Sweet Potato Puree with Roasted Garlic and Orange

Allow me to introduce you to what will be come your new favorite fall and winter side dish. This Sweet Potato Puree with Roasted Garlic and Orange has a gorgeous texture and flavor that can play a supporting role to so many of your cooler weather favorites, but be anything but boring. It’s earthy yet bright and some of the best of the season.

Although I eat sweet potatoes year round, I always get excited for root vegetable season. To me, it signifies that comfort food season has arrived.

Roast them, sauté them, boil them, steam them, fry them, braise them, air fry them, pressure cook them – they are just so incredibly versatile. And that’s nothing to say about how well they pair with so many other things, often making them the perfect side dish.

But truth be told, roasting them is always my favorite – that flavor and texture is nearly impossible to beat!

And that brings me back to my sweet potato puree with roasted garlic and orange.

I personally love this sweet potato puree because it is made from just a few simple ingredients and boasts such rich flavor. Add to that a smooth consistency and creamy texture and you’ve got one of my favorite side dishes.

I first made this recipe for a Thanksgiving dinner years ago, and it has graced our table nearly every year since.

Wondering what to serve this with? I’ve got the perfect dish – try this Pork Tenderloin with Blackberry Gastrique!

Recipe Ingredients

You’ll need the following ingredients to make this sweet potato puree:

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

The ingredients to make this sweet potato puree are easy to find and readily available at most any grocery store.

Here are a few ingredient notes:

Sweet potatoes: There are more varieties of sweet potatoes than you can count on both hands, believe it or not! Any of them will work in this recipe, though some are starchier in content than others, which will make for a thicker and more dense texture. This would likely require more butter and perhaps, liquid, to loosen them up. I recommend using regular old sweet potatoes that you find at your supermarket. I used a combination of jewel and red garnet sweet potatoes because that’s what I had on hand. If you’re interested in learning more about sweet potato varieties, check out this article.

Garlic: A whole head of garlic sounds like a lot, I know! But trust me when I tell you that it adds such a nice mellow earthiness to the puree – it’s in the background and is so lovely.

Orange: If you didn’t know before that sweet potato and orange is a first rate flavor pairing, you do now! This recipe only calls for the zest of the orange, as it packs the most flavor punch, and the sweet potatoes are plenty moist with their own water content. If you don’t have an orange on hand, you could substitute lemon zest for brightness.

Butter: I always call for unsalted butter in my recipes, because I think it’s easier to control the seasoning. That said if you substitute salted butter, that is fine. Just know that you may need to adjust how much salt you add to the recipe.

Let’s Make This Sweet Potato Puree with Roasted Garlic and Orange Together: STEP BY STEP

Steps 1 & 2:

Begin by pricking the sweet potatoes all over with a fork and placing them on a sheet pan.

Next, cut the top 1/3 of the head of garlic off and place the two halves on a piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle with olive oil and then gather the aluminum foil forming a tightly sealed packet. Place it on the sheet pan with the sweet potatoes and roast at 375 degrees until tender when pierced with the blade of a knife — about one hour.

Steps 3 & 4:

Open the foil packet to let it cool and slice open the sweet potatoes to release steam and cool.

When cool enough to handle, squeeze the soft cloves of garlic from the head into a large bowl and smash them with a fork. Then, add the butter to the garlic.

Steps 5 & 6:

Scoop the flesh from the sweet potatoes and pass them through a ricer or a food mill into the bowl of roasted garlic and butter.

Finally, add the zest of the orange and the salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly and taste to see if it needs more seasoning.

What Is the Best Way to Keep This Sweet Potato Puree Warm?

I’m SO GLAD you asked this question! This is one of my favorite tips to pass along after working in restaurants over the years.

Once your puree is finished, cover your bowl as tightly as you can (no steam should be able to escape) with plastic wrap and then you will want to set up a double boiler. To do this, grab a small saucepan and add a few inches of water. Place it on a back burner and bring it to a simmer.

Once it has reached a simmer, turn the burner as low as it will go and place your bowl of puree on top. You can hold it here as you prepare the rest of your meal – whether it’s a weeknight dinner or a holiday dinner.

By wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap, the steam cannot escape, and instead forms condensation. This condensation collects inside the plastic wrap and keeps the puree moist. When you go to serve it, remove the plastic wrap, give it a good stir and transfer to your serving dish.

Storage & Reheating

STORAGE: This potato puree stores really well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

REHEATING: You can reheat this puree in a few different ways. First, place it in a saucepan on the stovetop over medium-low heat until it is warmed through. Second, place it in an oven-proof pan and heat it in the oven or toaster oven at 350 degrees until warmed through. Last, place it in a microwave and reheat in one minute intervals until heated through.

FREEZING: This puree freezes well. Place it in an airtight container and freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator up to 2 days before you plan to use it.

Recipe Card

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