Most of my friends can attest that if I know them long enough, chances are I borrow recipe inspiration from them. This was no exception with a new friend who texted me a photo of some mashed carrots with turmeric and ghee she’d made and told me I had to try them.
So I did what any good friend would do. I invited her over and made her cook them for me. And sure enough, I was hooked.
I’ve since (with permission) reworked the recipe to make it more my style. And I must say, this sweet potato carrot mash has become a new favorite side around our house. Let us show you how easy it is to make!
This recipe is easy to make, requiring just 30 minutes and 7 ingredients.
How to Make Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Making mashed sweet potatoes can be a little trickier than regular mashed potatoes because the texture is both tenderer than white/yellow potatoes, and they can also be a bit more stringy when mashing.
For this reason, sweet potatoes typically require slightly less time to boil and can benefit from being blended in a food processor vs. just mashing by hand.
How Long to Boil Sweet Potatoes for Mashed Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are ready for mashing when you pierce several pieces with a knife and the potatoes easily slide off — depending on the size of the potatoes and the cooking pot, roughly 12-20 minutes.
When in doubt, overcook. No one likes having to chew their mashed potatoes.
What to Do with Leftover Mashed Sweet Potatoes
There are many delicious uses for leftover mashed sweet potatoes!
- Sandwich spread
- Shepherd’s Pie topper
- Reheat as a side for Roasted Chicken
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Serve with this Mushroom Lentil Stew
- Swap for white potatoes in Curried Potato Cakes (aloo tikki)
- Ravioli filling (recipe in our cookbook)
- Sub for pumpkin in Pumpkin Pie
We hope you LOVE this mash! It’s:
- Creamy
- Salty-sweet
- Vibrant orange
- Packed with vitamins & nutrients
- Comforting
- & Super delicious
This would make the perfect side for your holiday table and beyond! Top with more dairy-free butter and fresh herbs or minced garlic for even more kick
More Sweet Potato Recipes
- Sweet Potato Lentil Shepherd’s Pie
- Sweet Potato Lasagna
- Sweet Potato Casserole Boats
- Cajun Sweet Potato Fries
- Sweet Potato Almond Butter Muffins
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
Fluffy Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Carrots
Ingredients
POTATOES & CARROTS
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into large bite-sized pieces
- 4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into large bite-sized pieces
- Water
THE REST
- 2-3 Tbsp dairy-free butter (we prefer Miyoko's or Earth Balance // if not vegan, sub organic dairy butter)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- Sea salt to taste
FOR SERVING optional
- Additional butter of choice
- Fresh parsley
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Rinse, peel, and chop potatoes and carrots into large bite-sized pieces (see photo) and add to a large pot or Dutch oven. Cover with water by about 1 inch to ensure they’re submerged.
- Bring water to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, slightly reduce heat to medium-high and continue cooking at a slightly less rapid boil for about 10-15 minutes, or until the potatoes and carrots are very tender (they should easily fall off a knife when pierced).
- Drain carrots and potatoes and add back to the pot (or to a food processor or blender for a whipped purée effect). Add butter of choice, minced garlic, ginger, turmeric, and sea salt to taste. Mash (or purée) until smooth. We found a food processor to give the creamiest texture, but mashing works fine, too (it just leaves a bit more texture).
- Add more butter (or a bit of water) as needed to get creamy and smooth. Taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more butter for creaminess, spices to taste, or sea salt to taste.
- Serve hot. Garnish with additional butter of choice, fresh parsley, and salt and pepper (all optional). Store cooled leftovers in the refrigerator up to 4-5 days.
Sarah says
Hi there. Do you bake a second time after you add the garlic and the ginger, or do you add them raw and serve(?)
I haven’t made this yet.
Hey Sarah, we keep them raw and serve.
Michele Katsilometes says
Just made this for dinner — absolute heaven!!! And the vibrant orange color couldn’t be more gorgeous!
After reading some of the reviews, I was hesitant to use the garlic raw, so roasted an entire bulb in the oven, then squeezed about 3/4 of the caramelized cloves into the mixture before blending it smooth. Had reserved some of the water from cooking the veggies and did need several splashes to loosen up the mixture enough to blend properly.
Also went with fresh ginger (1 T.) instead of powder and increased the turmeric to 1/2 t. because we all know how healthy it is.
Got RAVES from my family for the amazing taste and silky texture. This is a perfect dual-purpose holiday side — carrots for Easter and yams for Thanksgiving! ;)
We’re so glad you and your family enjoyed it, Michele. Your modifications sound lovely! Thank you for sharing! xo
Deb says
Made these are written and they were fantastic! I did use a food processor to whip instead of just mashing. Thank you so much for sharing!
