It’s fall, and that means that I’m working sweet potatoes and pumpkin into everything. Why? They provide a subtle sweetness, a vibrant orange color, and a dose of extra nutrients. And in the case of these Sweet Potato Biscuits, the sweet potatoes keep the biscuits deliciously moist and tender. I think you’ll love these Sweet Potato Biscuits because they’re still super simple to make, and are a fun twist on the usual for your weekend breakfast, or even Thanksgiving dinner.
What do They Taste Like??
They taste like classic biscuits, but with a very subtle earthy sweetness. The small amount of nutmeg in the dough also gives the biscuits a warm, autumn flavor. They’re like regular biscuits, but extra special.
What Do You Serve with Sweet Potato Biscuits?
Because these biscuits are not overwhelmingly sweet, I think they’d go great served in either a sweet or savory meal. They’re great for breakfast, with eggs and sausage, or just smeared with butter and maple syrup (or honey). But they’d also be great as a side dish with a pot roast, chili, pumpkin soup, or even with Thanksgiving dinner.
Can You Freeze Sweet Potato Biscuits?
Absolutely! Biscuits are great for freezing. If you are cooking for yourself and don’t want the challenge of eating ten biscuits in the next few days, feel free to freeze half. You can freeze your sweet potato biscuits either before or after baking.
To freeze before baking, freeze them first on a parchment lined baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag once solid. You can then bake one or more as needed, straight from the freezer. They’ll just need a few extra minutes of bake time.
To freeze after baking, make sure they cool completely to room temperature first. Once cooled, place them in a freezer bag, then toss them in the freezer. They’ll be good in the freezer for about three months.
Do I have to Use a Microwave for the Sweet Potato?
Nope. I used the microwave to cook the sweet potato because it was fast and easy. You can definitely bake the sweet potato, if you like, but that will add about 45 minutes to the time needed to make this recipe (bake 400ºF for about 45 minutes, or until it is soft all the way through). You can also peel, dice, and boil the sweet potato, but keep in mind that this will add a lot more moisture to the biscuit dough, so you may need less milk to make the dough the correct consistency.
Sweet Potato Biscuits
Servings 10Ingredients
- 1 lb. sweet potato (1 cup mashed) ($1.29)
- 2.25 cups all-purpose flour, divided ($0.23)
- 1 Tbsp baking powder ($0.12)
- 1 Tbsp sugar ($0.02)
- 3/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg ($0.02)
- 8 Tbsp butter, frozen (1 stick) ($1.04)
- 1 cup whole milk ($0.32)
Instructions
- Use a fork to prick the skin of the sweet potato several times. Place the sweet potato on a microwave safe plate, then microwave on high for 5 minutes. After five minutes, use the fork to pierce the sweet potato in the thickest part. If it's not very soft all the way through, microwave for an additional 1-2 minutes, or until the center is very soft.
- Carefully remove the sweet potato from the microwave (the plate will be VERY hot). Use a towel to grasp the sweet potato as you cut open the skin and scoop out the flesh. Scoop out one packed cup of sweet potato and place it in a medium bowl. Use the fork to mash the sweet potato until smooth. Set it aside to cool further.
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. In a separate large bowl, combine 2 cups of the all-purpose flour (reserving the last 1/4 cup for later), baking powder, sugar, salt, and nutmeg. Stir until these ingredients are very well combined.
- Use a cheese grater to grate the frozen butter into the bowl with the flour mixture. Take care to guard your fingers and knuckles when you get down to the end of the stick of butter. Stir the grated butter into the flour mixture until they are evenly combined.
- Add the milk to the bowl with the mashed sweet potato. Stir or whisk the sweet potato and milk together until they are well combined. A few small chunks of sweet potato are okay.
- Finally, pour the sweet potato and milk mixture into the bowl of flour and butter. Stir to combine the wet and dry ingredients until one cohesive ball of dough forms. Because sweet potatoes can vary in moisture content, you may need to add extra flour or milk to the dough to get the right consistency. The biscuit dough should be slightly sticky, but not so wet that it is glossy, and no dry flour should remain on the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too dry (not forming a single ball of dough) add a couple tablespoons of milk. If it's too wet, dust it liberally with the reserved flour.
- Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface. Press it down into a flat circle, about 1-inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter or a drinking glass to cut biscuits from the dough. Gather up the dough scraps, reshape them into a 1-inch thick circle, and cut more biscuits. Repeat this until no more dough remains. Place the cut biscuits on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake the biscuits for about 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown on top. Serve warm, with butter or maple syrup.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Enamelware Salad Plate
Nutrition
Love sweet potatoes? ME TOO! Check out some of my other favorite sweet potato recipes: Baked Sweet Potato fries with Peanut Lime Dressing, Streuseled Sweet Potatoes, Chorizo Sweet Potato Enchiladas, Sweet Potato Casserole Baked Oatmeal, or Sweet Potato Tacos with Lime Crema.
