Mashed Orange Ginger Sweet Potatoes (Paleo, vegan)

Vegan mashed sweet potatoes with ginger and orange in a bowl garnished with orange slices.

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Mashed Orange Ginger Sweet Potatoes (Paleo, vegan)

These Mashed Orange Ginger Sweet Potatoes are a healthy, easy side dish for the holidays or any day! Roasted sweet potatoes are combined with bright, citrusy oranges and spicy ginger. This smooth, creamy side dish is great with turkey, chicken, pork and more.

Plus this recipe is naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, Paleo and Whole30 friendly.

Prep Time20

Cook Time1 15

Total Time1 35

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 164kcal

Author: Don Baiocchi

Ingredients

5 medium sweet potatoes, they should all be roughly the same width (length doesn't matter as much)
1 large orange
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger, from about 1-1½" of fresh ginger
1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
1 tablespoon ghee or grass-fed butter, optional

Instructions

Heat the oven to 425° F.
Remove any stringy strands from the sweet potatoes. Wrap each one individually in aluminum foil, making sure to seal them tightly. No need to poke them with a fork first.
Roast the sweet potatoes in the oven for 45-75 minutes, depending on their thickness. For medium-sized sweet potatoes that aren't especially thick, I find one hour works well.
Zest the orange with a microplane grater (or use a citrus zester and then finely mince the zest). Measure out 1 teaspoon of zest. Cut the orange in half and measure out 1 tablespoon of juice. Use the same microplane grater to grate 2 teaspoons of fresh ginger.
Let the sweet potatoes cool a bit. When you can bear it, rip open the foil to let them cool down faster. When they're cool enough to handle, remove them from the foil and use a thin, sharp knife to peel away some of the peel. Then use your hands to peel away the rest.
If mashing by hand, add the peeled sweet potatoes to a bowl and mash with a potato masher. Once they're very broken down, add the orange juice, orange zest, grated ginger and salt (and ghee/butter, if using). Use a spatula to stir everything together into a smooth mixture. You might see some stringy, fibrous bits - that's normal.
If using a food processor, add all the ingredients to the bowl and blitz until completely smooth.
Either way, taste and adjust seasonings. Then pile into a serving bowl and serve!

Notes

Serving note: If serving this recipe for a holiday meal like Thanksgiving, when there are usually many other sides, this recipe can serve about 6-8. If serving this at a regular meal with maybe only one other side, this might only feed 4-6 people.

Substitutions

I've only tried this with the ingredients listed. Different types of sweet potatoes (white, purple, etc.) have different levels of moisture and might not produce the same results.

You can leave out the orange zest and juice if you just want the ginger flavor, or you can leave out the ginger if you just want the orange flavor.

If you want a bit more kick but don't want to add more ginger, add a pinch or two of ground cayenne pepper.

Make ahead

These will keep well in the fridge for up to a week. Reheat in a heat-proof bowl in a low oven until warmed through.

Freezer info

Let them fully cool to room temperature, then transfer them to an airtight container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge. Reheat in a heat-proof bowl in a low oven until warmed through.

Nutrition