So glad you enjoyed these, Deb. Love your tip as well! Thanks!
Eugenia says
Loved this! It came out pretty garlicky – at least when I made it – but I love garlic so it was perfect for me. I used a traditional blender to blend everything together and loved the smooth texture. I will definitely make this again.
Yay! Thanks for sharing your experience, Eugenia!
Darlene A Smith says
Delish!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Darlene! Thank you for sharing! xo
Anna Reid says
I made this with only one substitution: 1 tbsp minced ginger because I ran out of ground. SO good! Great way to use my abundance of carrots to prevent foot waste. Thanks, Dana, for all of the wonderful, healthy, simple recipes!
Amazing! Thank you for sharing, Anna! xo
Jamie says
Once again, minimalist baker provided an amazing recipe! I had leftover carrots and a sweet potato I wanted to use up. I halved the recipe and am eating it straight out of the bowl I mashed them in. It’s so good! Thank you for all that you do!
Wonderful! Thanks, Jamie!
lynn says
i used purple sweet potatoes instead, followed everything in the recipe but i didn’t like the garlic and ginger taste in it 😭😭 i would do it again without ginger and garlic !! I dipped it with my steamed buns too
Sorry to hear that, Lynn! Do you typically enjoy garlic and ginger? If the garlic flavor was too strong, you could also use roasted garlic.
Anna says
Had the same experience! Loved the texture and technique but haaaated the garlic – way too strong. Flavor was a big miss for me. I’ll unfortunately be tossing this batch as it isn’t edible with such assertive garlic and remaking sans garlic – but leaving the tumeric and ginger – that part was an A+ :-).
And I am very much friends with garlic ;-)
Thanks for the feedback and sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy it with the garlic. Is it possible the garlic cloves were on the larger side? Either way, it sounds like you found a solution!
Linda says
I made this it was good. Will make again.
Great! Thanks for the lovely review, Linda!
Ryna says
Amazing! It’s so addictive! Doubled the garlic and it was still good, but I’ll definitely try the original recipe next time! Delicious with poached eggs and spinach topped with roasted coconut flakes and togarashi (Recipe found on Bonjon Gourmet). Thank you for another great yet simple and tasty recipe :)
Sounds like a delicious meal! Thanks for sharing, Ryna!
Giselle says
PERFECT recipe. Had extra carrots and sweet potatoes in the fridge and this was truly delicious!! Paired with some chicken and spinach. Will now be my go-to to get my veggies in. (I used Kerrygold Unsalted butter since I did not Have vegan butter)
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Giselle! Thanks so much for the lovely review!
Janice says
This recipe was so good and simple. I never imagined this combo but am loving it. I can see other options for spices too. Very versatile!! I am realizing if I see your “name” on a recipe it’s probably a keeper. Thanks so much!! Keep doing what you’re doing.
Aw, thanks for your kind words and lovely review, Janice! We’re so glad you enjoy our recipes! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! Xo
Mali says
I made this for breakfast today, and it was a pleasant surprise. I didn’t think I would have enjoyed it as much as I did. I did make some changes as I wanted this to be sweet as opposed to savory/spicy. I used the sweetness of my vanilla protein powder (which also added protein (NO KIDDING?!)), and added some chia seeds, hemp seeds and an unhealthy amount of pecans and maple syrup.
I realize it’s quite different from the recipe, but I didn’t change the base too much. I don’t necessarily like eating carrots, but adding them with sweet potatoes was perfect. You can still taste them, but it’s not overpowering.
Will absolutely make this dish again, and again!
Interesting! Thanks so much for sharing, Mali!
Mali says
Even though I’m an omnivore, Minimalist Baker and Cookie and Kate have become my favorite websites, and have both helped me greatly in reducing my meat consumption.
I have some leftover sweet potato and carrots, and I’m a bit ashamed that I needed to visit your blog to come up with a recipe. Can’t wait to try this out tomorrow for breakfast!
I do have a question though. Am I right to say that once you’re done boiling, you can transfer to a food processor as opposed to adding them back to the pot and mash them first?
Thank you for sharing this easy recipe! If I want to add some protein, what would you recommend?!
Thanks for sharing, Mali! Correct- no need to add them back to the pot if using a food processor. We think it would go well with grilled chicken and/or our Chickpea Kale Caesar Salad. Hope that helps!
