Recipe: Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Coconut Milk & Vanilla Bean

These whipped sweet potatoes are a great recipe when you need to get out of a vegetable rut. They’re a little more dressed up than the average weeknight side so think of them as a minimalist dish for your holiday feast. With coconut milk for interest and richness, and a swirl of vanilla bean paste, consider adding this to the Thanksgiving table when you want something on the sweeter side that still leaves the marshmallows out of the equation.

These whipped sweet potatoes stand right between the holiday potatoes covered with marshmallows and the simpler dishes we save for weekday dinner. First you roast them to bring out their natural sweetness, and then you add layers of flavor to bring a bit more complexity. But that’s where you stop — no marshmallows, cornflakes, or pecan streusels in sight. This recipe meets right in the middle of my extremes. I played around with a few unexpected ingredients in order to reach maximum flavor potential. So instead of regular milk or heavy cream, I used more-interesting coconut milk. It doesn’t bring big coconut flavor to the sweet potatoes, it just adds a little something extra.

The other unusual addition is vanilla bean paste, instead of plain old vanilla extract. My addiction to this magical product is showing no signs of stopping, and with the brand new quart that recently arrived on my doorstep, I might as well put it in everything! Lastly, the brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt are there to round out the flavors; use your judgement when seasoning. I suggest tasting the cooked sweet potatoes before settling on a sugar amount — some are often much sweeter than others. The cinnamon shouldn’t overwhelm the dish, and the salt should go unnoticed. Basically, just follow your instincts.