Crispy Sauteed Sweet Potatoes in a Cast Iron
Sauteed sweet potatoes can be deliciously crispy when cooked in a cast-iron skillet. This is a method that I’ve honed over the years. Years of mushy sweet potatoes (almost inedible); years of ruined pans; and years of having absolutely no idea how to get these potatoes CRISPY! I’m hoping that you can avoid all the frustration by learning from my mistakes.
Related: Cast Iron Sourdough Pancakes Recipe
Related: cast iron risotto basmati
- How to make sauteed sweet potatoes
- Tips for making sauteed sweet potatoes crispy
- Free cast iron chicken ebook straight to your inbox
- do sweet potatoes take longer to cook than potatoes?
- Are sweet potatoes Healthier than normal potatoes?
- Sauteed sweet potatoes for breakfast
- Sauteed sweet potatoes for Lunch
- Sauteed sweet potatoes for Dinner
- What flavors go well with sweet potatoes?
- what kind of pan for sauteed sweet potatoes
- how to prepare leftover sauteed sweet potatoes
- Shop my Six Month Meal Plans
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- Print the Sauteed sweet potatoes recipe
- Crispy Sauteed Sweet Potatoes
- Pin it for later – Sauteed sweet potatoes
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How to make sauteed sweet potatoes
Time needed: 15 minutes
How to make sauteed sweet potatoes
- Wash potatoes
Wash the potatoes to get all the dirt off. Let them air dry or dry with a tea towel.
- Dice potatoes
Dice up your potatoes so they are all about the same shape and size. You can leave the skins on. They should be about the size of a quarter (size doesn’t matter as much as uniformity).
- Preheat cast iron skillet
Heat your skillet (with no oil in it yet) on medium high heat for 2 minutes. Your skillet should be well seasoned (see how to do this here).
- Preheat oil
Now add your oil (about 3-4 tbs) and let it heat for about 2 more minutes. Make sure you use a high smoke point oil like avocado or coconut oil.
- Test the oil
To test the oil to see if its hot enough, toss in one diced sweet potato – if it sizzles then its ready – if not, wait another minute or so.
- Add your sweet potatoes
Make sure you don’t overcrowd the cast iron skillet. All the potatoes should fit in a single layer on the pan. You should hear a beautiful sizzle!
- Leave them alone!
Resist the urge to turn the potatoes for at least 3-5 minutes (timing depends on your pan, how large dices are, etc.). Leave them on this side longer than you think you should.
- Test flip
Only flip one sweet potato to see if it has formed a brown crust. If so, you’re good to flip – if not, wait a couple more minutes.
- Flip potatoes
When this side has formed a brown crust – go ahead and flip the potatoes by using a spatula to toss them all around. Put them back in a single layer and make sure the brown side is up now.
- Adjust heat as needed
If your potatoes are releasing a lot of moisture, you might need to increase the heat slightly to help it evaporate more quickly (this ensures you don’t steam the potatoes). If they are browning too quickly, turn the heat down. Play with the heat as you go!
- Flip again
Repeat the flipping process as needed to make sure all sides are brown and crispy. Try to flip as little as possible though until a nice crust has formed around the whole diced potato.
- Season
Save seasoning your potatoes until the very end. Salt releases moisture in your potatoes and moisture will steam your potatoes rather than make them crispy. Season with whatever sounds good to you. I like salt and cumin. Or garlic salt.
- Remove from pan and enjoy!
Scoop the potatoes out of the pan and serve them up. They will be very hot so make sure you let them cool before devouring!
Learn how to make einkorn sourdough tortillas in a cast iron skillet
Tips for making sauteed sweet potatoes crispy
- Uniformity – Your sweet potato dices should be uniform in size and shape.
- Start with a well-seasoned cast iron skillet. – See my post about how to season a cast iron here.
- Preheat skillet and oil – make sure your skillet is preheated before adding oil and then oil is preheated before adding potatoes. Don’t skip this step – it’s very important for making your sweet potatoes crispy when sauteeing.
- Don’t overcrowd the cast iron skillet – make sure your potatoes are in a single layer on your skillet. If you need to make 2 batches do this – it’s worth it to ensure your potatoes are crispy.
- Make sure the heating element touches the whole pan. – If there are areas of the pan (like the outer edges) that don’t get heated all the way, that’s where your sweet potatoes will stick. Use a smaller pan if needed.
- Very little flipping – I know it’s tempting to want to flip the potatoes so they don’t burn. But flipping too much prevents a crust from forming.
- Adjust heat – You may have to adjust your heat as you go to make sure the potatoes aren’t burning or steaming.
- Season at the end – Salt releases moisture in potatoes, so save this until the end to prevent moisture from steaming your potatoes.
- Start with dry potatoes – Again, avoid added moisture. Let your potatoes dry after washing them. I don’t always do this and you can still have crispy potatoes – but letting them dry increases your chance of crispiness!
Free cast iron chicken ebook straight to your inbox
do sweet potatoes take longer to cook than potatoes?
No, actually they take slightly less time than russets depending on cooking method. Sauteeing sweet potatoes takes a little less time than sauteeing russets.
Related: Cast iron skillet dinner ideas
Are sweet potatoes Healthier than normal potatoes?
Sweet potatoes just have a different nutritional profile than white potatoes. They aren’t necessarily generally healthier. Sweet potatoes have more vitamin A than white potatoes, but white potatoes have more potassium.
Sweet potatoes also have slightly fewer calories and more fiber than white potatoes. The red and purple sweet potatoes are very high in antioxidants which makes them a wonderful free-radical-fighting food.
