Learn How to Boil Sweet Potatoes that are whole or cubed, peeled or skins still on. Boiling is an easy and healthy way to cook them before adding to your favorite recipes.
Want a few recipe ideas that use boiled sweet potatoes? You might enjoy this Sweet Potato Casserole, Black Bean Sweet Potato Burgers, these Mashed Sweet Potatoes, or this Sweet Potato Puree.
Boiling Sweet Potatoes – Perfect for Recipes
Boiling sweet potatoes is an easy way to get perfectly tender potatoes that can be used in numerous recipes.
While you can Bake Sweet Potatoes in the Oven, or make Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes…
Cooking them in a pot of boiling water is definitely a foolproof method for an easy side dish.
Ingredients and Kitchen Utensils
There are only a few ingredients and kitchen utensils that you will need.
Ingredients:
- Sweet Potatoes – If you are boiling them whole, try to find similarly sized potatoes.
- Salt – Add a little salt to the boiling water to add flavor.
- Water – Use filtered water for the best results.
Kitchen Utensils:
- Potato Peeler – You will need this if you are peeling before boiling.
- Knife – A sharp knife helps to cut them into similar sized chunks.
- Pot – A large pot is recommended. You want to be able to fit the potatoes and enough water to cover them by 1-2 inches.
How to Boil
Once you have your ingredients and utensils gathered up it’s time to start the process of this recipe.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Make sure you have enough water so the sweet potatoes are covered by at least 1 inch of water.
- It’s best to err on the side of more water rather than not enough.
- Carefully add whole potatoes or chunks to the water.
- Reduce heat to Medium-High and keep a slow boil throughout the duration of cooking.
- Boil sweet potatoes until they are cooked through. (Read below for exact cook times.)
- Drain in a colander and use in your favorite recipes.
Peeling and Cutting
You can speed up the cooking process by peeling and cutting this starchy vegetable into similarly sized chunks.
- Use a potato peeler to remove the skin.
- Cut the sweet potatoes into either 1-inch or 2-inch chunks.
Make sure you pick one size and try to make all of the sweet potato pieces the same size. This ensures that it boils at a similar rate.
Do I Need to Peel Before Boiling?
You do not need to peel sweet potatoes before boiling.
If leaving the peel on, you will need to pierce the skin of the potato with a fork a few times.
Also, boiling a sweet potato with the peel will require slightly more time for it to cook through.
How Long Will It Take?
The amount of time you will need to cook depends primarily on the size of the potatoes.
Boiling Whole Sweet Potatoes
Boil whole for 30-50 minutes. This largely depends on the size of the potato. Smaller ones will be done faster, larger potatoes may take a bit longer.
Boiling Cubed Sweet Potatoes
Boil sweet potatoes that are cut into 1-inch cubes for 12-15 minutes.
Boil those cut into 2-inch cubes for 20-25 minutes.
Are They Healthy?
Sweet potatoes are full of dietary fiber and antioxidants. They are also an incredible source of Vitamin A, the B vitamins, Vitamin C, Magnesium, Iron, and Calcium.
Sweet and regular potatoes have a similar amount of carbs and calories. White potatoes have a little less sugar while sweet potatoes are higher in Vitamins A and C.
Other Sweet Potato Recipes
How to Boil Sweet Potatoes
Learn How to Boil Sweet Potatoes that are whole or cubed, peeled or skins still on. Boiling sweet potatoes is an easy and healthy way to cook them before adding to your favorite mashed sweet potatoes or casserole recipe.
Ingredients
- 2-4 lbs. sweet potatoes
- Salt optional
Instructions
-
Bring a large pot of water with a pinch of salt to a rolling boil.*
-
Peel potatoes with a potato peeler and cut your sweet potatoes into 1" or 2" chunks. You can also leave them whole and with the skin on, if you prefer.*
-
Carefully add sweet potatoes to the boiling water.
-
Reduce heat to Medium-High and keep a slow boil throughout the duration of cooking.
-
Boil sweet potatoes until they are cooked through:
For 1" cubes - 12 to 15 minutes.
For 2" cubes - 20-25 minutes.
For whole potatoes - 30-50 minutes. (Depending on the size of the potato.)
-
Drain sweet potatoes in a colander and use in your favorite Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Sweet Potato Pie, or Sweet Potato Casserole recipe.
Recipe Notes
- Make sure you have enough water so the sweet potatoes are covered by at least 1 inch of water. It's best to err on the side of more water rather than not enough.
- If leaving the skin on whole sweet potatoes, pierce the each sweet potato with a fork 7-8 times.
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Kathy Stone says
Katy Stone
Thank you so much for the info on boiling sweet potatoes. It was very helpful.
London Brazil says
Yay! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Kathy! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment and rating!
Paul says
This was very helpful . Thank you. Nutrition and times for cooking the sweet potatoes cubed is what I needed. I had found that baking them with the peels on is difficult for me. Getting them out of the peels after baking is not what I like to do. Boiling is the best solution for me. That way , you have cut away all of the imperfections and do not any longer need to deal with the peelings. Your infromation was concise and helpful . Thank you.
London Brazil says
Yay! So happy to hear you enjoyed this how to, Paul! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment and rating!
Chuck Davis says
Can you believe it? I am 83 years old and have never boiled a sweet potato! I could have winged it but I thought I would check with you to confirm. Not much different from cooking Irish potatoes for potato salad. Anyway, thanks for the recipe, London! Cheers, as they say in London!
London Brazil says
So glad to hear it helped you out, Chuck!! And it’s amazing how much we can still learn everyday, right? Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment and rating! 🙂
Frany says
Thank you for all the tips!!!
London Brazil says
You’re so very welcome!!
Promocodeshub says
Nice blog! thank you for sharing how to prepare BOIL SWEET POTATOES. Its looking very delicious.
Wanda Parrott says
The nutrition information does not work ndicate size (ie cup) or weight of serving. I am counting calories so I need to know amount that equals a serving.
London Brazil says
Since it’s just sweet potatoes you can search for the nutritional information for whatever amount of sweet potatoes you’re consuming to find an accurate amount. Hope this helps!
Kendra D says
Great article! Thanks for the information and recipes. I was just looking for something different to do with my sweet potatoes 🙂
London says
Yay! So happy to hear it was helpful for you. These are perfect for making mashed sweet potatoes or even a sweet potato pie!
Damon says
Ok, so I’ve peeled 6 potatoes and I’m planning on making sweet potato souffle. I have a pot of water boiling. Once it boils, I add the sweet potatoes and let it sit for 45 minutes? That just seems like a very long time. (FYI, I’ve never cooked potatoes before, this is a new experience).
London says
It totally depends on the size of the potato, Damon. Smaller potatoes (less than 1/2 pound) can be done in as little as 30-40 minutes, whereas larger potatoes may take up to 40-50 minutes! Just test them for doneness by using a fork or knife.
Michael Kemper says
You know that the skin of the sweet potato contains 10 times the antioxidant power of the flesh, don’t you?
London says
Yes!! That’s pretty incredible. Feel free to leave the skin on if you’d like!
Potato Farmers of America says
Dear Mr Kemper,
Congratulations! You’ve won ‘Most Condescending Comment On a Recipe Post About Sweet Potatoes’! Your reward is all the sweet potato skins from the people who don’t eat them! That’s right, they’re all for you now! Please leave your address so you can receive your never ending supply of weird papery potato skins that others have pushed to the side of their plate after eating the actual good part of the potato. You’re going to have so much more antioxidant power now you lucky winner you!
carl says
plus, the skin has most of the fiber.