Can You Freeze Sweet Potatoes

If there’s one vegetable that is superior, it’s easily the sweet potato.

Don’t get us wrong, potatoes are great, but sweet potatoes are the best. They are yummy and versatile and can be enjoyed in so many different ways.

From sweet potato fries to wedges, to mashed and boiled sweet potatoes. You can even have baked sweet potatoes.

They are healthy and delicious, making a great ingredient in any meal and an even better side dish.

But sweet potatoes can be time-consuming to prepare. You may be asking yourself ‘How can I include sweet potatoes in my dinner without having to do all the prep before?’ and the answer is simple, freeze them.

Sweet potatoes freeze really well, so if you want to reduce the prep time for your evening meals you can easily prepare the sweet potatoes well in advance and freeze them. When you want to use them all you have to do is defrost them and you’re good to go. 

So if this seems like a good option to you, follow this guide, and freezing your sweet potatoes will be easy.

How to freeze sweet potatoes

In the case of most foods, freezing is recommended as a way to prolong shelf life above anything else as the consistency of most foods is damaged in the freezer. But this is not the case for sweet potatoes, instead, it is recommended that you freeze sweet potatoes to make life easier for you in the future. 

When you are preparing your sweet potatoes there are three main ways you will choose to serve them. These will likely be as fries, boiled, or baked. 

A form of sweet potato which has become very popular in recent years is sweet potato fries. They’ve gone from being a feature on most restaurants menus to a staple, and rightfully so.

If you choose to freeze your sweet potatoes as fries, the first thing you should do is prepare the potatoes as normal and cook the fries. Once you are sure they have cooked thoroughly you should leave to cool until they reach room temperature.

After cooling you can simply transfer the fries into an airtight container and label with the storage date before freezing for future use. 

Similarly, if you choose to freeze boiled sweet potatoes you should prepare and cook the potatoes the same as you usually do. Once they have cooked, you should leave to cool before peeling and slicing them.

Ensure the potatoes are completely cool before dividing them into portions and transferring into an airtight container. Label the container with the storage date then place it in the freezer until you want them next. 

Finally, if you decide to freeze baked potatoes you should bake them in the oven as usual. Once you are confident that the potatoes have cooled you can either place the whole potato in a freezer bag or chop it and divide it into portions.

You should label the bag with the storage date and place it flat in the freezer.

How to defrost sweet potatoes

The shelf life for sweet potatoes isn’t particularly long, especially once they are cooked. But a frozen, cooked sweet potato will have a shelf life of upwards of 1 month.

When the time comes that you want to eat the sweet potatoes you froze earlier, you have a few options of how to defrost it. 

The first method is the most common defrosting technique and simply involves placing the sweet potato in the fridge. For this method, you should transfer the container holding the frozen sweet potatoes from the freezer into the fridge the night before you want to use them.

You should leave the container overnight and come morning you will have defrosted sweet potatoes that are ready to be reheated and eaten. 

Alternatively, you may decide to defrost the sweet potatoes during the reheating process. This will only make sense if you are planning on eating the potatoes immediately after they are defrosted, and it’s one of the quickest ways to thaw sweet potatoes.

All you need to do is place the frozen sweet potatoes in a frying pan and heat over a low temperature. You should observe the sweet potatoes defrosting and then you can heat them until they are at a good temperature to eat. 

Your final option is adding the frozen sweet potatoes to whatever meal you are cooking. This will not be appropriate if you have frozen sweet potato fries but will work for both baked and boiled sweet potatoes.

This is a quick and easy option if you want to include sweet potatoes in a stew or curry. Simply add the frozen potatoes to the mixture and adjust the cooking time to accommodate the frozen ingredients.

Once cooked the sweet potatoes will be thoroughly defrosted and ready to eat.

Factors to consider SWEET POTATOES

Before you decide to freeze your sweet potatoes there are some factors which you should consider. 

The main one being do you cook the sweet potatoes before freezing or not. It is possible to freeze uncooked potatoes and it’s just as easy, if not easier than freezing cooked sweet potatoes.

As long as you blanch the potatoes for a few minutes before freezing, you can prolong the shelf life of an uncooked potato by up to 6 months if you freeze it. 

You should also consider how you want to eat the sweet potatoes as different formats will be better suited to freezing than others.

While you can freeze baked potatoes you will likely not get the same experience as if it was freshly baked. Whereas the taste and experience of sweet potatoes will be unaffected by using potatoes that have been frozen. 

Finally, you should consider portions when you freeze the potatoes. This is especially important if you are going to be the only person eating them or if you want to reduce waste.

Simply divide the potatoes into separate portions and freeze in separate freezer bags or containers than all in one portion.

Summary

The answer to your question is yes, you can freeze sweet potatoes.

If you decide to do this you should follow the guide supplied above to ensure you make the right decisions along the way and freeze the potatoes in the way that’s best for you.