Sweet potatoes are a Thanksgiving staple, but that doesn’t mean you have to stick to the classic marshmallow-topped bake. We love turning the vegetable into a savory soup, warming side dish, or even a silky pie for dessert. Here are Thanksgiving recipes for sweet potatoes, from Smoky Sweet Potatoes with Chorizo Butter to potluck-friendly Roasted Hot Honey Sweet Potato Salad to this elegant Sweet Potato Soufflé with Molasses Sauce. Read on for sweet potato sides and desserts for your Thanksgiving spread.
Owamni Sweet Potatoes with Maple-Chile Crisp
Photo: Heami Lee / FOOD STYLING CHELSEA ZIMMER / PROP STYLING / CHRISTINE KEELY
Chef Sean Sherman pays tribute to Native American cuisine with these beautiful sweet potatoes. Utilizing foods indigenous to the Americas, his recipe consists of grill mark-kissed sweet potatoes paired with a maple-tinged chile crisp.
Roasted Hot Honey Sweet Potato Salad
Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Hannah Greenwood
This sweet potato salad from recipe developer Amanda Stanfield makes a colorful, satisfying side dish: Smoked paprika creates a sweet and savory balance, while the hot honey dressing adds a touch of tangy heat. Homemade pickled red onions, crunchy toasted pecans, and fresh parsley round everything out with texture and pop.
Tempered Curry-Ginger Sweet Potatoes
Antonis Achilleos
“Tempering is one of the most valuable tenets of Sri Lankan cooking I learned from my mother,” writes chef Sam Fore. “Whole spices, like cumin and mustard seeds, get a quick swirl in hot oil, toasting them just enough to impart big flavor in minimal time. These tempered sweet potatoes illustrate how transformative the technique is.”
Sweet Potato Pie
Photo by Adam Friedlander / Food Styling by Pearl Jones
Traditionally seasoned with cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg, this sweet potato pie from New Orleans chef Susan Spicer has a distinctly Southern accent thanks to its bourbon-spiked praline sauce topping.
Sweet Potato Yeast Rolls
Victor Protasio
A sprinkling of ajowan seeds offers an herbal bite reminiscent of thyme and cumin in these soft, golden dinner rolls.
Sweet Potato Honey Beer Pie
Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Heather Chadduck Hillegas
Dark beer, honey, and spices like ginger and cardamom give rich, complex flavors to this sweet potato pie from cookbook author Nik Sharma. Feel free to use a different crust, homemade or store-bought.
Smoky Sweet Potatoes with Chorizo Butter
Photo by Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Prissy Lee
Justin Chapple infuses butter with dry-cured Spanish chorizo, smoky and spicy, for a rich color and flavor that balances the natural sweetness of these tender roasted sweet potatoes. You’ll bake the potatoes first, then halve and broil them for a hint of smoke.
Purple Sweet Potato Pie with Coconut and Five-Spice
Christopher Testani
This purple sweet potato pie by Baltimore baker Krystal Mack is perfumed with five-spice seasoning and topped with toasted oats, pecans, and coconut for a vivid presentation and deep flavors that make it a showstopper on any holiday table.
Sweet Potato Pavé
Gregory DuPree
The key to this crispy dish is super thin layers of sweet potato, easiest achieved by (carefully!) using a mandoline.
Savory Glazed Sweet Potatoes with Sesame Seeds
David Malosh
These sesame-dusted sweet potatoes are made with brown sugar, vinegar, and liquid aminos for the best balance of savory and sweet.
Candied Sweet Potatoes
Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Kay Clarke
Recipe developer Marianne Williams bakes her sweet potatoes in a buttery maple-tinged sauce flavored with warm autumn spices for this satisfying side. The syrup thickens and becomes sticky as it rests; sprinkling on grated orange zest at the end balances the sweetness of the dish.
Sweet Potato Pie with Honeycrisp-Kabocha Salad
Marcus Nilsson
This sweet potato pie is made with more eggs than its traditional pumpkin counterpart, making it especially rich to match the creamy texture of the accompanying licorice ice cream.
Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes with Toasted Marshmallows
© David Malosh
In this clever version of candied sweet potatoes with marshmallows, the sweet potatoes are mashed with deeply flavorful grade B maple syrup and butter, then stuffed back into their skins and baked a second time.
Ember-Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Coconut Caramel
Victor Protasio
Chef Sheldon Simeon’s coal-roasted sweet potatoes make an unforgettable holiday side. Charred and pudding-like, they’re drizzled with a rich and creamy ginger-spiked coconut caramel.
Cinnamon-Spiced Candied Sweet Potatoes
Victor Protasio
These spiced sweet potatoes are the perfect stand-in for candied yams with toasted marshmallows. For an elegant effect, finish them off with our toasted meringue topping.
Sweet Potato and Goat Cheese Gratin
© Cedric Angeles
Fresh goat cheese adds just the right amount of tang to this luscious gratin. An easy breadcrumb-butter topping provides a crisp contrast to the tender sweet potato slices.
Sweet Potato–Coconut Soup with Thai Curry
© John Kernick
For this aromatic twist on a classic soup, cookbook author Melissa Clark uses coconut three ways: coconut oil, coconut milk, and toasted coconut flakes. Fresh lime juice, Thai red curry paste, and a sprinkling of cilantro add brightness to the creamy sweet potato.
Sweet Potato Casserole
Lucy Schaffer
Silky pureed sweet potatoes are topped with a sweet and crunchy pecan-cornflake topping for this Southern classic. If you don’t have pecans or cornflakes on hand, feel free to use whatever nut or cereal is in the cupboard.
Vanilla Bean-Whipped Sweet Potatoes
© Frances Janisch
This flavorful (and amazingly simple) side dish comes from the late New York chef Gerry Hayden. The secret: cream and butter infused with fresh vanilla, which adds a fragrant, floral note to the sweet potatoes.
Sweet Potato Gratin with Chile-Spiced Pecans
© Petrina Tinslay
Chef Jose Garces’ silky-sweet gratin is topped with traditional gooey marshmallows plus delightfully crunchy chipotle-dusted pecans for a special Latin American touch.
Sweet Potato Soufflé with Molasses Sauce
© Lucy Schaeffer
This dish is a French take on an American classic. The accompanying molasses sauce is sweetened with pineapple juice and brown sugar; simply omit the sauce if you prefer a more savory side.
Sweet Potatoes with Apple Butter
© Lucy Schaeffer
This simple mashed sweet potato recipe calls for just four ingredients, including salt — but it’s the apple butter that takes it to the next level. Why not try making your own apple butter from scratch?
Sweet-Potato Meringue Pie
© Tina Rupp
The crust for this sweet potato pie from 2000 F&W Best New Chef Andrew Carmellini is made with graham crackers, cinnamon and ginger, and a full cup of pecans. Whipped cream is swapped out for a swirled topping of billowy toasted meringue.
Sweet Potato Soufflé
© Lucy Schaeffer
Lightened with eggs and laced with chopped fresh thyme, these Gruyère-topped mashed sweet potatoes form a nutty-flavored crust in the oven.