Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

April 21, 2021

I have a confession. I don’t really like sweet potatoes. As a kid, I never had them on Thanksgiving, or any other day for that matter. I have no idea why anyone would chose a sweet potato fry over the vastly superior french fry. I hear that there are some people who eat sweet potatoes because they are “healthy,” but I don’t eat healthy food unless it tastes good. (This is why I also generally avoid kale.) So here is the one and only way I eat sweet potatoes.

I came up with this dish just to use up some leftovers. One night, I made Tequila Shrimp in Adobo-Cream Sauce and had too much of both heavy cream and chipotle peppers in adobo. I also had a sweet potato that I had intended to feed to my son sitting on the counter. Long story short, I tossed it all together and came up with spicy, smoky sweet potatoes that I actually love.

Start by peeling and chopping a large sweet potato or a couple of small ones. You want about 2-3 cups. I like to add the potatoes to cold water with a teaspoon of salt. I bring it to a boil, cover, and then reduce the heat to low. They should be done, soft enough to mash, in about ten minutes. If you have a different method to make mashed sweet potatoes, use it. As long as they are mashed, it doesn’t matter how you get there.

While the sweet potatoes are cooking, prepare the chipotles. For this recipe I use 2 chipotles and 2 teaspoons of adobo sauce from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce. You can use more or less to bring the spice to the level you prefer. You have two options, you can finely mince the peppers by hand (as shown on the recipe card below) or you can use a small food processor. Using the food processor will get you a smoother consistency. Just pulse the peppers and sauce a few times and then add in the cream and pulse a few more times until it all comes together. Scrape down the sides as needed and don’t over pulse. You don’t want whipped cream.

If you are doing it by hand finely mince the chipotles and then add them to the mashed sweet potatoes. Then add the cream. If you blend, just add the mixture to the mashed sweet potatoes. Either way stir until it is well combined. I like to serve them with chicken thighs or pork tenderloin and some sautéed spinach. They also go great with some grilled meat and corn on the cob. Hopefully even if you don’t like sweet potatoes, you will like these. And if you do like sweet potatoes, your will enjoy this version even more. Enjoy!