Savory Mashed Sweet Potatoes
These incredible mashed sweet potatoes are mixed with herbs, butter and sour cream. No marshmallows or brown sugar in this mashed sweet potatoes recipe!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on July 10, 2024
I’m on a mission to stock this food blog with all the holiday recipes you might need, and it’s about time I shared a mashed sweet potato recipe. The problem with most mashed sweet potatoes is that they’re made even sweeter with brown sugar and marshmallows. Sweet potatoes are already plenty sweet on their own!
So, I added savory ingredients to my mashed sweet potatoes to balance out that inherent sweetness. Finely chopped fresh parsley and green onion combined with some sour cream and butter are all you need for incredible savory mashed sweet potatoes.
I don’t know why these basic ingredients create such a stellar flavor combination, but they do. These mashed sweet potatoes took a cue from my baked rosemary Parmesan sweet potatoes (another simple holiday side option) and the quinoa-stuffed sweet potatoes in my cookbook.
Watch How to Make Mashed Sweet Potatoes
More Sweet Potato Recipes to Enjoy
- Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas
- Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries
- Pecan Sweet Potato Casserole
- Perfect Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Sweet Potato, Kale and Chickpea Soup
If you’re looking for regular mashed potatoes (and by regular, I mean my family’s favorite), meet Lucille’s Mashed Potatoes. Here are more Thanksgiving recipes.
Please let me know how these mashed sweet potatoes turn out for you in the comments! Your feedback means so much to me.
Savory Mashed Sweet Potatoes
These incredible mashed sweet potatoes are mixed with herbs, butter and sour cream. No marshmallows or brown sugar in this mashed sweet potatoes recipe! Recipe yields 6 to 8 side servings.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds sweet potatoes (about 7 small-to-medium), peeled and cut into 1″ cubes
- 2 teaspoons salt, divided
- ⅓ cup finely sliced green onion, mostly green parts (from 1 bunch)
- ⅓ cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 small-to-medium garlic clove, pressed or minced
- ¼ cup sour cream*
- 3 tablespoons butter, cubed
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Place the cubed sweet potatoes in a large saucepan or Dutch oven and add enough water to cover by about 1″. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt and bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are tender (in other words, it’s easy to slide a fork in and out), about 9 to 12 minutes.
- Drain well, then return the potatoes to the pot. Mash the sweet potatoes to your desired consistency.
- Promptly add almost all of the green onion and parsley, reserving a small amount of each for garnish. Add the garlic, and stir to combine. Then stir in most of the sour cream (reserve roughly 1 tablespoon for garnish), all of the butter, and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Season to taste with additional salt (I usually add another ¼ to ½ teaspoon) and freshly ground black pepper.
- Transfer the mashed potatoes to a serving bowl and swirl the reserved sour cream onto the top with a spoon. Sprinkle with the reserved green onion and parsley, drizzle the top lightly with olive oil, and finish with a sprinkle of pepper.
- Serve promptly. Leftovers will keep well, covered and refrigerated, for 3 to 4 days.
Notes
Make it dairy free/vegan: I believe you could replace the sour cream with vegan sour cream (recipe also available in my cookbook, page 217). Instead of butter, stir in extra-virgin olive oil, to taste.
*Sour cream alternative: Many are asking if Greek yogurt will work, and yes, I think it will! I just prefer sour cream in savory applications like this.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Thank you for not adding sweetness to mashed sweet potatoes! This is my pet peeve with all sweet vegetables like beets, butternut squash, etc. Maple syrup? Marshmallows? Honey? YUCK. I need to OFFSET the sweetness, not intensify it. Glad you agree :)
What she said. Could not agree more – looking forward to trying this recipe. Thanks, Kate! (And Monica!)
It has a time and place, but they can be great savory too! Thank you, Monica for your comment and review. I appreciate it!
Would this work if you substituted Greek yogourt for the sour cream?
Yes, I think that would work fine!
It does not work well.
I’m in the UK and so have never tasted sweet potatoes with a sweetener. But I used creamy Greek yogurt and it was delicious.
can i substitute 2% plain greek yogurt for the sour cream?
Yes, I think that will work!
Do you think sour cream of any kind is necessary? Would a little almond milk do the trick?
I like the creaminess and tang of sour cream, but you could try almond milk instead.
Sounds delicious! Your site has become a favorite of mine.
This looks fabulous! Would I be able to freeze this in portions? I’m the only one in my family that likes sweet potatoes.
I have the same question.
These look fantastic,btw! I love savory sweet potatoes, and actually prefer them to recipes with added sweetener.
Thanks, Eleni! That’s a good question. It’s probably worth a shot!
I never have sour cream in the fridge so usually use a combo of Greek Yogurt and cream, works a treat. These do sound good, though I might have to save the skins and cook them separately as they are so yum. Fortunately I am in Oz so adding sweetness to sweet potato is just not a thing.
