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Knowing how to boil sweet potatoes will make your time in the kitchen so much easier! We’ll show you step-by-step how to get foolproof, perfect potatoes that you can use as the base for sweet potato casserole, whipped sweet potatoes, and more.

Overhead view of a large white bowl of cubed sweet potatoes, showing how to boil sweet potatoes for the holidays.

What Makes This Method So Good

Boiling sweet potatoes is so much faster than roasting them. While I love a good roasted sweet potato, that method can take a while… We’re talking over an hour for especially large spuds to cook through completely. Boiled sweet potatoes, though? 20 minutes, tops.
Knowing how to boil sweet potatoes makes meal prep a breeze! You can have a big batch of potatoes ready to go and use it as needed, in different ways, throughout the week. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge up to 5 days.

What We Love About Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are super nutritious. They’re high in fiber, vitamin A (which is important for vision and brain function), vitamin C, and more! They also have antioxidants that are great for immune system support, and studies have also shown that they promote a healthy gut.

Chef’s Tips

Sweet potatoes – to peel, or not to peel? Honestly, that one is completely up to you. I usually always peel mine, but the skin tastes good and is perfectly safe to eat, so you certainly don’t have to. If you decide not to peel them, be sure you wash and scrub them very well before cooking. Since sweet potatoes grow in the dirt, they carry some of that dirt with them right to your kitchen.
It’s important that you chop the sweet potatoes into evenly-sized cubes before boiling them. 1-inch or 2-inch cubes are fine so long as they’re all uniform. Unevenly-sized cubes will cook unevenly, giving you a mix of mushy, overcooked sweet potatoes and dense, undercooked sweet potatoes.
Don’t rely just on the cook time. To really know if your sweet potatoes are ready, start checking the doneness by poking them with a fork after they’ve been boiling for 10 minutes. If the fork slides easily through the center of the potato, you’re good to go.
Unlike pasta, you don’t want to add raw potatoes to already-boiling water. The hot water would cause the potatoes to cook from the outside in toward the center. That means that, by the time the centers are fully cooked, the outsides are overdone. By bringing the water to a boil with the potatoes, the potatoes cook slowly and evenly.

Overhead view of a large white bowl of cubed, boiled sweet potatoes on a table with a white tablecloth.

Our Favorite Sweet Potato Recipes

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5 from 1 vote

How To Boil Sweet Potatoes

Prep: 15

Cook: 20

Total: 35

Learn how to boil sweet potatoes perfectly with these easy instructions!

Cheryl Malik

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8 servings

Ingredients

▢ 3 pounds sweet potatoes washed, peeled, cubed
▢ cold water enough to cover potatoes
▢ 1 big pinch salt

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Equipment

vegetable scrub brush or dish towel, optional
Cutting board
potato peeler
Sharp knife
Large pot no lid needed
Fork
Colander

Instructions

Using vegetable brush, dish towel, or hands, scrub sweet potatoes under running water, removing any surface dirt. Carefully peel sweet potatoes, then chop potatoes into small, evenly-sized cubes.
Place cubed potatoes in large pot. Fill pot with enough water that waterline rests 1" above top of potatoes.
Heat pot over medium-high heat. When water begins to boil, immediately reduce heat to medium. Simmer potatoes, uncovered, 10 to 20 minutes, or until potatoes can easily be pierced with tines of fork.
Once potatoes are tender, carefully remove pot from heat. Pour water and potatoes into colander to drain. Use boiled sweet potatoes as desired.

Notes

If your pot is too full or heavy for you to comfortably pour the hot water and potatoes into a colander, you can use a slotted spoon to remove the potatoes from the pot instead.
Cook time will vary depending on the size of the sweet potato cubes. Smaller cubes will cook faster than larger ones, so try to keep them all as even as possible.

Nutrition Information

Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

How To Boil Sweet Potatoes

What Makes This Method So Good

What We Love About Sweet Potatoes

Chef’s Tips

Our Favorite Sweet Potato Recipes