These savory mashed sweet potatoes with jalapenos are a perfect addition to your holiday feast, and they make a healthier option over traditional sweet potato dishes.
The smoked paprika, roasted jalapenos, and garlic give the dish a subtle spice and smokey flavor that will have you coming back for seconds! They bring a bit of Mexican flavor fusion to the table and pair well with roasted turkey and sweet cranberry sauce or any side dish for that matter.
Our Instant Pot mashed sweet potatoes get sweetened with a bit of brown sugar and coconut milk. I love the combination of flavors but sometimes I crave something savory and these jalapeno mashed sweet potatoes provide the perfect creamy, spicy side dish.
If you like this recipe, you will also like our scalloped sweet potatoes. It’s another savory side dish that brings a lot of flavor to the holiday table. And if you want a traditional mashed potato dish to smother with gravy, our mashed creamer potatoes are fast and easy. The skin on the creamer potatoes is thin and delicate so you don’t need to peel them.
Here is Why You Will Love This Recipe:
- The perfect alternative to a traditional sweet potato casserole.
- Roasting the jalapenos makes them milder so everyone can enjoy this dish without overwhelming spice and heat.
- Leftovers taste just as good the next day.
The Ingredients
- Sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes come in a variety of colors. Sometimes they are sold under the name “yams,” but there is a difference.
- Jalapeño peppers. Even though there are a lot of peppers in this recipe, it isn’t exceedingly spicy. Removing the seeds and the white pith inside the peppers will reduce the heat level. Cooking them mellows them out even more. You notice a difference when they get cooked in our succotash vs. when they are raw in our corn salsa.
- Smoked paprika. The fresher the paprika is, the smokier the flavor will be. If you have had your paprika sitting in the pantry for a long time, it will lose some of its flavors.
- Sour Cream. Sour cream adds creamy richness and mellows the spiciness.
- Butter. You can use salted or unsalted butter.
- Garlic. Raw garlic has a harsh bite, so we saute it in the butter to mellow it.
- Salt and pepper.
How to Make It:
Here is a quick overview of the process. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for all the details and read the tips below.
- Place the sweet potatoes and jalapeno peppers in the oven and roast until soft.
- While the peppers and potatoes roast, saute the garlic in butter just until fragrant. Set aside for later.
- Remove the jalapeno peppers and place them in a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap to let the peppers sweat.
- Scoop the flesh out of the roasted sweet potatoes and add it to a mixing bowl.
- Separate the skin from the jalapeno peppers and add it to the bowl.
- Add the garlic butter, sour cream, paprika, salt, and pepper to the bowl and mix everything until smooth.
Tips for Success:
- Wear kitchen gloves when removing the pith from the peppers to avoid getting the pepper oil on your skin. If you get the oil on your fingers and you touch your eyes, it will burn your eyes.
- The skin on jalapeno peppers is fibrous, so we like to remove it. When the peppers steam inside the bowl, the skin will loosen and easily come away from the flesh. This is also how we remove the skin from our roasted poblano peppers as well.
- Slicing the sweet potatoes in half will help them cook faster. Adjust the baking time if you have small potatoes and just cook them until they are fork-tender.
- Roasting the sweet potatoes with their skins saves time and hassle from peeling them. Once they are cool enough to handle, the skins slip right off. It’s the fastest way I know to peel sweet potatoes.
- Adjust the flavors to your liking. Sometimes we double the garlic and add extra smoked paprika. You can even add garlic powder for an extra layer of flavor as we did in our garlic butter sauce.
- If you like spicy food, add a pinch of cayenne pepper.
Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love:
There are only three ingredients in this sweet potato flatbread! It is really simple to prepare and does not require yeast or kneading. It stays soft, delicate, and pliable, making it ideal for sandwich wraps.
This Sweet Potato Frittata dish is perfect for weekend brunch yet simple enough to make on a hectic Monday. It also tastes excellent served for dinner, along with a side salad.
As these roasted sweet potatoes bake in the oven, they get soft and creamy in the center and a bit caramelized on the outside. The flavors of this side dish are brightened with a sprinkle of fresh thyme and a squeeze of lemon.
Our colorful sweet potato-apple casserole is a wonderful change-up from the classic candied sweet potato casserole. Serve this for a healthier option to all the heavy sugar-laden dishes.
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Sweet Potato Jalapeño Mash
Ingredients
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes
- 5 to 6 jalapeño peppers
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Scrub the outside of the sweet potatoes to remove any dirt then cut the potatoes in half length-wise. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on the cut edges of the potatoes. Place the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet, cut side down.
- Cut the jalapeño peppers in half and remove the inner membrane and seeds (you may want to wear gloves to avoid getting the pepper oils on your skin). Place the peppers cut-side down on the baking sheet with the sweet potatoes.
- Place the baking sheet with the potatoes and peppers in the preheated oven.
- While the potatoes and peppers roast, melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the minced garlic and saute for about 1 minute. Set the garlic butter aside for later.
- After 25 minutes, remove the jalapeño peppers from the oven, place them in a bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
- Return the baking sheet with the potatoes to the oven and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
- Remove the potatoes from the oven and allow them to cool enough to handle. Use a spoon to scoop the flesh out of the skins and place it in a mixing bowl. Discard the skin.
- Remove the jalapeños from the bowl and scrape the flesh off the skin. Place them in the bowl with the potatoes.
- Add the garlic butter, sour cream, paprika, salt, and pepper to the bowl then mash them with a potato masher or use an electric mixer until smooth. Season with additional salt and pepper as desired.
Notes
- The jalapenos will be mild after they get roasted. If you want more spice you can add a pinch of cayenne pepper to the mash.
- If the Jalapenos are not soft after 25 minutes, leave them in longer. You want them to get soft enough to mash with a fork.
- Sauteeing the garlic in the butter will take the harsh bite out of the raw garlic. You can add the raw garlic if you prefer a sharper garlic flavor.
