Technically, there are differences between sweet potatoes, yams, and some of the other similar root veggies categorized as yams, but the terms are used interchangeably in most cases. So whether you have extra sweet potatoes lying around the house or a big basket of yams in the corner, you can use these yam recipes to help get rid of them. Also, don’t feel like you have to wait until fall or winter to use these. As long as you have good, fresh yams, you can enjoy these recipes anytime you like.
1. Baked Candied Yams
Baked candied yams are probably one of the most well-known and well-loved yam recipes. And if you want to make sure that your candied yams are sweet, tender, and perfectly glazed, this is the recipe you’ll need. It’s excellent and requires fewer than 10 ingredients!
2. Yam Cake
First off, if you’re picturing a large, bakery-style cake, let me stop you right there. Yam cake isn’t that kind of cake. It’s savory, hearty, and packed with umami flavor. You’ll make it with yams, dried shrimp, shallots, rice flour, and a few other ingredients, and the five-spice powder, salt, and white pepper add a delightful mix of seasonings. It’s thick, earthy, and herby, and the topping of deep-fried shallots, spring onions, red chiles, and more shrimp finishes off an already phenomenal dish.
3. Golden Yam Cake
Unlike the above-mentioned yam cake, golden yam cake is sweet. It’s light, fluffy, incredibly moist, and despite its simplicity, one of the most amazing cakes you’ll ever taste. Aside from the yams, you’ll use only essential baking ingredients to make this lovely, unique cake. The modest powdered sugar icing isn’t complicated either. If you’re looking for a new holiday dessert this year, golden yam cake is an excellent choice.
4. Baked Yams
This recipe for baked yams is paleo- and vegan-friendly, gluten-free, and Whole30-compliant, so it should work for just about anyone, no matter their dietary needs. It takes 5 minutes to prepare these for the oven and another 45 to bake them. They come out with crispy, paper-thin skins and soft, melt-in-your-mouth insides. You can add butter, balsamic, chives, and other similar ingredients if you’re looking for a savory dinner option. Or you can pile them high with pomegranate arils, smoked almonds, etc., for a sweeter treat.
5. Ube Milkshake
Looking for a vegan-friendly, lactose-free milkshake option to help minimize your dessert cravings? Try this three-ingredient ube milkshake! After peeling and boiling your purple yams, drain them, mash them, and freeze them. Then, toss them in the blender with almond milk and honey and blend until it’s smooth. It has a lovely lavender color and is lightly sweet.
6. Mashed Yams
Mashed yams are similar to mashed potatoes, only they’re sweet, spicy, and a gorgeous orange color. All you’ll need to make them is cinnamon, sea salt, water, butter, pepper, milk, and yams, of course. Plus, they’ll only take about 25 minutes to whip up. They’re light, fluffy, buttery, and delicious.
7. Mashed Ube
Sweet, mashed ube tastes almost exactly the same as mashed yams. The main difference is that this easy-to-make side dish is purple and even a bit sweeter. If you want to be the coolest mom/dad/aunt/uncle in the world this holiday season, make mashed yams for the family and mashed ube for the kids’ table. They’ll love it.
8. Sweet Potato Fries
These six-ingredient sweet potato fries are a tasty, healthier alternative to traditional French fries. They’re crispy on the outside but soft and tender on the inside. They also have a ton of flavor, thanks primarily to the Italian seasoning and lemon pepper. There’s nothing sweet about these fries. They’re herb-flavored and incredible.
9. Sweet Potato Muffins
These dense, crumbly muffins are sweet, cinnamon-flavored, and surprisingly healthy, even if you decide to add the optional chocolate chips and chopped pecans. They’re gluten-free and relatively low in calories, and the maple syrup and vanilla add plenty of sweetness, so much so that you’ll never guess there’s no added sugar in them.
10. Jamaican Yellow Yam Stew
If you want to take a deep dive into seriously scrumptious yam recipes, check out Jamaican recipes. Jamaican chefs can do amazing things with yams. Jamaican yellow yam stew is only one ridiculously delectable example of that fact. The broth is rich and creamy, and the chunky yams, onions, and peppers are comforting and filling. You’ll also appreciate the bright yellow color of the stew and how flavor-packed it is, thanks to the garlic, thyme, paprika, bay leaves, spinach, and onions.
11. Yam Salad
This cool, creamy side dish works better with legitimate yams, not sweet potatoes hiding behind the yam name. Once you boil and cube your yams, it takes no time to prepare. Mix the yams with a cup of mayo, minced onions, and red and green peppers. Stick the salad in the fridge to chill for about an hour, and then enjoy the cold, crisp yumminess of fresh garden veggies.
