Chai-Spiced Sweet Potatoes

The way we treat sweet potatoes in this country is a travesty. A travesty! They’re sweet and delicious on their own, but for some reason we feel the need to add heaps sugar and boatloads of mini-marshmallows to them. It’s just not necessary!

My husband had his heart set on sweet potato casserole for Thanksgiving, but I wanted to make something a little more virtuous. Rather than steaming or boiling the potatoes, as you do with many sweet potato casseroles, I baked them in the oven. Does this take more time? Yes! Is it worth it? Absolutely! By baking the potatoes, they caramelize and get even sweeter, so you don’t need to add tons of sugar to them–just a touch will do. Rather than going the traditional cinnamon route, I added chai spices and vanilla coconut milk. These chai-spiced sweet potatoes are sweet and perfectly spiced without overdoing it–I promise, you won’t miss the marshmallows.

Chai-Spiced Sweet Potatoes

Mashed sweet potatoes perfectly spiced with the flavors of chai and a touch of brown sugar.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Yield: 4

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. sweet potatoes, pierced with fork
• 1/4 c. vanilla non-dairy milk (I used Silk coconut milk)
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp. ground cardamom
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and bake in oven for about an hour, until tender. Allow to cool slightly.
2. Remove skin from potatoes. Mash in a large bowl with a potato masher or ricer. Stir in vanilla milk, brown sugar and spices.