These Healthy, Savory Mashed Sweet Potatoes are vegan, packed with flavor, and made with a special method that increases resistant starch—perfect for keeping blood sugar steady. Enjoy the creamy, savory goodness without the blood sugar spikes! This dairy-free recipe is also low in saturated fat, making it a heart-friendly option.
We boost resistant starch content by cooking, cooling, and then mashing the sweet potatoes, making this dish more diabetic-friendly. A dash of vinegar adds a subtle tang and enhances blood sugar control, making it ideal for anyone looking for a healthier take on a classic favorite. Enjoy the creamy, savory goodness without the blood sugar spikes! They're the ideal healthy Thanksgiving side dish.
This Healthy Savory Mashed Sweet Potato recipe was inspired by this Cabbage Carrot Salad on my site and my cruciferous Veggie Starter recipe for managing diabetes.
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🍠 How to Make Potatoes Diabetic-Friendly
To make mashed potatoes that won’t spike blood sugar as much, here are some effective tips to lower their glycemic index:
- Choose a Lower-GI Potato Variety: Potatoes like red or new potatoes generally have a lower glycemic index (GI) compared to russets. Sweet potatoes are also a great option, offering a similar GI advantage but with the added benefit of being much richer in antioxidants.
- Cook and Cool for Resistant Starch: After cooking, cool the potatoes in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. Cooling changes some of the starches into resistant starch, which digests more slowly, lowering the impact on blood sugar. You can gently reheat them afterward without losing the resistant starch.
- Add Healthy Fats: Mixing in a drizzle of olive oil, avocado oil, or a sprinkle of hemp hearts can slow digestion and reduce blood sugar spikes by slowing the release of glucose. This recipe uses cashew sour cream to add heart-healthy fats.
- Include Fiber-Rich Vegetables: Adding cauliflower or turnips to your mashed potatoes not only lightens the dish but also adds fiber, which slows down the absorption of carbohydrates.
- Serve as Part of a Meal: Make Healthy Mashed Sweet Potatoes part of a balanced meal. Pair them with my Tofu Turkey to further help balance blood sugar levels.
These small changes can make mashed potatoes more blood sugar-friendly while keeping them delicious and satisfying!
🫧 Boiling versus Steaming
Boiling may retain most of the antioxidant power of sweet potatoes, compared to even steaming. Boiling can also thin cell walls and gelatinize starch, making the nutrients more bioavailable.
- Nutrient Retention and Glycemic Index: A study published in The European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that boiling potatoes tends to result in a lower glycemic index than other cooking methods like baking or frying, which is beneficial for blood sugar management. This occurs because boiling promotes the gelatinization of starch, creating a structure that slows down carbohydrate digestion and absorption, thereby reducing the glycemic response.
- Bioavailability of Antioxidants: This study explored how cooking methods influence the antioxidant content in potatoes. The findings suggested that boiling can enhance the bioavailability of certain antioxidants, including phenolic compounds, as the softened cell walls allow for better nutrient release.
- Vitamin C Retention: Research has shown that steaming can preserve more vitamin C in potatoes compared to boiling. This difference is likely due to the reduced contact with water, which minimizes nutrient leaching. However, unpeeled potatoes lose only about 7% by cooking, and for antioxidant capacity and bioavailability, boiling still performs comparably well.
These studies indicate that while steaming retains more vitamins in potatoes, boiling may offer advantages for enhancing antioxidant bioavailability and lowering the glycemic index, which can be beneficial depending on individual dietary needs.
👩🏼🌾 Ingredients
- Sweet potatoes or a mixture of lower-glycemic potatoes
- Cashews or firm or extra-firm silken tofu
- Apple cider vinegar
- Lemon juice
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Nutritional yeast (optional)
- Mellow miso (optional)
- Chives
See the printable recipe card below for quantities.
🥔 Substitutions
- Sweet potatoes: Use all sweet potatoes or a mix of sweet potatoes and low-glycemic varieties like red or new potatoes.
- Cashews: For nut-free, substitute cashews with firm or extra-firm silken tofu.
- Miso and nutritional yeast: These ingredients add a savory umami boost but are optional.
- Chives: Substitute dried or fresh rosemary and thyme.
For more healthy Thanksgiving ideas or side dishes, visit my Healthy Thanksgiving recipes.
📖 How to Make Healthy Savory Mashed Sweet Potatoes
This is an overview. The full recipe is at the bottom of the post.
- Cook the potatoes: Place them in a large saucepan with water to cover by about 3 inches high. Bring the water to a simmer and cook the potatoes over low heat for about 30 minutes or until just cooked through. To check potatoes for doneness, insert a knife into one.
- Drain the potatoes and set them aside to cool.
- Mash: Roughly chop them and then mash them with a potato masher, or use a ricer, until smooth. Place the mashed potatoes into an airtight container with a tight-fitting lid.
- To maximize resistant starch formation, refrigerate cooked potatoes for at least 12 hours. This cooling period allows the starches to reconfigure, increasing the resistant starch content and making them more blood sugar-friendly. You can then reheat the potatoes if desired without significantly reducing the resistant starch.
- For serving or beforehand, transfer the soaked and drained cashews to the canister of a blender. Add the apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, onion powder, garlic powder, miso, and nutritional yeast, if using, and water
- For serving: Remove the potatoes from the refrigerator. Optional: Reheat them in the microwave until heated through. Add the desired amount of sauce and mix well. Garnish with chives.
✔️ Expert Tips
- Choose Potatoes of Similar Size: Select potatoes of similar size to ensure even cooking, and add them to cold water.