Thank you, Trace for your comment!
I absolutely love this idea. I get so many sweet potatoes in my CSA bag this time of year that I am running out of ideas of what to do with them. This recipe is just perfect!
I’m glad I posted it :) Enjoy! Let me know what you think.
HOLY MOLY!!! These savory sweet potatoes will have me going back for seconds…and probably thirds.
I know! Simple, but yet irresistible.
Wow Kate, this recipe is very much similar to what we make out of potatoes, which I like the most. So I am sure that this recipe too must be very tasty. Thank for sharing such a wonderful recipe.
You are welcome! Thanks so much for the star review.
I’m totally with you on the savory sweet potato front. I always roast my sweet potatoes with 1 tsp curry powder, 1 tsp soy sauce (low sodium), 1 tsp olive oil, and 1 tsp sriracha per potato.
Sounds like a wonderful variation.
Looks good and very delicious, I would love to try it
thank you for sharing
You are welcome! Thanks for the review.
I made this last night to see if it was good enough for Christmas dinner. Everyone loved it! This dish was everything I hoped it would be. Easy to make, savory and just enough sweet from the potatoes themselves to put this dish into the rotation.
Merry Christmas Kate!!
I’m glad it was everything you hoped it would be! Merry Christmas, Jack.
Interesting recipe! Never thought to add garlic and spring onion to the mash!
It’s so savory!
I’m so glad I stumbled across this recipe. Definitely going to have to make it for Christmas dinner!
I’m glad you stumbled as well! How did it go?!
These are absolutely delicious! I usually make “sweet” potatoes with crumb topping or vegan marshmallows. The savory sweets are a wonderful vehicle for gravy! I used tofutti sour cream, for this and Lucilles mashed (skipping the cream cheese, but adding a little almond milk), and it works well in both.
Thank you, Shirleen for sharing your variation. Sounds wonderful! I really appreciate your comment.
Hubby made these for Christmas dinner and they were fabulous!
That’s great to hear, Jennifer! If you would want to leave a review since you liked them so much, that would be awesome. :)
Made this to go with our Christmas Ham. It was delicious. It came out very fluffy. We never went for the sweet- sweet potato recipes. Always savory or spicy. This was great. Thank you. Also, I asked for and received your cookbook for Christmas. Can’t wait to go through it this weekend and pick out some recipes to try.
Tasty! Enjoy the cookbook as well, Jen. :)
Hi, I made this side dish for Christmas and it turned out great! Thank you for all your wonderful recipes, I’ll be making many more!
You are welcome, Hillary! Thank you for your review.
This recipe made the most incredible sweet potatoes I’d ever tasted. I’d never thought to put garlic with sweet potato and now it’s my favorite flavor combo! We did modify the recipe slightly and used cilantro paste instead of parsley! Yum!
Love to hear that Alana! If you would want to leave a star review, I would appreciate it.
I made the Savory Mashed Sweet Potatoes for Christmas dinner. They were a hit. A friend that doesn’t really like sweet potatoes loved the recipe. Thanks for such a delicious recipe.
Great! You are welcome. I appreciate the review.
This is absolutely scrumptious!!! I’ll confess, a plain sweet potato baked slowly on low heat has probably always been my favourite way to eat this vegetable, but I think this is my new favourite, and worth the tiny bit of extra effort. (Although, I still baked them, until they were super soft, and just slipped the skins off and mashed them after. Definitely a good lazy hack, but inefficient time wise.) So ridiculously good! thanks for thinking this up, Kate!
Hooray! I’m happy this recipe went over so well with you, Kate. Thanks so much for your comment. If you would want to leave a star review since you liked it so much, I would appreciate it!
Whoops! I did mean to leave a star rating the first time! Let me try that again…
This is unbelievably delicious. My husband made it…..reading this recipe i probably would never have made it. It’s a good thing he is more willing to try!!!!!!!
Wonderful! Thanks, Dulce for the review.
Question? Is the garlic just minced or pressed or did you roast it?
Sorry about that, Grace! It’s pressed or minced. I just updated the recipe accordingly.
Fantastic! I am making them again tonight. I will substitute the parsley for tarragon again, didn’t have parsley, or perhaps fresh basil, I think any fresh herb would be amazing. What a wonderful idea!
What did you think? I love fresh herbs in almost everything!
So far I love the tarragon the best!
Very good recipe my whole family whom as never eaten sweet potatoes loved it. Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome, Sylvie!
Absolutely delicious and easy. I’m new to making mashed sweet potatoes. Previously, tried baking them and then scooping out the flesh. Kind of a hassle. These were much creamier and far more easy to do. Thanks.
I’m happy to hear that, Tori!
