Healthy Sweet Potato Side Dish Recipes

Instead of loading up this comfort food side with tons of brown sugar and marshmallows, we have turned to sweet spices, vanilla and inherently sweet dried fruit to enhance the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes. A topping of pecans and pepitas replaces traditional marshmallow topping to keep it healthy and add texture and color for a beautiful casserole.

This scrumptious sweet potato casserole gets fabulous flavor from honey and freshly grated orange zest rather than the traditional stick of butter. To complete the healthy makeover we sprinkle a crunchy pecan streusel spiked with orange juice concentrate over the top. You can save the marshmallows for s'mores.

These easy sweet potato fritters have a crispy crust and a tender middle. The beans are flavored with smoked paprika, but sweet or hot would work well too. To give it a Mexican-inspired twist, use chili powder as the spice instead of the paprika.

This sweet potato and turnip mash is fragrant with fresh sage.

Southwestern spices coat slices of sweet potato that are baked, smashed and then broiled to create a light, crispy exterior. A sprinkle of flaky sea salt finishes the dish.

A delicious tangy-sweet balsamic-and-honey reduction looks dramatic over roasted sweet potato wedges.

These vegan mashed sweet potatoes are made with coconut milk instead of butter. With just a handful of ingredients, this simple side dish is loosely inspired by piele, a Hawaiian dish typically made with sweet potatoes or breadfruit and coconut milk, which gets wrapped in ti leaves and baked in an imu, an in-ground hot rock oven.

Chile powder, cumin and ginger combine to create these spicy mashed sweet potatoes. A touch of maple syrup balances the spice for a twist on a traditional Thanksgiving side dish.

The genius hack in this recipe: topping sweet potatoes with marshmallows while they're still piping hot from the slow cooker yields a baked marshmallow topping that's typical with baked sweet potato casseroles.

This savory spin on sweet potatoes uses earthy herbs and aromatics to help cut through the sweetness of the spuds, creating a beautifully balanced dish. Leaving the skins on helps the sweet potatoes retain some texture after being roasted, but they work just as well peeled. Look for sweet potatoes that are similar in diameter, which will help them cook at the same rate, and try smoked paprika instead of sweet to give them even more of a savory edge.

Sweet potatoes can be eaten raw as well as cooked. Here they star in a sprightly slaw, a quick and light accompaniment for simple poached or steamed fish.

These fun baked sweet potato fries are made with spiralized sweet potatoes and topped with garlic powder and Parmesan cheese for a crunchy, savory snack that's healthy too. You can spiralize the sweet potatoes yourself or pick up a package of sweet potato "noodles" in the produce department of your supermarket to speed up the process even more. Since they're baked instead of fried, they're easier to make and lower in calories than deep-fried sweet potato fries. Serve them along with your favorite beef, turkey or veggie burgers or as a party appetizer that kids and adults will love.

This multicolored galette is a fun twist on the classic dish made with white potatoes. Don't worry if you only have one type of sweet potato, the result will still be beautiful. The bottom bakes to a potato-chip crisp with a caramelly sweetness, while the interior becomes melt-in-your-mouth rich.

We mix Yukon gold and red-skin sweet potatoes with mild leeks in this easy au gratin recipe. The combination of Parmesan and Cheddar makes this dish irresistible.

Boiling the sweet potatoes ahead of time speeds up the grilling process, meaning this crispy and delicious side dish will be on the table in under 30 minutes!

Roasted sweet potatoes are the star of this dinner recipe, which is ready in just one hour. Combining different whole grains, such as wild rice and barley, allows for multiple flavor and nutrition profiles to be displayed in this recipe.

Hungry for fries? Slice potatoes into long thin wedges, toss with a little oil, salt and pepper, and pop them in the oven. They'll crisp to perfection--irresistible.

This healthy mashed sweet potato recipe has just 5 ingredients and is dinner-ready in 20 minutes. Using sweet potatoes for this classic side dish adds color to your plate along with a little sweetness and a boost of Vitamin A. With classic and simple flavors, it can easily be paired with any of your favorite dishes.

Love steak fries? Try these sweet potato wedges with a honey mustard dipping sauce. They're pre-cooked in the microwave, then seasoned with salt and paprika and on your plate after less than 10 minutes under the broiler.

Here, a medley of root vegetables and winter squash are roasted with chermoula (also spelled charmoula), a quintessential Moroccan spice combination. (Any combination will work in this dish; start with about 12 cups of peeled vegetable pieces.) Be sure to peel turnips well; their skin is thicker and more fibrous than other root vegetables'.

Turn refrigerated mashed sweet potatoes into a company-special side dish by combining them with onion, mushrooms and savory seasonings.

Layers of potatoes and sweet potatoes meld into an impressive vegetable “cake” that forms a golden crust during baking. Serve as a vegetarian centerpiece or with roast poultry or pork.

These savory mashed sweet potatoes incorporate flavors of smoked paprika, cayenne and orange zest for a colorful twist on a classic side dish. You can use regular paprika instead of smoked, and can omit the cayenne for a less spicy version.

This favorite holiday side dish gets its sweetness from apples, honey and a pear-not the traditional high-calorie option, with butter, brown sugar and marshmallows.