- Leave the skin on for more fiber, antioxidants, and better blood glucose control.
- Cook Gently: Bring the water to a gentle boil and cook the sweet potatoes until just tender. Avoid overcooking, as this can cause a loss of flavor and nutrients.
- Tofu: If using tofu instead of cashews, transfer the tofu, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, garlic powder, onion powder, miso, and nutritional yeast (if using) to the canister of a blender. Blend on high until smooth, adding water as needed.
- Water: Add ¾ cup water if you are not using miso and nutritional yeast, otherwise, add 1 cup water. Do not add water if using tofu, Instead, only add water while blending as needed.
- Storage: Refrigerate the mashed sweet potatoes in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Store the cashew or tofu sour cream separately for up to 4 days.
- For serving: Serve Healthy Mashed Savory Sweet Potatoes cold, at room temperature, or microwave until warmed through. You can reheat the potatoes if desired without significantly reducing the resistant starch.
🙋🏽♀️ Recipe FAQs
Boiling sweet potatoes reduces their glycemic index and preserves more nutrients compared to baking or frying. Microwaving is also an excellent method for nutrient retention.
Cooling potatoes after boiling them crystallizes some starches into resistant starch, which can’t be broken down as easily in the gut, significantly lowering the glycemic index. Consuming potatoes cold, like in potato salad, can reduce their glycemic impact by almost 40%. Reheating cooled potatoes also keeps their glycemic index low while maintaining the comforting warmth.
Interestingly, studies have shown that boiled, cooled, and reheated potatoes are among the most satiating foods—more so than fried and baked fries. Plus, they contain an appetite-suppressing protein, potato protease inhibitor II, making this preparation a win for blood sugar and fullness.
Yes, and here’s why: colorful foods often pack a nutritional punch thanks to their antioxidant pigments—the colors are powerful antioxidants. Sweet potatoes, rich in an orange hue, are filled with beta-carotene and other antioxidants that support immune function, and eye health, and may even help reduce inflammation. This extra boost of nutrients makes sweet potatoes a healthier choice than plain white potatoes. So when you’re strolling down the produce aisle, let the colors guide you toward more nutrient-dense choices! Make sure to keep the skin on though! The peel of a sweet potato packs nearly ten times the antioxidant power of its flesh, offering antioxidant levels similar to those of blueberries.
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📖 Recipe
Healthy Savory Mashed Sweet Potatoes
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Ingredients
- 3 pounds sweet potatoes or a mixture of new, sweet, purple, and red potatoes
- 1 cup raw cashews soaked in hot water for at least 15 minutes and drained, or 12 ounces firm or extra-firm silken tofu
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon mellow miso (white miso) optional
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast optional
- ¾ to 1 cup water (see notes)*
- ⅓ cup chopped chives or rosemary, or thyme, for garnish
Instructions
- Cook the potatoes: Place the potatoes into a large saucepan with water to cover by about 3 inches high. Bring the water to a simmer and cook the potatoes over low heat for about 30 minutes or until just cooked through. To check potatoes for doneness, insert a knife into one. Drain the potatoes and set them aside to cool.
- Mash the Potatoes: Roughly chop the cooked potatoes, then mash with a potato masher or use a ricer until smooth. Transfer the mashed potatoes into an airtight container with a tight-fitting lid. To maximize resistant starch formation, refrigerate the cooked potatoes for at least 12 hours. This cooling period allows the starches to reconfigure, boosting resistant starch content and making them more blood sugar-friendly. You can reheat the potatoes if desired without significantly reducing the resistant starch.
- Make the vegan sour cream for serving or beforehand. Transfer the drained cashews to the canister of a blender. Add the apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, onion powder, garlic powder, miso, and nutritional yeast (if using). Add ¾ cup water if not using miso and nutritional yeast, otherwise, add 1 cup water. Blend until smooth.
- Remove the potatoes from the refrigerator. Optional: Reheat them in the microwave until heated through. Add the desired amount of sauce and mix well. Garnish with chives.
Notes
Nutrition
This information is provided as a courtesy and is an ESTIMATE only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased can change the nutritional information in any given recipe.
Sarah says
Do you need to mash the potatoes before chilling or can you mash them after (i.e. the next day)?
Thanks
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
It is easier to mash them when they are warm.
Murphy says
If I want to serve the mashed potatoes hot but don’t have a microwave, what is recommended? For example baking in a warm oven or steaming?
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Preheat the oven to 350°F, Put the mashed potatoes in an oven-safe dish and spread them out in an even layer. Stir in some broth if dry. Cover the dish with an oven-safe lid to retain moisture. Bake for 15–30 minutes, or until the potatoes are heated through. Stir in the cashew sour cream. Alternatively, you can heat the cashew cream very gently over the stove and add it to the potatoes to heat them.
Areesha says
Hello, i have a question. i really wanna make this recipe but i dont have apple cider vinegar, miso, or nutritional yeast. i know it says to add more water if not using miso or yeast, but what about apple cider vinegar? please give me a substitute that will make the sauce very tasty!!!!
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Hi. You add less water of not using miso and. nutritional yeast. You can use balsamic vinegar instead of apple cider. The miso and nutritional yeast add a lot of flavor so it won't be quite the same but the potatoes will still taste great!
Val says
This is absolutely the best vegan sour cream recipe I have tried. I made it with the miso and nutritional yeast and it was delicious. Thank you for another great recipe.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
So so happy to read this. Thank you!!!
Pam says
The recipe calls for draining the cashews before adding but there are no instructions for soaking the cashews before using. Please advise. Thank you.
Nisha Melvani, RDN says
Sorry, just added the instructions.