When properly cooked, sweet potatoes bring out mellow, starchy, sweet flavor with soft and mushy texture. Their starchy, mild and sweet flavor is absolutely a vibe, which is the primary reason sweet potatoes have become such a popular addition to many meals.
Prepared in various cooking techniques including bake, boil, deep-fry, fry, grill, mash, roast, sauté, and steam, it suits any occasion and can be served during any meal of the day. However, due to its natural sweetness, pairing with sweet potato can make it challenging to serve with savory dishes.
What to eat with sweet potatoes? Sweet potatoes pairs wonderfully with herbs and spices such as allspice, bay leaf, cilantro, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, parsley, and thyme.
In addition, blending with condiments creates rustic and aromatic flavors in both sweet and savory dishes, especially with bourbon, apple juice, unsalted butter, cream, honey, maple syrup, molasses, rum, pecan, brown sugar, and walnuts.
Depending on the recipe, sweet potatoes can be served with a variety of flavor profiles. For instance, a quick salad with feta, mint and lemon with smoked paprika, sweet warm cake with cranberries and dates, or skewers with mustard and peppercorn for hint of savory.
Sweet potatoes can be part of the main meal, savory soup, and salad. That being said, let’s unpack the goodness that sweet potatoes have and how great it pairs with other dishes.
What protein does sweet potato go with?
What better way to pair the softness of sweet potatoes than with a hearty protein? It adds nutrition as well as enjoyable salty and fatty flavors to balance the meal.
Sweet potatoes pair excellently with these proteins:
- Beans: The uptake way does not matter, as various types of beans, baked or black, all pair well with sweet potatoes. They improve the flavor and texture of sweet potatoes, at an instance.
- Meat: Pair sweet potatoes with pork, beef, or chicken for a match made in heaven.
- Fish: Roasted, deep fry, and wet fry fish, can be served with sweet potatoes. The type of fish selected is dependent on personal preference. Seafood can also be paired with sweet potatoes. These two are the perfect pair as neither overpowers the other.
- Bacon: Serve a roast or mashed sweet potato pie with bacon. The crispy and salty bits add crunchiness and intense flavor to your dish. Adding a hint of maple syrup boosts the sweetness of sweet potatoes.
- Duck: Duck breasts are an excellent main entree to pair with glazed, mashed, or pureed sweet potatoes. Adding greens such as green beans, kale or asparagus finalizes the color and execution of the dish.
- Ham: Perfect breakfast protein to serve with hash. Instead of using potatoes, switch to sweet potatoes and cubed ham for a simple and easy skillet.
- Pork: Prepare roasted tenderloin, pork chops, or pulled pork to enjoy with sweet potatoes. Drizzle brown sugar over the roasted sweet potatoes for alternate BBQ meal.
- Prosciutto: Wrap sweet potatoes with prosciutto to serve as an appetizer. Simply roast the sweet potatoes and glaze with maple syrup or balsamic vinegar for a quick fix.
- Sausages: Whether for breakfast or quick dinner using a one pan recipe, consider chopping sausages with cubed sweet potatoes. But not all sausages taste good with this combo. When cooking with sweet potatoes, choose andouille or chorizo for best result.
What vegetables go with sweet potatoes?
From roots to greens, vegetables are a great addition to recipes with sweet potatoes. They add crunchy texture and bright green colors to make the plate fun to eat.
For veggies, pair sweet potatoes with:
- green beans
- black beans
- green and red bell peppers
- chives
- garlic
- ginger
- kale
- leeks
- chanterelle mushroom
- red onions
- red potatoes
- pumpkin
What flavor goes well with sweet potatoes?
To improve the taste, add some spices and herbs to sweet potatoes including cinnamon, pepper, garlic, and ginger. Exclusively, sweet potatoes taste best with pecans and honey as dessert.
Whether savory or sweet, here are classic flavor combination that goes well with sweet potatoes to use essential kitchen food:
- sweet potatoes + allspice + cinnamon + ginger
- sweet potatoes + apples + sage
- sweet potatoes + bacon + onions + rosemary
- sweet potatoes + chili peppers + lemon zest
- sweet potatoes + chorizo sausage + orange
- sweet potatoes + cilantro + lime juice
- sweet potatoes + kale + prosciutto
- sweet potatoes + maple syrup + pecans
Eat with Sweet Potatoes: Conclusion
Sweet potatoes are versatile and can be paired with almost any dish. They go together perfectly with meat, vegetables, and just about anything that benefits from its natural sweetness.
Complement with herbs and spices to bring out or blend the natural sweetness of sweet potatoes especially with allspice, bay leaf, cilantro, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, parsley, and thyme.
For boosting sweet craving, try with bourbon, apple juice, honey, maple syrup, molasses, and brown sugar. Furthermore, adding hint of liquor, especially with bourbon or rum is a really fun way to level up desserts and entrees.
When it comes to healthy protein options, go with beans, meat, fish, bacon, duck, ham, pork, prosciutto, and sausages.
With sweet potatoes, the possibilities are endless, so be sure to play around with them to discover what works best for you and your family. Use the tips in this guide to explore fun and intriguing flavor profiles to eat with sweet potatoes during your next meal.