Sauteed sweet potatoes for breakfast
I like to use sauteed sweet potatoes for breakfast in a couple of ways:
- Put them in a scramble.
- Add them to your breakfast burrito.
- Eat on the side with some sauerkraut!
Sauteed sweet potatoes for Lunch
- Add them to a nourish bowl.
- Use them in a hash.
- Or just have them as a side dish to some type of protein! Here’s my free ebook on how to cook chicken in a cast iron skillet.
Sauteed sweet potatoes for Dinner
- Add them to a skillet meal (this is my favorite!)
- Or just have them as a side dish to some type of protein! Here’s my free ebook on how to cook chicken in a cast iron skillet.
What flavors go well with sweet potatoes?
- Salt – Keep it simple by just using a little salt! Let the sweetness of the sweet potatoes speak for itself.
- Garlic salt – this gives the potatoes a sweet/savory vibe that is absolutely delish.
- Cumin – my personal fav. it makes the sweet potatoes nice and smokey. Just cumin and a little salt is perfect.
what kind of pan for sauteed sweet potatoes
Use a well seasoned cast iron pan to saute sweet potatoes. The cast iron helps to form a nice brown crust around the outside of your sweet potatoes.
how to prepare leftover sauteed sweet potatoes
To ensure the sauteed sweet potatoes stay crispy even when reheating either bake them at 325 for 20 minutes to reheat, or put them back in your cast iron skillet over medium heat until they’re heated.
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Print the Sauteed sweet potatoes recipe
Crispy Sauteed Sweet Potatoes
Equipment
- Cast iron skillet
- Large chef's knife
- Wooden cutting board
- Metal spatula
Ingredients
- 3 small sweet potatoes (or 2 large)
- 4 tbsp oil high smoke point
- 2 tsp salt (or other desire seasoning)
Instructions
- Dice up your potatoes so they are all about the same shape and size. You can leave the skins on. They should be about the size of a quarter (size doesn't matter as much as uniformity).
- Heat your skillet (with no oil in it yet) on medium high heat for 2 minutes. Your skillet should be well seasoned (see how to do this here).
- Now add your oil (about 3-4 tbs) and let it heat for about 2 more minutes. Make sure you use a high smoke point oil like avocado or coconut oil.
- To test the oil to see if its hot enough, toss in one diced sweet potato – if it sizzles then its ready – if not, wait another minute or so.
- Make sure you don't overcrowd the cast iron skillet. All the potatoes should fit in a single layer on the pan. You should hear a beautiful sizzle!
- Resist the urge to turn the potatoes for at least 3-5 minutes (timing depends on your pan, how large dices are, etc.). Leave them on this side longer than you think you should.
- Only flip one sweet potato to see if it has formed a brown crust. If so, you're good to flip – if not, wait a couple more minutes.
- When this side has formed a brown crust – go ahead and flip the potatoes by using a spatula to toss them all around. Put them back in a single layer and make sure the brown side is up now.
- If your potatoes are releasing a lot of moisture, you might need to increase the heat slightly to help it evaporate more quickly (this ensures you don't steam the potatoes). If they are browning too quickly, turn the heat down. Play with the heat as you go!
- Repeat the flipping process as needed to make sure all sides are brown and crispy. Try to flip as little as possible though until a nice crust has formed around the whole diced potato.
- Save seasoning your potatoes until the very end. Salt releases moisture in your potatoes and moisture will steam your potatoes rather than make them crispy. Season with whatever sounds good to you. I like salt and cumin. Or garlic salt.
- Scoop the potatoes out of the pan and serve them up. They will be very hot so make sure you let them cool before devouring!
Video
Notes
- Uniformity – Your sweet potato dices should be uniform in size and shape.
- Start with a well seasoned cast iron skillet. – See my post about how to season a cast iron here.
- Preheat skillet and oil – make sure your skillet is preheated before adding oil and then oil is preheated before adding potatoes. Don’t skip this step – it’s very important for making your sweet potatoes crispy when sauteeing.
- Don’t overcrowd cast iron skillet – make sure your potatoes are in a single layer on your skillet. If you need to make 2 batches do this – it’s worth it to ensure your potatoes are crispy.
- Make sure heating element touches the whole pan. – If there are areas of the pan (like the outer edges) that don’t get heated all the way, that’s where your sweet potatoes will stick. Use a smaller pan if needed.
- Very little flippage – I know it’s tempting to want to flip the potatoes so they don’t burn. But flipping too much prevents a crust from forming.
- Adjust heat – You may have to adjust your heat as you go to make sure the potatoes aren’t burning or steaming.
- Season at the end – Salt releases moisture in potatoes, so save this until the end to prevent moisture from steaming your potatoes.
- Start with dry potatoes – Again, avoid added moisture. Let your potatoes dry after washing them. I don’t always do this and you can still have crispy potatoes – but letting them dry increases your chance of crispiness!
Pin it for later – Sauteed sweet potatoes
About Me
Looks delicious! I LOVE a good crispy potato, never thought of using sweet potatoes!
Thank you! Try the sweets!
Thank you Julie! 🙂
These look delicious! I can relate to ruining pans after trying to bake them in the oven. I started just baking them instead, but I love your method. Thank you for sharing can’t wait to try them out.
Such a great recipe. This is absolutely delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much Allison!
Thanks for all these tips! I struggle with cutting uniformly, and being patient enough not to flip them too much. I’ll have to work harder at it because these look yummy! Thanks for the recipe.
You’re welcome! The uniformity doesn’t have to be perfect, but it does help so they all cook similarly. Watch my video and you’ll see how I chop them. 🙂