allowed. But that's still less than the carb content of a white potato: 35 grams, on average.

Sweet potatoes are packed with fiber, beta-carotene, and numerous other vitamins and minerals that support the kidneys. They also are high in potassium. Eating potassium-rich foods may help balance sodium levels in the body, reducing strain on the kidneys.