12. Yellow Yam Fries
As much as I love sweet potato fries – and I do! – I like yellow yam fries even more. That’s because their flavor is milder than that of sweet potatoes, meaning there’s nothing to detract from all the herbs and spices that make these fries spectacular. Play with the herbs to see what combination you like best; this recipe is a great starting point. Personally, I go heavier on the garlic, keep the sea salt, substitute cayenne for paprika, and add just a dash of dill. The result is almost too good to believe.
13. Tuna Yam Balls
Most people don’t think of yams as having a ton of umami flavor, and depending on how you cook them, they don’t always. When you mix them with tuna, onions, peppers, and garlic, though, they have plenty! And if you enjoy tantalizing the umami receptors on your tongue, these crispy, herb balls are a must-try. Everything about them is perfect – from their rich, fluffy fillings to the wonderful crunch in their texture. Even people who aren’t tuna lovers will devour these yummy starters.
14. Ube Sugar Cookies
If you’re crazy about colorful food, ube sugar cookies will knock your socks off! They taste great and are soft and chewy, just like sugar cookies should be. But that’s not the best part. They’re purple! I don’t care how old you get, purple food is just fun. They’re gorgeous, and once you add the sparkling sanding sugar, they almost look unreal — like fairy food!
15. Candied Yam Cupcakes
These cupcakes taste just like candied yams, but they’re even better because they’re candied yams with cream cheese icing. Oh yes. They’re every bit as good as they sound. They’re also soft and moist, and you can make two dozen in just under 90 minutes. Make these for your child’s next cupcake day at school, and the whole class will thank you.
16. Cinnamon-Roasted Sweet Potato and Apples
Whether you serve this as a side dish or dessert, everyone at the table is sure to love it. You probably already know how phenomenal cinnamon-baked apples are. Imagine them: Each tender chunk is smothered in cinnamon… The smell will make you drool before you ever get the apples to your mouth… This delicious dish is the same thing, but you’ll add chunks of cinnamon-covered sweet potatoes into the mix, as well. They’ll soak up the maple syrup even better than the apples, leaving you with a sweet and tangy treat that’s so good, your guests will be fighting over who gets to lick the bowl.
17. Ube Panna Cotta
Here’s another fun purple treat, and this one is even more exciting because it’s creamy and a little jiggly. It’s a genuinely stunning dessert, and it’s particularly popular with kids. After all, it’s basically purple Jell-O pudding with the tropical taste of coconut. What’s not to love?
18. Ube Muffins
These naturally purple muffins are softer and airier than muffins have any right to be. Usually, they’re dense and filling, these are so light, they almost feel like cake. The cinnamon and brown sugar gives them a wonderful aroma and an even better taste, and the crispy walnut and brown sugar topping make each one even more divine. The sweet, sticky powdered sugar glaze is optional, but I highly recommend adding it.
19. Ube Ice Cream
There are few things better than cold, refreshing ice cream on a hot day. However, when that ice cream uses only four ingredients and requires no churning, it’s one of the few better things. Oh, and if the “ube” in the name didn’t give it away, it’s also purple, and purple desserts are incredible desserts. All you’ll need is heavy whipping cream, sweetened condensed milk, ube flavoring extract, ube powder, and a whisk (or hand mixer). You’ll have it ready for the freezer in 10 minutes. A few hours later, you’ll enjoy light, sweet but not too sweet soft-serve ice cream whose flavor will remind you of eating fresh raspberries in the summertime.
20. Sweet Potato Casserole
Delicious, spicy, and soft with an incredibly crunchy pecan topping – sweet potato casserole needs no description. We all know it and we all love it. And this recipe lets you make it in one hour with only 10 ingredients. It doesn’t get much better than that.
21. Sweet Potato Brownies
These thick, moist brownies are decadent, delicious, and supremely fudgy, and despite all that praise, they aren’t all that bad for you either. They take about 20 minutes to make, and even the most adamant yam-hater would have to admit that these brownies were some of the best they’ve ever tasted.
22. Yam Curry
Yam curry is hot, herby, earthy, and fresh. The cilantro and diced tomatoes give it a wonderful, garden-fresh flavor that helps tone down the heat. If you’re not a fan of super spicy foods, go light on the cayenne and select a mild curry powder.
23. Ube Blueberry Frappuccino
If it wasn’t evident by all the raving I’ve done about it already, I love ube. Anything that’s relatively healthy and can make my food naturally purple is okay in my book. So, I decided to finish up this list with one final ube recipe: ube blueberry frappuccino. (To be honest, I’m not sure why it’s called a frappuccino. There’s no coffee in it.) It’s more of a milkshake than anything else. You’ll make it with vanilla ice cream, milk, blueberries, maple syrup (or honey), vanilla powder, and ube powder. It’s cold, refreshing, and sweet with a fruity kick. It takes only 5 minutes to make, and it’s relatively low in calories, especially for a milkshake! Click on a star to rate it!
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