Meant to give it 5 stars on my previous post.
Thank you, Tori!
Love these, so healthy and delicious!
Great! Glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for your review!
Really good! I baked my sweet potatoes and my garlic. The sweet potatoes hardly needed any mashing and the roasted garlic tasted more mellow but still pronounced. I will make this again.
I’m so happy to hear you really liked these, JL! Thanks so much for your comment and review.
Wow! I was really skeptical about this recipe, but asked my three children if they wanted this recipe or a sweeter sweet potato recipe, and they picked this one! So I had to give it a try. This will definitely be our go-to for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners! Absolutely wonderful. Thank you!
You’re welcome! I’m glad you tried it. Thanks for your review, Kimberly!
So good! I used goat yogurt instead of sour cream and ghee instead of butter :) Thank you for the recipe.
You’re welcome, Gwyneviere!
Hi Kate,
I just discovered your site and I love it already. I’d like to serve the savory mashed sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving next week. I’m going to have a big group and it would be helpful to make them earlier in the day. Do you know if it would be problematic to make them earlier and then reheat at dinner time?
Thanks!!
Fabulous! Gosh I hate added sag and wandered upon this recipe today!
Thanks so much
These are best served promptly, but you can also sever later too. I hope this helps!
How would you reheat this recipe? I want to make it in the morning and serve it in the afternoon (Thanksgiving).
You can reheat on the stove if you like! Or in a pinch, the microwave. Just be careful to not overcook. Hope this helps!
Soooo good!
Thanks, Stephanie!
Thank you for this fantastic recipe! My family loved it!
So happy to hear that, Trischa! Thanks for your review.
Made these exactly according to the recipe and they are simply delicious! This will be my new holiday recipe and put into regular rotation here at home! Thank you so much!
You’re welcome, Amber! Thanks for your feedbback.
You are brilliant Kate! This savory recipe for sweet potatoes is perfect. We loved it so much, we are making it for Thanksgiving this year and forgoing our normal sweet potato casserole that is so unhealthy. Thank you for blessing our family with a new tradition!
Hi! Can you make these the day before?? Would be great for Christmas dinner! Thanks!
These reheat well! Thanks for your review, Connie.
Hi! These look fantastic. I’m wondering what you think about making these with half sweet potatoes, half white potatoes?
That is interesting! I’m not sure what I would think without trying it.
This was delicious. The sour cream is the perfect offset to the sweetness of the potatoes. The green onions and parsley add great flavor.
Thanks for sharing, Liz!
This was just what I was looking for. I love sweet potatoes but sometimes you like them, I don’t know, just different.
I didn’t have sourcream so I just used a little bit of milk. Everybody loved it. Thank you for this recipe!
I’m happy to hear that, Annemarie! Thanks for your review.
The sweet potatoes were delicious! Thank you! ;)
You’re welcome, Kyle! I’m happy you loved them.
I made this for Christmas dinner. It was a huge hit with the guests! Excellent dish!
That’s wonderful, Marg!
Delicious! I add a little real maple syrup cuz
I like sweetness taste…..will keep this fabulous recipe, fast and easy!
Thank you, Sandra!
Sweet potatoes have never been a favorite of mine…too sweet. I hide them in things like vegan chili! When I saw this recipe included one for vegan sour cream, I decided to try it. I LOVE this recipe. Am making it again right now for company and can hardly wait. Thanks so much for sharing!
I’m happy to hear you liked this one, Patty!
My granddaughter cooked this recipe the other day. It is absolutely delicious! The only change was she baked the sweet potato first, extra Yummy! I have now added this to my recipe collection! Thank you
Happy to hear that!
These were so easy and amazing, never knew how awesome sweets are for mashing. Never using anything but these again. Thanks, the green onions and sour cream really make the flavor perfect, and no milk, and they’re so creamy!
You’re welcome! I”m glad you loved it, Cin.
Made this dish tonight and it was a hit! Will definitely make it again. Thank you!
My kids are all in their sixties and seventies and they are all “Foodies” with a capital F. I am 89 and relying on some old standards for entertaining, but have a 90 year old friend dropping by for supper on Sunday and have ribs to stick in the oven and plan on doing something new with sweet potatoes. Will try your recipe and see if it measures up to my daughter in law’s who is presently with my son in Venice and sending me pictures of their meals!!! I love my life. Having a run on little church tea sandwiches. Mmmmm.
Betty Morgan
What did you think, Betty?
No more sweet, sweet potatoes for me! Our vegan-favoring gathering loved them. Lots of yummy compliments. They were a big hit, and will be one of my main go-to’s at future potlucks and parties! Thank you, Kate, for giving us a new way to enjoy “sweet” potatoes in this more healthful, innovative way!
Wonderful to hear, Carla! Thanks for your review.