Food: The Best Ways to Use Up Leftover Sweet Potato

Got leftover sweet potatoes in your fridge? Say you meal-prepped a few sweet potatoes and don't know what to do with the extras, or you’re in the days after the Thanksgiving rush and are living in Leftover Land. You're in luck—sweet potatoes are an excellent, flavor-packed base for dishes like pancakes, waffles, salads, soups, and of course, pie. That’s right, they’re more than welcome at any meal of the day, and we’re here to help you navigate the sweet, orange road ahead.

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We’ve compiled a stacked and loaded compendium of exciting ways to repurpose these delicious, satisfying, beloved root veggies. From the classic to the unexpected, and whether your sweet potatoes are mashed or baked or boiled or steamed, these leftover sweet potato recipes are sure to satisfy everyone at your table.

You're Probably Overcooking Your Corn

Hello, it’s me, your friendly internet corn truther, here to tell you that you are probably overcooking your corn on the cob. If you’ve been reading me for any real length of time, you know that I love to shout about how you don’t even have to cook corn, but sometimes people like their corn hot, so that the butter melts (and I get that). © Photo: elenamazur (Shutterstock) The trouble is that most corn on the cob “recipes” or methods tell you to cook your corn for far too long. Corn enthusiasts have been shouting about this since 1992, yet people refuse to listen.

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Erinrae was left with some extra sweet potatoes the other night and took to the Hotline to ask for your best ideas for repurposing them. As always, you came through with a bunch of brilliant ideas, inspiring all of us to step up our "bestover" game:

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For breakfast:

• LE BEC FIN suggests a riff on baked eggs, instructing: “In ramekins or muffins tins, put a layer of mashed sweet potatoes, top with cooked bacon, then grated sharp cheddar, and, finally, an egg. Bake as you would baked eggs."
• Drbabs votes for making sweet potato bread or muffins.
• Carlito suggests adding the mashed potato into a bowl of oatmeal.
• Lindsay-Jean Hard offers a recipe for using them in scones.
• Our editors love sweet potato in a smoothie.
• Emma's Big Little sweet potato yogurt is a slam-dunk.

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For lunch or dinner:

American classics you can easily make at home

Get inspiration from these meals that can be created in the comfort of your own kitchen without sacrificing the flavor.

• Nancy suggests using the leftover sweet potatoes on a salad. Anne7hall agrees and thinks that a soft-boiled egg would be a great addition.
• Mblossom uses them in quesadillas: “I mash the baked sweet potato with some cumin, coriander, and salt, then spread it on the tortilla, add black beans, plenty of Monterey Jack cheese, some cilantro, and maybe some jalapeños.”
• Fritters and croquettes are popular solutions—Pegeen, dinner at ten, and ADM are all fans.
• Peter says these mashed sweet potatoes are one of his favorite Food52 recipes of all time.

For dessert:

• Deborah Madison's flan is an inventive, delicious recipe.
• These Genius-grade sweet potato cookies are perfect for leftover steamed sweet potatoes.
• Got leftover sweet potato pureé? Meet your favorite new brownies.
• A baked sweet potato is the secret to this beautiful rolled cake.

More Leftover Sweet Potato Recipes

• Sweet Potato Waffles, Sweet or Savory
• Sweet Potato and Pancetta Gratin
• Sweet Potato Pie
• Sweet Potato, Zucchini & Chickpea Salad
• Sweet Potato Soup with Feta and Za'atar Oil
• Sweet Potato and Chickpea Cakes
• Sweet Potato Gnocchi
• Sweet Potato and Cauliflower Soup

What's your favorite use for leftover sweet potatoes? Tell us in the comments or join the conversation over on the Hotline!

First photo by James Ransom, second photo by Mark Weinberg, final photo by Linda Xiao