7 sweet potato recipe ideas from the healthy foodies

Rich in beta-carotene and vitamins A, C and B6, sweet potatoes are the super  spuds  on the shopping lists of many a healthy eating inspo.

As versatile as they are widely available, they act as the perfect pantry essential for giving any meal a healthy but tasty boost. Whether baked or bashed, roasted or mashed (or even toasted and slathered with a dollop of avocado or nut butter), there’s a whole menu of ways to cook them. To help provide some cookbook inspiration, we asked four healthy foodies for their tried and tested sweet potato recipe picks to showcase how to get the most out of this most humble of wholefood heroes.

1. Calgary Avansino’s Mexican baked sweet potato boats recipe

© Kristin Perers

Serves 2

Ingredients
2 medium sweet potatoes
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Himalayan or sea salt
175g fresh corn kernels, cut from the cob, or tinned sweetcorn, rinsed
½ x 400g can black beans, drained and rinsed
6 heaped tbsp guacamole (shop-bought or homemade)
½ lime
4 coriander stalks, roughly chopped

Method
Heat your oven to 200C/gas 6. Scrub your potatoes and pop them in a baking dish. Rub the oil all over the potatoes, then sprinkle with sea salt. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and leave for a further 15 minutes, until the flesh is cooked through and the skin is crispy.

If you are using fresh corn, cook the loose kernels in a pan of boiling water for 2-3 minutes.

Slice your baked sweet potatoes open (be careful if they’re still hot from the oven!), then top with the corn, black beans and guacamole. Add a squeeze of lime juice over each potato and sprinkle the coriander on top.

Follow Calgary at  @calgaryavansino . Recipe: Keep It Real, £25,  buy online here .

2. Shona Vertue’s roasted sweet potato with creamy garlic tahini dressing recipe

This recipe is inspired by one of my favourite dishes at Passion Café in Ibiza. The combination of soft roasted sweet potato, creamy tahini and crunchy almond flake garnish is just divine. It becomes a dish in itself.

Ingredients
2 large sweet potatoes cut into lengths with the skin on
1 teaspoon coconut oil (melted)

Dressing/sauce:
â…“ cup (80 ml) well-stirred tahini
1 tsp garlic (or less depending on your taste)
lemon juice from half a lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
¼ tsp sea salt
4 to 6 tbsps lukewarm water
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
handful of almond flakes (garnish)
sprigs of coriander (optional garnish)

Method
Preheat oven to 220 degrees Celsius.

Quickly throw the sweet potato into a bowl and hand mix with the coconut oil, gently massaging it into the sweet potato (I mean you could use a spoon, but I like to get involved with my food).

Lay the potatoes onto a baking tray lined with baking paper and cook in the oven for 30-35 minutes (I like my sweet potato quite well-cooked).

While the potato is cooking, prepare the sauce: mix the tahini, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and salt in a bowl until it is combined and thickened. Add the water slowly so that you can adjust according to your desired consistency (some like it thick, hot, sexy or runny - that will all depend upon the water content).

Finally add in the parsley (you don’t have to but I love the freshness it adds).

Once the sweet potato has cooked, allow it to cool slightly and then drizzle the sauce on top as desired.

Garnish with almond flakes and coriander.

Follow Shona  @shona_vertue .

3. Naturally Sassy’s sweet potato & black bean burger recipe

These burgers are the ultimate veggie burgers - honestly they’re unlike any I’ve ever made before! Even really heavy meat-eaters love them which is awesome, so you can really make them for anybody and you know they’ll go down a treat. They’re made from sweet potato and black beans with sweetcorn, caramelised red onion and gluten-free brown rice flour to bind them together. Sweet potatoes are one of my favourite foods and this recipe makes the inside of the burger so incredibly gooey and sweet.

On the side of these delicious burgers you always need a dip, and my favourites are between an avocado cream (nature’s mayonnaise) and a roasted red pepper hummus. Both are equally as delicious, but it really depends on what your craving is. You can even make both! I love making this with a side of kale wilted in a rich tahini dressing.

