Easy Skillet Sweet Potatoes Recipe - Evolving Table (2024)

FAQs

What is the healthiest way to cook sweet potatoes? ›

Boiling may theoretically be best, but sweet potatoes are so incredibly healthy that the actual best way to prepare them is whichever way will get you to eat the most of them! The exception is deep frying, which can lead to the formation of acrylamide, a potential human carcinogen.

If I'm planning to, I rub the sweet potatoes in a small amount of olive oil before baking to crisp them up and add extra flavor. After baking, let the potatoes cool slightly, split the tops open, and dot with butter that will melt from the residual heat. Season with a little salt and pepper, and you're ready to go.

The bottom line

Boiled sweet potatoes affect blood sugar levels far less than other varieties, such as fried, roasted, or baked versions. Longer boiling times reduce the GI further. To support better blood sugar control, it's best to select healthy cooking methods and enjoy sweet potatoes in moderation.

Steaming sweet potatoes preserves more of their nutrients and is a faster alternative than baking. Steamed sweet potatoes are also a great staple to keep on hand to add to grain bowls, salads and soups. Follow our Steamed Sweet Potatoes recipe for perfect results every time.

Boiling retained more iron and copper while frying retained more zinc, magnesium, sodium and calcium in both Irish and sweet potato tubers. Boiling retained more carbohydrate while frying retained more vitamin C and minerals.

Some recipes for homemade sweet potato fries ask you to soak the fries before cooking. The theory is that soaking draws out starch from inside the potatoes, helping them crisp up.

Do you have to poke holes in sweet potatoes before baking? Typically holes are poked into a sweet potato to prevent a potato exploding in your oven. However, the chance of that happening is low, and according to Lifehacker, sweet potatoes will retain more flavor if you don't poke them.

Why Are Sweet Potatoes Sweet? When you heat a sweet potato, an enzyme starts breaking down it's starch into a sugar called maltose. Maltose is made up of two glucose molecules bound together, and tastes about a third as sweet as regular table sugar, also known as sucrose. Maltose contains no fructose.

If you have diabetes, you can eat sweet potatoes daily — as long as you factor the vegetable's carbohydrate count into your meal planning. “Sweet potatoes are a source of carbohydrates, which raise blood sugars,” says White.

While boiling makes sweet potatoes tender, it doesn't help much with their flavor. Most dishes that call for boiled sweet potatoes would be improved if you used roasted or baked sweet potatoes.

What are the disadvantages of boiled sweet potatoes? ›

Sweet potatoes are rich in oxalate content and can result in the formation of kidney stones. Consuming sweet potatoes in excess can result in sweet potato side effects such as Vitamin A toxicity, which is manifested in skin rashes and headaches.

Whether they're mashed, baked, or boiled, sweet potatoes are fine for dogs to eat as long as they're cooked, peeled, and plain. Again, avoid any seasonings or extra ingredients that may be included in “human food” recipes, such as butter, sugar, or salt.

And, if you're worried about nutrients. Don't. All foods lose some of their nutritional value once they've been cooked. But, microwaved sweet potatoes actually retain more of their nutrients as opposed to boiled sweet potatoes.

Though they can both be part of a healthy diet, sweet potatoes are generally healthier than regular potatoes, partly because of their incredibly high vitamin A content. Sweet potatoes are also lower on the glycemic index, meaning that they are less likely than regular potatoes to make your blood sugar spike.

The nutrition facts for raw and baked sweet potatoes can be vastly different. One cup of raw sweet potato may contain 114 calories, 26.8 grams of carbs and 5.6 g sugar, whereas one cup of baked sweet potato may contain 180 calories, 41.4 g carbs and 16.9 g sugar. That's a big increase in carbs and sugars.