Sweet Potato Recipes You Should Try During The Quarantine

Last time, we wrote about easy quarantine recipes using canned goods. And while we’ll forever stan the convenience of these goods, we acknowledge that canned goods aren’t always the most nutritious option. This is why we’ve decided to come up with this hearty list of sweet potato recipes!

Also read: Craving Cookies and Bread? These 15 Shops Have Got You Covered!

Why sweet potato recipes?

Sweet potato, or kamote, is now one of the most recommended ingredients for the quarantine as it’s chock-full of nutrients. It’s packed with fibre and protein, and it also contains vitamins A, C, B6, and more! Its nutrients keep our blood pressure in check, and its antioxidants also help us prevent chronic disease.

This quarantine period, it’s especially important to stock up on kamote. Not only does it last for weeks — even months when kept refrigerated! — it also improves our eye health and our brain functions. Rumour has it that it also has weight loss benefits, but we can’t really vouch for that because we’ve been stuffing ourselves with too many calories while working from home.

5 surprisingly easy sweet potato recipes

1. Kamote doughnuts

We’re sure we’re not the only ones missing the original Krispy Kreme doughnuts. When I stumbled upon this recipe on the Instagram feed of my friend, Kat Lee, I hurried to our kitchen to try it.

Kat cooked this using all vegan ingredients. Since we didn’t have coconut milk available, I opted to use regular milk instead. We also had only two pieces of kamote left then, so I added in one piece of saba, as my cousin suggested. This was truly one of the most satisfying healthy Pinoy recipes I’ve ever tried; paired with coffee and cinnamon sticks, it was heavenly!

Ingredients

Makes: 12 mini doughnuts

For doughnut

1. 3-4 medium-sized sweet potatoes*, mashed
2. ¾ all-purpose flour
3. ½ tsp baking powder
4. 3-4 tbsp milk
5. ½ salt
6. Oil, for deep frying

For glaze

1. ¼ cup milk
2. ¼ cup sugar

Steps

For doughnut

1. Mix in all the ingredients until batter is smooth. 
2. Knead and shape into dough balls. Cut out doughnut holes using your fingers.
3. Deep fry.

For glaze

1. In a saucepan, mix in milk and sugar. Bring to a boil.
2. Add in the doughnut. Heat until the glaze crystallises.
3. Serve.

Optional: Top with cinnamon sugar.

2. Kamote shawarma

We couldn’t exactly understand why millennials have been baking bread during these hard times, but we’re all for it anyway. For those of us without ovens, no-bake bread, like flatbread (roti) has become the ultimate favourite. 

I’ve seen flatbread multiple times on my feed, so I decided to try it out, too. I wanted to whip up a more nutritious version of flatbread, using kamote and flour. And because we’re running out of rice, I decided to use this to substitute our dinner carbohydrates.

After successfully creating flatbread with my cousin, we decided to go all out and recreate Turks’ shawarma. I’m proud to report that we did a really good job at it! 

Ingredients

Makes: 8 servings

For the flatbread

1. 1 large sweet potato, mashed
2. 1 cup all-purpose flour

For the shawarma

1. 500g ground meat
2. ¼ cup of soy sauce
3. 2 tbsp brown sugar
4. A pinch of black pepper
5. ½ cucumber, diced
6. 2 pcs tomato, diced
7. ½ onion, diced
8. Optional: 2 tsp taco seasoning

For the garlic sauce

1. ½ cup of water
2. 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
3. 2 cups all-purpose cream
4. 2 tbsp cornstarch
5. Salt and pepper to taste

Steps

For the flatbread

1. Mix sweet potato and flour to form a sticky dough.
2. Knead and circle eight dough balls.
3. Roll until each piece is thin and flat.
4. In a heated pan, fry each side for around two minutes.

For the garlic sauce

1. Bring hot water to a boil.
2. Add garlic and garlic powder.
3. Simmer for about five minutes.
4. Stir in the all-purpose cream. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Add cornstarch and stir constantly until the sauce thickens.

