Can you Freeze Sweet Potatoes (And How to)

Sweet potatoes are healthy and nourishing. You can even substitute it for rice or bread. These root crops also have a high satiety value, so you’d feel fuller for longer. Moreover, sweet potatoes are packed with fiber, minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants.

That’s why a lot of weight watchers are incorporating sweet potatoes into their daily intakes. it’s lower in sugar but can still satisfy a sweet tooth. Quite interesting right?

But like other foods and root crops, sweet potatoes can also go bad after some time. To preserve food and lengthen its shelf life, we often freeze it. But can you freeze sweet potatoes? Let’s find out.

What Are Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are tubers or root crops. These are quite high in starch and have a generous amount of carbohydrates. That’s why it’s also considered as an alternative to rice, bread, and

 pasta. 

Sweet potatoes are often confused with yams. But these two tubers are entirely different. Yams have bumpy rough skin, often resembling tree bark. While sweet potatoes often have a reddish or purplish soft skin 

Yams have a more starchy taste when compared to the sweet taste of sweet potatoes, hence the name. And it’s quite difficult to find sweet yams in the United States. More often, you can buy them in specialty stores. 

How Nutritious Are Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are pretty healthy and yummy at the same time. Let’s rundown several advantages of having sweet potatoes for your dinner.

1. Improve insulin sensitivity

For people with diabetes, sweet potato is the best tuber that they can consume. Sweet potatoes can make insulin sensitive for people with diabetes. The glycemic index of boiled sweet potatoes and fried potatoes are lower compared to other tubers. But keep in mind that baking and roasting them can increase it. So if you are diabetic, better sick with boiled and fried sweet potatoes.

And to make healthier french fries, use olive oil instead. Or better yet, pop them in an air fryer.

2. Can help control blood pressure

Sweet Potato can help you control your blood sugar level. This tuber is high in potassium, a mineral that can help you maintain a healthy blood pressure level. Sweet potato can give around 5 % of your daily requirement of potassium.

3. Can improve digestion

Sweet potato is quite high in fiber. So it can help you move and prevent constipation. And since it’s high in fiber, it can also help regulate your blood sugar level. 

4. Lowers cancer risk

Sweet potatoes are high in antioxidants, particularly beta carotene. This can help lower your risk of developing cancer, specifically colorectal cancer. 

5. Can help you feel fuller longer

Sweet potatoes are high in fiber. Hence, it will help you feel fuller longer. That’s why sweet potatoes are perfect alternatives for simple carbohydrates. They can help you lose weight by making you feel fuller. And you won’t feel that deprived since sweet potatoes taste great and you can make an array of low caloric recipes with mashed sweet potatoes, baked sweet potatoes.

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6. Improve eye health

Apart from potassium, vitamin C, and antioxidants, sweet potatoes are also rich in vitamin A. Vitamin A is the vitamin that can protect your eyes. In addition, it can also act as an antioxidant. 

What Is the Best Way to Freeze Sweet Potatoes

The best way to freeze sweet potatoes is by cooking them first. It does take a long time for sweet potatoes to cook no matter if you boil or bake them. That’s why it’s best to cook it in large batches and toss them in the freezer. So you have pre-cooked sweet potatoes ready for any recipe. 

You cannot keep the raw sweet potato in the freezer. It will become tough and will develop a different taste. Also, you cannot let sweet potatoes stay in the cupboard too long. Roots will start to appear and sweet potato leaves will soon sprout. By this time, it’s better to plant them. 

How to Freeze Baked Sweet Potatoes

Baked potatoes are such a treat. You can add cheese, bacon, sour cream, or any topping you want. It’s a comfort meal too. But it can take a lot of time to cook in the oven. 

So freezing sweet potatoes is very convenient. Should you want to eat baked sweet potato for dinner, you just need to reheat. It’s also easy to freeze baked sweet potatoes.

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Get a large tray and lay it with aluminum foil. 
2. Scrub the sweet potatoes and run under tap water to remove debris, soil, and dirt.
3. Poke the sweet potatoes. This will help let the steam out while it is in the oven.
4. Bake the sweet potato for an hour and a half. 
5. Once cooked, remove them from the oven and let them cool at room temperature.
6. Wrap the baked sweet potatoes in foil and toss them in the freezer.

How Freeze Boiled Sweet Potatoes

Frozen boil potatoes are very convenient to use for stews, lentils, and soups. You can also glaze them with brown sugar for a sweet treat.

1. Clean the potatoes first by scrubbing them. Then run them over tap water to rinse off all the dirt, soil, and debris.
2. Cut the potatoes into cubes or squares. You can portion it according to what you need for your next recipe. And always leave the skin on. Potato skin is high in vItamin C, so might as well take advantage of that, unless the recipe states otherwise, it’s easy to peel off the skin.
3. Bring a large pot to boil.
4. Toss the potatoes in the boiling water. Cook for 10- 15 minutes.
5. Lift the sweet potatoes from the water. Let it stand at room temperature. Let them cool first. 
6. Get your freezer bag and start to put in the cooled down boiled potatoes. Remove as much air as you can from the bags. You can use a vacuum sealing system to easily remove all the excess air. Alternatively, you can get out the air from the bag using the straw method.
7. Close the freezer bag and pop them in the freezer.

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How to Freeze Mashed Sweet Potatoes

What can you do when you freeze mashed sweet potato? A lot! You have instant cooked sweet potatoes for pies, puddings, and cakes. You can also make one into bread and biscuits. Mashed sweet potato is a great ingredient for treats and sweets. It’s also easy to freeze mashed sweet potatoes.

1. Bake the sweet potato as you would. 
2. Let cool at room temperature and start to peel off the skin.
3. Put it in a bowl and mash them up. Add a bit of lemon juice to prevent it from oxidizing and turning brown. Add a tsp of lemon juice for every quart of mashed sweet potato.
4. Get your freezer storage bags and pop the mashed sweet potatoes inside. Remove as much air as you can. 

How Do You Thaw Frozen Sweet Potatoes

Now that you have successfully frozen sweet potatoes, how do you thaw them? It’s quite simple.

1. Get the sweet potatoes out of the freezer and place them in the fridge. Let it sit there for an hour.
2. Alternatively, if your fridge is full you can soak them in a bowl of ice water overnight. The cold water will mimic the environment of the fridge.
3. If you are in a hurry, you can microwave them. Choose the defrost setting but keep in mind that doing this might dry out the sweet potatoes a bit. 

More Tips!

1. How long will frozen sweet potatoes keep if stored in the freezer?

Baked or boiled sweet potatoes can last in the freezer for 12 months if properly packed.

2. Is it safe to eat sweet potatoes with freezer burn?

Yes, they’re still safe to eat. They just won’t taste as great.

3. Can you freeze sweet potatoes without cooking

No. freezing sweet potatoes without cooking them is not advisable. Sweet potatoes have a lot of water content, so there’s a need to cook or blanch them before freezing. 

4. Are sweet potatoes available all year round?

Yes, sweet potatoes are pretty much available all year round, with a peak season from August to November. 

5. If you freeze sweet potatoes, will they lose their nutritional value?

No, sweet potatoes will still retain their nutritional value even if you have frozen them.