Vanilla Whipped Sweet Potatoes [Paleo & Gluten-Free]
With Thanksgiving coming up my mind is running wild with all the amazing side dishes I could make. Side dishes are my favorite part of Thanksgiving and I have a tendency to want to make as many as possible - traditional side dishes, non-traditional side dishes, experimental side dishes. This Thanksgiving my mind is going a little insane with all the ideas for sweet potato side dishes. Sweet potatoes might be one of my favorite foods and they really shine during Thanksgiving. While I keep coming back to the idea of doing a big batch of these individual scalloped sweet potatoes, my husband has convinced me to keep it simple for this Thanksgiving with some delicious vanilla whipped sweet potatoes.
You see my dear husband thinks that with us hosting our first Thanksgiving at our house I may have a tendency to go a bit overboard. Maybe not plan my time too well, or make a proper oven schedule, and maybe try to experiment a bit too much. I think he's a little insane to think this, but between you and me - he might be a little right. Just a little.
Which is why it is key to have an easy and delicious side dish in your Thanksgiving arsenal. These vanilla whipped sweet potatoes are an elegant side dish, despite their inability to be photogenic. They are simple to make and won't take up any oven space on the big day (if you bake the sweet potatoes the day ahead) and they will still impress your guests.
The idea for these came about after tasting the most delicious sweet potatoes at a favorite restaurant of ours and I thought to myself why not replicate this delicious concoction. These sweet potatoes involve minimal ingredients, but pack a big punch. The food processor is key to get the proper whipped texture and use a real vanilla bean. See those little black specks? That's the vanilla bean magic right there.
Vanilla Whipped Sweet Potatoes
Serves 4-6 (recipe doubles easily)
2 large sweet potatoes
1-2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean - split and seeds scraped (Get Instructions)
2-4 tablespoons milk of your choice (coconut, almond, regular milk)
1-2 tablespoons coconut sugar or brown sugar (optional)
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Prick sweet potatoes and wrap in tinfoil. Bake sweet potatoes in oven until tender. Time varies depending on size of sweet potatoes. 30-45 minutes.
Cut open baked sweet potatoes and scrape out the flesh of the sweet potatoes and add to the bowl of a food processor. Add vanilla extract and coconut sugar. Cut open the vanilla bean and scrape out the tiny black seeds into the bowl of the food processor. Run food processor and slowly pour in milk until desired consistency is reached.
Serve warm. These can be made the day ahead and be reheated in the microwave, oven, or on the stove on the day that you want to serve them.
Love, Luck, and Happiness! Happy Thanksgiving!