Mali says
Hi stranger!
Thank you for the reply. Never thought of having chicken with this mashed sweet potato recipe, but I’ll give it a shot another day!
Tiff says
How many recipes of yours am I going to devour by myself immediately 😂😩 luckily this one is TRULY guilt free. I’m shocked how insanely easy this was and that it worked so well? I would have thought it would need more butter and milk but it needed nothing! I used maybe 1.5 tbsp vegan butter and no other liquid! I did boil them a while but the addition of ginger and turmeric is just brilliant. Love love love! Maybe next time a hint of cinnamon
Ha =) We’re SO glad you are enjoying our recipes, Tiff! Thanks so much for the lovely review!
Trainer AJ Jordan says
Very flavorful and a nice switch up from just mashed potatoes! I didn’t change anything in the recipe and loved it! It’s my first time using tumeric too! It compliments the vegetables. Thank you!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
Lisa Hills says
Yum! Tastes like pie filling. I used an immersion blender – turned out smooth and creamy.
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Lisa! Thanks so much for the lovely review!
Mediya says
Love!
Kathy says
LOVE this recipe. Delicious, fast and easy. I make it once a week. Thank you for all your wonderful recipes.
Aw, thanks so much for your kind words and lovely review, Kathy! We’re so glad you enjoy it!
Lisa says
So are the 1/2 t turmeric and 1/4 t garlic measurements for fresh or dried ground ingredients? Thank you, looking to try for dinner!
Dried
Renae says
Just made this and it turned out great!!
Shane says
Wish I could give this more stars. Had to add some veggie broth to make life easier for my little food processor, but other than that I followed the recipe exactly. They came out smooth and delicious. The garlic, ginger and turmeric combination was perfect. Another great recipe. Thank your friend for the inspiration, and as always, thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much for your kind words and lovely review, Shane! We’re so glad you enjoyed it!
Becky says
I made this for the holidays and it was enjoyed by vegans and omnivores. Whipping it in the food processor made it incredibly smooth and fluffy. The one thing I would love to see in this and other recipes is rough weight measurements for vegetables because I’m stuck with guessing if my sweet potatoes and carrots should be classified as medium, large, or small.
Hi Becky, Weight measurements shouldn’t make a big difference in this recipe, but we’ll keep that in mind. Thanks for the feedback!
Margaret Debenport says
I boiled the veggies with rosemary in the water and then mashed them without turmeric but everything else! So good like this too!
Thanks so much for the lovely review and rosemary tip, Margaret. We are so glad you enjoyed it! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! Xo
Kathy says
This was an incredibly tasty recipe. I also added a can of pumpkin puree to this, and used the same seasoning as per the recipe. A great healthy side option! Would most definitely make this again!
Whoop! We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Kathy! Thanks for sharing!
Lisa says
This was a hit at a dinner party I had last night.
It’s simple and healthy, but it’s also special enough to serve for company. Next time I will cut the carrots smaller than the potatoes since the carrots took longer to cook.
We’re so glad to hear it, Lisa! Thanks so much for sharing!
Perrin says
This is simply perfect. You don’t have to alter a thing. I couldn’t stop eating it. I put it into the blender and the texture was smooth and glorious on the palate. I wouldn’t skip the blender/food processor step in my opinion. Thanks for a great recipe!!
Whoop! Thanks so much for the lovely review, Perrin! xo
Ellen says
These were a hit with our family, including our 2 young girls.
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Ellen!
Deborah says
I just finished watching your review on the Canon 70-200mm telephoto lens. Did you take the stack of pancakes picture with that lens? Gorgeous.
Yep!
Pjw says
Why couldn’t you make this ahead and freeze it for a few days??
It’s just best fresh. Thawing out potatoes is never as good as fresh.
pam says
Any similar side dish that can be made ahead that you’d recommend? I have a big group coming for christmas and need to get a jump on the cooking. thanks.
Check out our Holiday recipe round up for more ideas!
Karen says
Delicious! Serving it at my holiday celebration today!???
Yay! Thanks, Karen!
Sara says
Would oil work instead of butter? I can only have garlic when it’s in oil, so I wasn’t sure if I could swap the butter for oil or if I should just omit the garlic and keep the (dairy free) butter. Thanks! I love your recipes
Absolutely! Go for it!
Ellie Kennard says
What would those on low fat diets (not wanting to used processed foods like vegan butters, oils etc) substitute? Would love to try it….
I’d say just omit and stick with dairy-free milk.