More stuffed vegetables!
‘Tis the season for stuffing things. And ‘tis the season for sweet potatoes!
If there’s one thing that’s more cozy than a big carby vegetable, it’s a big carby vegetable stuffed with other food items. Roasted sweet potatoes are one of my favorite veggie go-to’s. Stuffing them in either a sweet or savory manner makes for a good hearty side dish or a meal in and of itself. Throw some maple candied pecans and cranberries in your roasted sweet potato, and you’re looking at a healthy holiday side dish.
Oh hey, here’s one for ya: what’s the difference between a yam and a sweet potato?
Prepare for your mind to be blown.
Yams and Sweet Potatoes are both in the root vegetable family, but they are not one and the same. As it turns out, we’ve been using the two terms interchangeably, even though we don’t even see many yams here in the U.S.. Let’s discuss. Purple yams have bright purple flesh with a tough deep purple-y black peel, and are used widely in African cuisine. Chinese yams can grow to be up to 3 feet long (I kid you not), and have a hairy pale beige-colored peel with dark spots. So, candied yams? Yeaaaah, those are, in actuality, sweet potatoes. I’d show you a picture of a yam, but I’ve never even laid eyeballs on one in real life.
I can, however, show you sweet potatoes. They are like so:
Sweet potatoes also come in a white variety, which I showed you in my Beer Bacon Cheddar Apple Celeriac Sweet Potato Soup post. I prefer orange sweet potatoes better for baking because they have a softer texture they taste sweeter. White sweet potatoes are great for soups because they have a mild flavor and are very starchy.
Want to know more about the Yam v. Sweet Potato saga? There’s a back story as to why we’ve been calling sweet potatoes “yams,” so if you’re as curious about root veggies as I, you will find this article on the Difference Between Yams and Sweet Potatoes from the Huffington Post to be absolutely scintillating.
These stuffed sweet potatoes are real simple. While your sweet potatoes are roasting in the oven, you candy up some pecans and dried cranberries in cinnamon, maple syrup, and bourbon. Bourbon, people! Have you ever had bourbon-infused nuts? That’s a train you don’t wanna miss. On their own, the nuts and cranberries are packed with fall flavor. The recipe makes enough to stuff 3 large sweet potatoes, but if you end up with leftover nuts, you can add them to salads, put them on top of your favorite pumpkin-y dessert, stick them in your morning yogurt, or simply snack on them.
Stuff them yams…err…I mean, sweet potatoes.
Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Bourbon Maple Candied Pecans and Cranberries
Ingredients
- 3 large sweet potatoes roasted
- 1.5 cups whole raw pecans
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/8 teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon bourbon
Instructions
Roast the sweet potatoes.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Wash the sweet potatoes well and pat them dry.
- Poke them several times with a fork and wrap them in aluminum foil.
- Place potatoes on a baking sheet and roast them in the oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until juices are seeping out and flesh is very soft (note: depending on the size and thickness of your sweet potatoes, the bake time will vary).
Prepare the Bourbon Maple Candied Pecans and Cranberries
- Add all of the ingredients for the candied pecans to a small non-stick skillet and heat to medium.
- Allow nuts to cook, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid is absorbed, nuts have darkened, and are coated in thick syrup, about 5 to 8 minutes. Note: be sure you monitor the nuts the entire time they are on the stove, because they burn easily!
- Remove the nuts from the heat and set aside until ready to use.
Stuff the sweet potatoes:
- When potatoes have cooled enough to handle, un-wrap them from the foil. Cut a long slit length-wise down the center, and stuff them with desired amount of candied pecans and cranberries.
- Serve with a dollop of whipped cream, sour cream, or plain Greek yogurt.
Oh, I love this season – and stuffin’ stuff.
Heck yea, girl! Let’s meet at a half-way point – New York? Iceland? Spain? – where the heck is half way?! – and stuff all the things!
Unbelievably perfect for this time of year. Different, elegant and easy—–
Thanks so much, Carol! I’m glad you like the stuffed taters. They really do make the most comforting and flavorful side!
Oh my gosh! These look so amazing! I just can’t get enough sweet potatoes right now. So good! And Bourbon Maple Pecans….YES!!
So I’ve changed my mind on the whole root vegetables thing. Because when they’re stuffed with candied pecans and cranberries and BOURBON, I can’t not love them.
Happy stuffing season! All foods should be stuffed, especially with things like bourbon and pecans! I’m still trying to think what I would make with a 3 foot yam!
Tis the season for stuffing my face with these stuffed sweet potatoes! I don’t think I’ve never had a yam? I dooooo know that I love sweet potatoes though!
Not a fan of pecans, even though I’m Texan, so will walnuts work the same way?
Hi Angie,
You can definitely use walnuts! Sounds wonderful. Enjoy!
I love sweet potatoes plain jane, so I can only imagine how yummy this combo is!
Thanks for the recipe!
http://www.playingforeats.com | Carly
Mmm this looks amazing Julia! I’m obsessed with sweet potatoes so this is right up my street!
Very interesting article. Yams and sweet potatoes are totally unrelated, in totally different plant families. They almost couldn’t be more different. The stories I’ve heard were that everything we have are yams and that we’ve never had real sweet potatoes. Live and learn. Thanks for setting the record straight.
This recipe sounds like it would be perfect for Thanksgiving, a pleasant change from the typical candied yams. Just might have to try it.
Sweet potato tastic!!! I love a good root debate and a good sweet stuffed veg!
Bourbon infused nuts?! Wowzas. I need to jump on that train ASAP!
And thank you for the yam clarification. I always get confused with all of the choices so I usually just stick to the orange sweet potatoes. But still, it’s nice to know the difference!
I did know the difference between yams and sweet potatoes, actually! Isn’t that odd that we call them the wrong name in the US? And did you know that California sweetpotatoes are the best kind? It’s true – they are much more flavorful. This looks like a beautiful way to eat them! I love all the nuts!
Holy crap, yes, yes, yes!! I’ll take three, please. Only, Jerry won’t eat them sweet (sooo weird), and neither will Alex, so Stephie and I will take their serving. This will do me for a dinner, thank you very much.
It took me a while to warm up to sweet sweet potatoes as well. Not gonna lie, I was eating off of these things for dessert. Hope you and lil miss Stephie enjoy…I bet the beagles wouldn’t mind if you shared, too 😉
You had me at bourbon maple candied pecans….I’ll be eating them on everything from now on 🙂 Stuffed potatoes are always a winner!
Soooo good. There’s nothing like boozy nuts 😉
These flavors, the bourbon! Perfection!
Thanks, Tiegs! I figured you’d love yerself a hunk o’ stuffed tater 😉