Sweet Potato Puree Recipe

Whip up this homemade sweet potato puree recipe to use in loads of festive, fall recipes throughout the season! Perfectly sweet, lusciously smooth, and oh-so-simple. Use it in savory dishes and sauces, sweet desserts and baked goods, or enjoy it on its own! Learn how to make sweet potato puree in a food processor or blender, using roasted and peeled sweet potatoes.

For many people, fall is all about pumpkin everything—but I think I love sweet potatoes even more! They’re comfortingly sweet-yet-savory, and they’re an incredibly versatile ingredient that you can use in all sorts of ways. For baked goods in particular, this sweet potato puree recipe can serve as both a source of flavor and a simple fat substitute, much like apple sauce.

You can use your homemade sweet potato puree in the same ways you’d use pumpkin puree. Bake it into sweet potato cookies, a pie, sweet potato bread, or muffins. Add it into oatmeal, yogurt, or a smoothie. Use it to make a savory sauce or soup. Best of all, it’s even easier to make sweet potato puree than pumpkin puree—just roast your potatoes, peel, and blend!

What’s the difference between sweet potato mash and puree?

Typically, a regular or sweet potato mash contains mashed potatoes with additional ingredients like butter, milk, and seasonings. In contrast, this sweet potato puree recipe is made with sweet potatoes alone—nothing added. A mash can have a texture ranging from chunky to smoother—like in a sweet potato casserole—whereas this puree is intended to be lusciously smooth.

How do you puree raw sweet potatoes?

Raw sweet potatoes have a hard, starchy texture, so they need to be cooked in some way before pureeing. You can cook sweet potatoes in many ways: steamed over the stove, in a pressure cooker, or in the microwave. Personally, I recommend roasting them in the oven to give your puree the sweetest flavor and smoothest, fluffiest texture!

Can you puree potatoes in a blender?

Yes, you can puree sweet potatoes in a high-powered blender—but not in a standard lower-powered blender. Really, the best way to make this sweet potato puree is in a food processor. It’s quicker and more efficient than a blender, and it produces a smoother texture. If you only have a blender, it can help to mash your cooked sweet potatoes a bit before blending them.

How to Make Sweet Potato Puree at Home

• Wash sweet potatoes and allow to dry completely.
• Pierce sweet potatoes with a fork on all sides. Wrap each individually in foil, then add to a baking sheet. (Wrapping each potato will produce a sweeter, more caramelized flavor.)
• Roast at 400°F (200°C) for 45-60 minutes, until tender.
• When cool to the touch but still warm, peel away skin and transfer sweet potato flesh to a food processor (or high-powered blender).
• Blend for 2 minutes (or longer, if needed), until smooth.

Substitution Notes

Broadly, you can think of this process for how to make sweet potato puree as a template for how to make all sorts of vegetable purees! Cook the vegetable, remove the skin, and blend until smooth. For the fall season, pumpkin puree is a common favorite—just know that cooking pumpkin is a more involved process than roasting sweet potatoes.

Rather, if you love pumpkin but you can’t find canned pumpkin (or you don’t want to make a puree), use sweet potato instead! This sweet potato puree recipe can substitute for pumpkin in just about any recipe you like—a pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pancakes, etc. I used it to make sweet potato cookies and they were a huge hit in my house!

How long can you keep sweet potato puree?

Once blended, allow your sweet potato puree to cool completely. Store it in an airtight jar or container in the fridge for 4-7 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months. This is an excellent recipe that you can make in large batches, then freeze it to use throughout the fall and holiday season!

Watch how to make sweet potato puree in my Sweet Potato Cookies + Puree video!