How to Make Sweet Potato Biscuits – Step By Step Photos
Start by pricking a one pound sweet potato several times with a fork. This allows steam to escape the sweet potato as it cooks, which will prevent it from exploding in the microwave.
Place the sweet potato on a microwave-safe plate and cook on high for 5 minutes, or until it is tender all the way through. You can test the sweet potato by poking it again with the fork in its thickest spot. The fork should pierce the sweet potato easily. If it’s still hard in the center, microwave for 1-2 minutes longer. Carefully remove the sweet potato from the microwave (the plate will be HOT). Let it cool slightly.
Carefully scoop one cup of the sweet potato flesh out into a bowl (use a towel to hold the hot sweet potato as you scoop). Mash the sweet potato until it is mostly smooth.
Add one cup of whole milk to the mashed sweet potato, then stir or whisk until it is mostly smooth. A few small chunks of sweet potato are fine.
Begin preheating the oven to 400ºF. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 Tbsp baking powder, 1 Tbsp sugar, 3/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg. Stir the ingredients together until they are very well combined.
Grate one stick (8 Tbsp) of frozen butter into the flour mixture. Stir until the grated butter is well combined with the flour mixture. The small pieces of butter throughout are what will make the biscuits a little flakey.
Pour the milk and sweet potato mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir until a cohesive ball of dough forms. Sweet potatoes can vary in their moisture content, so you may need to adjust the flour or milk to get the right texture dough.
The sweet potato biscuit dough should look like this. Shaggy, sticky, but not glossy and wet. No dry flour should be left on the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too dry (lots of little pieces, dry flour left in the bowl), add a tablespoon or two of milk. If the dough is too wet (very sticky or glossy), add some of the reserved flour.
Use some of the reserved flour to liberally dust a work surface. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface and press it down into a 1-inch thick circle. Use a biscuit cutter or glass to cut biscuits out of the dough (my glass was 3 inches in diameter). Gather up the scraps, press it down again, and cut more biscuits. Repeat until no more biscuits can be cut.
Place the biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Transfer to the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown.
Serve the sweet potato biscuits while warm. The golden brown color can be kind of masked by their orange hue, so make sure to check closely as you get close to 20 minutes!
I like mine with butter (yes, more butter) and just a little maple syrup for extra autumn-y goodness.
Sarah – I can only guess since I’ve never done it, but I’m pretty sure that’s how the frozen biscuits at the supermarket are made! I say give it a shot!
Do you think it would work to freeze the biscuits after the rolling/ cutting step and then take them out and bake them a few at a time?
Made these biscuits today, I followed the recipe and I got 15(!) medium sized biscuits. So yummy! My boyfriend can’t stop eating them. I’m tempted to substitute pumpkin instead of sweet potato. Would be a nice addition for Thanksgiving dinner. Thank you so much for this recipe, we really love it :)
For an extra indulgence – dessert or special brunch item, maybe – mix a block of cream cheese with some finely grated fresh ginger or ground ginger and a little sugar. Use this instead of butter on your biscuits. Our local bakery does sweet potato biscuits with ginger cream cheese and they are sooo yummy!
Jessica – I’ve never tried biscuits with whole wheat flour because I assumed they’d be too dense… but it might be worth a try! If you do, let us know how they turn out.
Erica, what about baking them? It might take a while as well, but likely wouldn’t add the extra moisture that boiling would.
Beth, do you think these could work with whole wheat flour as well? I’d like to think that making biscuits with sweet potatoes and whole wheat makes up for using whole milk and a stick of butter. ;)
So excited to make these anyway!
Wow thanks for such a quick response. No worries, I’ll save this as an inaugural recipe for a new microwave…! Seems worth the wait :)
Canned sweet potatoes have quite a bit more moisture in them (same with boiled) and I’m afraid that if you just add more flour, the ratio of the rest of the ingredients might be thrown way off. Hmm… I can’t think of another option :(
Our microwave is broken, and boiling a sweet potato til soft may take too long… Beth, do you think canned sweet potatoes might just do the trick instead?
Matt — if it’s the dairy that’s the issue and not the fat content, you could probably try using shortening instead of butter. I often use shortening when making regular biscuits because it’s a little more economical and although they lack the rich buttery taste, I don’t notice a significant texture difference.
Beth — these look amazing. I think we might skip our traditional Hawaiian rolls and put these on the Thanksgiving table instead this year!
This looks great-tasting sweets!
These delightful sweet potato biscuits complement any homemade meal, bringing a sense of warmth and sweetness to the table.
I made these tonight with 1% milk and brown sugar instead of white. I didn’t roll them out though. I used a 1/4 measuring cup and patted them out on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. I did get eight though. I have to admit the last two were on the large side though. They were pretty good. I made a cinnamon-honey butter and served them with ham and beans.
I made them tonight with 1% milk and butternut squash instead of potato. They were absolutely divine, although ended up fairly thin; I think the squash had a bit too much water. However, they were super easy for the kids to eat and we enjoyed them thoroughly. Thank you!
Mmmmm I LOVE these!