Helping you prepare healthy foods in a hurry

Alice Henneman, MS, Registered Dietitian and Extension Educator
University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension in Lancaster County

Make Quick Work of Mashing Sweet Potatoes with a Potato Ricer

Sweet potatoes often make the top 20 list of nutritious foods due to their high vitamin A content, vitamin C, complex carbohydrates and fiber. They provide potassium, and are low in fat and sodium. And all for about 130 calories in one medium sweet potato.

Make quick work of mashing sweet potatoes by using a potato ricer. If you've never seen a ricer, it sort of looks like a giant garlic press. The only other ingredients you need in this version of mashed sweet potatoes are orange juice and cinnamon:

Wash outside skins of sweet potatoes under clean, running water. Rub briskly -- scrubbing with a clean brush or hands -- to remove dirt and surface microorganisms. Don’t use soap or detergent.
Bake sweet potatoes in your microwave according to the directions that come with your oven. For best results, choose uniform-size sweet potatoes so they bake at the same rate. Before baking, pierce washed sweet potatoes with a fork to allow steam to escape as they are heated.
Cut baked sweet potatoes horizontally into 2 to 3 sections, depending on the length of the potato. Lift and move sweet potatoes with tongs to prevent burning your fingers.
Place sections with the cut end down, one at a time, in the ricer.
Press down on ricer to push the sweet potato through the holes, leaving the skin behind.
Remove the skin and repeat for each section.
Mix in a little orange until the desired consistency. Season to taste with cinnamon.
If mashed potatoes have cooled more than you like, reheat them briefly in the microwave.

Return to Cook It Quick Main Menu

Sign Up for COOK IT QUICK! Updates
This site is updated about once a month. Sign up here if you'd like us to e-mail you when we add new material.

Developed By:

Alice C. Henneman, MS, RD
Extension Educator
University of Nebraska
Cooperative Extension in Lancaster County

Fax: (402) 441-7148
Phone: (402) 441-7180
E-Mail: ahenneman1@unl.edu
Web site: lancaster.unl.edu/food

Use Of These Materials:

You may reproduce these materials for educational purposes but not for sales purposes. You're also welcome to link to "Cook It Quick" from your website. Please credit: COOK IT QUICK!, University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension (lancaster.unl.edu/food/ciq.htm)

Use of commercial and trade names does not imply approval or constitute endorsement by the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension. Nor is criticism implied of products not mentioned.

For more information about preparing healthy meals, contact your local University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension Office; for the location of the office nearest you, click here. For a listing of Cooperative Extension Offices throughout the United States, click here.

Address: 444 Cherrycreek Road, Lincoln, NE 68528-1507, Phone: 402-441-7180

University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension educational programs abide with the nondiscrimination policies of the University of Nebraska and the United States Department of Agriculture.