Makes 8 burgers

Ingredients
3 sweet potatoes
2 tins black beans (3 cups)
1 cup sweetcorn
2 red onions, diced
1 cup brown rice flour
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp chilli powder

Method
Preheat your oven to 190 degrees Celsius.

Peel and chop the sweet potato into small cubes, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and cook for 25-30 minutes, turning occasionally.

Meanwhile, rinse and drain your beans and place into a large mixing bowl. With a masher, mash until roughly half the mixture becomes a paste.

In a frying pan add the onions and cook until caramelised. Place in the mixing bowl with the spices and sweetcorn.

Once the sweet potato is done, mash well before adding to the mixing bowl. Mix well. Add the brown rice flour to bind and continue to stir.

Shape into 8 large patties and place in the fridge to cool.

To cook: in a frying pan, drizzle olive oil and fry the burgers for 3 minutes on each side, place on a baking tray and cook at 190 degrees for a further 10-15 minutes until crisp.

Follow Naturally Sassy  @naturally.sassy .

4. Nina Parker’s roast sweet potato hummus

Makes 400g

Ingredients
160g sweet potato,
8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, diced
1 small shallot, diced
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika
2 tbsp lemon juice
200g tinned chickpeas
sea salt and black pepper

Method
Roast the sweet potato at 180 degrees with some olive oil, salt and pepper for about 30 minutes until soft.

Throw everything into a blender leaving out ½ the chickpeas and blend to a nice rough consistency. Then add in the last few chickpeas and pulse blend them to just break them up.

Follow Nina  @antoninaparker .

5. Naturally Sassy’s Mexican quinoa with sweet potato recipe

Ingredients
¾ cup quinoa
1 lemon
1 tbsp tamari soy sauce
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 sweet potato
½ cup sweetcorn
½ cup black beans
a dozen cherry tomatoes
cashew sour cream
1 cup cashews (soaked)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
¾ cup water

Simple guacamole:
1 avocado
lime
salt

Method
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Peal and cube the sweet potatoes, place on a roasting tray. Roast for 25 minutes.

Start by adding the quinoa to a pan with 3 cups water, lemon, tamari and apple cider vinegar. Bring to the boil and simmer for 25 minutes. When nearly done, add the sweetcorn, black beans, chopped tomatoes and potato wedges.

Meanwhile, make the cashew sour cream by blending all the ingredients until smooth. Mash the avocado with the lime and a pinch of salt. Compile!

For a video how-to,  click here .

6. Shona Vertue’s turmeric mashed sweet potato recipe

My mum used to make this for me a lot, she still makes it better than I have ever been able to. It must be the ratio of coconut cream or something - she says it’s love.

Ingredients
2 x large sweet potatoes, cut into messy chunks
1 tbsp coconut oil
2 tsps turmeric
½ tsp minced garlic
500ml water
1 tbsp coconut cream (this is optional, depends on your taste)
1 tsp fine grain salt

Method
Heat the coconut oil in a large pan over a medium-high heat.

Add the sweet potatoes and stir generously.

Sprinkle in the turmeric and continue to mix in.

Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, until fragrant.

Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the sweet potatoes are soft and the liquid is almost absorbed.

Transfer to a bowl, add the coconut cream and mash until smooth and creamy, (I cheat and transfer mine to a NutriBullet for an amazing consistency).

MORE GLOSS: 11 ways with turmeric

7. Nina Parker’s Mexican sweet potato recipe

Serves 1

Ingredients
x 2 medium sweet potatoes
½ a chopped avocado
handful of halved cherry tomatoes
60g cooked black beans
toasted sesame seeds
dollop of goat's milk yoghurt
a lime
chilli oil

Method
Roast the sweet potatoes for about 30-40 minutes at 180 degrees. Slice open down the middle and fill with ½ a chopped avocado, coriander and cherry tomatoes. Fry the black beans in some olive oil, garlic and ground cumin and add this also. Finish with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds, a dollop of goat's milk yoghurt and a squeeze of lime juice and the zest. Homemade chilli oil is also delicious with this.

Liked this? Then check out these  5 delicious Joe Wicks recipes to help get you through the working week .