So, my family? We are a sweet potato family. Our kids love ’em (more than regular white potatoes!). Our babies? They turn a twinge orange from all the sweet potatoes. Isla Jane is packing them away these days (We are already concerned about our grocery bill when they get to be teenagers because they.eat.so.much.food…and they are 3 and 8 months). Good news. Sweet potatoes are not pricey. Plus, we like to not eat grains all the time and avoid gluten most of the time, so sweet potatoes make a quick and easy side dish year round for us, really, but this time of year, especially!
It is the week before Thanksgiving and my “ice breaker” question for my students this week has been, “What is your favorite Thanksgiving food?” Sweet potatoes/yams have been mentioned…usually with the traditional marshmallows. (Why is that a thing? But it is…it’s like pie before pie…pre-pie?)
Anyway, if you’re looking to lighten up your Thanksgiving menu and want to keep the traditional foods around without all the excess sugar, try these sweet potatoes! 
They are easy peasy. Or, you can just try them with an easy weeknight dinner. We had some chicken in the Instant Pot and a simple apple spinach salad. Delish.
I like my cast iron skillet for these sweet potatoes because it helps them brown up a bit on the outside. I took forever to “splurge” and buy a cast iron skillet. And then I realized that this was probably the cheapest pan in my kitchen, not hard to clean, and was, in general, pure awesomeness. So, ask Santa to throw this one in his sack for you (He will thank you for the back workout…I never said it was lightweight). Of course, this recipe works just as well in a regular pan, too. And, yes, you could roast these in the oven instead, but sometimes we need dinner fast, and I want to take the time to preheat the oven.
And now, onto the recipe…
- 3-4 medium sweet potatoes
- 2 T. butter
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- ½ tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 T. maple syrup
- Wash and peel the sweet potatoes with a vegetable peeler.
- Dice into half inch cubes.
- Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat (if not using cast iron, you may need to bump the heat up to medium high).
- Melt the butter in the skillet.
- Add the sweet potatoes, and stir to coat in butter.
- Stir occasionally, allowing sweet potatoes to brown a bit on all sides.
- Once sweet potatoes have browned, turn down the heat (to medium/medium low) and add salt, pepper, cayenne, and cinnamon.
- Allow the sweet potatoes to cook until soft, stirring occasionally (about 15-20 minutes).
- Once the sweet potatoes have almost completely cooked, add the maple syrup to the pan and stir to coat.
- Taste, adjusting for seasoning if necessary.
- Remove from heat and serve.
Did you try this recipe? Lemme know!! (Comment below!)
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