For the shawarma

1. Marinate the meat in soy sauce, brown sugar, pepper, and taco seasoning.
2. Fry in medium heat until cooked.
3. Serve as flatbread filling with cucumber, tomato, and onions.
4. Top with garlic sauce.

Optional: Add hot sauce and cheddar cheese.

3. Kamote delight

It’s no secret: Our COVID-19-induced anxiety has been begging us to devour more sweets than we normally do. But, too much sugar doesn’t only do us harm physically; it also takes a toll on our mental health. In fact, health practitioners have seen that the consumption of too much unprocessed sugar can lead to an increase in frustrations, worries, and sadness. Certainly, now is not a good time for more of that!

While this recipe from Pinoy Recipe includes sugar, its sweetness definitely leans more on our beloved kamote. So if your sweet tooth just needs more dessert, we highly recommend fixing yourself up some kamote delight — you know, instead of ordering yet another piece of cake.

Ingredients

Makes: 3 servings

1. 2 cups of sweet potatoes, mashed
2. ½ cup sugar
3. ¼ cup condensed milk
4. 3 tbsps margarine or butter
5. Optional: grated cheese

Steps

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt margarine or butter. Add in the sugar and condensed milk.
2. Add mashed sweet potato and mix until thick.
3. Once cooled, spread butter or margarine over the mixture.
4. Optional: Top with grated cheese.
5. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
6. Serve chilled.

4. Kamote balls

If you’re looking for the quickest and easiest dish in this list of sweet potato recipes, then this recipe from Yummy Kitchen must be it. You can make these kamote balls any time you’re craving for a quick dessert. Plus, you can also play up their flavours with a variety of sauces and dips! (Our favourite dip to go with this? Melted Nutella!)

Ingredients

Makes: 25 kamote balls

1. ½ kg sweet potatoes, mashed
2. ½ cup condensed milk
3. ½ cup all-purpose flour
4. ¼ cup cornstarch
5. 1 tsp baking powder
6. A pinch of salt
7. Oil for deep frying

Steps

1. Mix together mashed sweet potatoes, condensed milk, and salt.
2. Add in all-purpose flour and cornstarch. Knead and add baking powder.
3. Form the dough into small balls.
4. Deep fry in low-medium heat.
5. Serve with a chocolate dip or any sauce of choice.

5. Cheesy kamote buchi

After my mother learned about my new kamote obsession, she forwarded me a photo of a cheesy kamote buchi. It looked so good and promising that I had to look it up. Lo and behold, Yummy Kitchen featured this easy buchi recipe that I’m super excited to try. *crossing my fingers that all-purpose flour will work with this*

Ingredients

1. ½ cup sweet potatoes, mashed
2. 500g glutinous rice flour
3. 1 ½ cup of sugar
4. 1 tbsp salt
5. ¼ cup sesame seeds
6. Cheddar cheese, cubed
7. 3 cups of water
8. Oil for deep frying

Steps

1. Mix together flour and mashed sweet potatoes. 
2. In a separate bowl, combine sugar and hot water. Mix until the sugar is dissolved. Slowly, combine with the flour and mashed sweet potatoes. Knead until smooth.
3. Scoop a tablespoon and roll into dough balls. Flatten the middle part and place the cheese in the centre. Fold the dough into a ball.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together 2 tbsps of glutinous rice flour and 2 tbsp of water. Use this mixture as an adhesive for the sesame seeds. 
5. Coat the balls in the water mixture, then in sesame seeds.
6. Deep fry over low heat. 

Also read: 10 Coffee Recipes You Can Easily Master at Home

We’re loving all these sweet potato recipes, but if we had to choose, we’d definitely have another kamote shawarma! Why don’t you try these out and let us know your favourites, too? Don’t forget to share your successful kamote dishes with us and tag us on Instagram at @tripzillaph!

Featured image credit: Louis Hansel @shotsoflouis| Unsplash.