I’ve been dying to post this all week because these Sweet Potato Corn Cakes are SOOO good and I just know that you’ll love them as much as I do… and if you don’t, I might be forced to ask myself what is wrong with you.
These are “every bite is better than the last one” good. They’re so good that they make you wonder why other food even exists when flavors this bright and vibrant are possible.
…and thats what I was thinking when eating the reheated leftovers a minute ago. So, can you imagine how good they were fresh? Probably not. It’s unimaginable. You have to experience it.
Anyway, enough gushing. Onto the important stuff.
First – This recipe makes a HUGE batch, so feel free to half it. I wouldn’t suggest trying to half a raw egg, instead just add more than half breadcrumbs (probably 3/4 cup) to make up for the extra moisture.
Second – These sweet potato corn cakes are fried. You’ll just have to accept that. I tried to bake some and they were horrid. Dry, poor texture, just not good. If you’re brave enough to try baking them yourself and actually have success, please share your technique… because I just couldn’t make it work.
Third – I demand that you to try these.
Sweet Potato Corn Cakes with Garlic Dipping Sauce
Sweet Potato Corn Cakes with Garlic Dipping Sauce
Servings 10 about 3 cakes eachIngredients
- 3 lbs sweet potatoes ($3.17)
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels ($0.30)
- 2 green onions ($0.19)
- 1/4 bunch cilantro, divided ($0.21)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- 1 tsp cumin ($0.05)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1 large egg ($0.25)
- 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal ($0.19)
- 1 cup plain breadcrumbs ($0.50)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying ($0.43)
- 1 cup plain yogurt ($0.55)
- 1 clove garlic ($0.08)
Instructions
- Begin by cooking the sweet potatoes. The fastest way to do this is in the microwave. Prick the skin of each potato with a fork. Wrap one potato in a paper towel, place it on a plate, and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Carefully remove it from the microwave, squeeze it to make sure it’s soft in the center, and the allow it cool as you cook the next one. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them open and scoop the flesh into a large bowl.
- Slice the green onions and roughly chop a handful of cilantro (about 1/8th of a bunch). Add the green onions, cilantro, frozen corn kernels, salt, cumin, and cayenne pepper to the bowl with the cooked sweet potatoes. Stir until well combined. You can taste it at this point and adjust the seasoning as desired.
- Add the breadcrumbs, cornmeal, and egg to the bowl. These ingredients will bind the mixture together and keep it from falling apart while cooking. Stir until evenly combined. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow the breadcrumbs to absorb moisture.
- While the sweet potato mixture is refrigerating, mix up the garlic sauce. In a small bowl combine the yogurt, one clove of well minced garlic, and a handful of cilantro leaves (roughly chopped). Stir until combined and then refrigerate until ready to serve.
- After the sweet potato mixture has refrigerated, it’s time to cook. Add enough vegetable oil to fully cover the bottom of a medium skillet. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until the surface appears wavy (if it begins to smoke, remove it from the burner immediately and turn down the heat). Shape the sweet potato mixture into small patties (about 2-3 Tbsp each) and cook about 4 at a time in the hot oil. Cook until golden brown on each side; about 2 minutes per side. After cooking, place on a paper towel covered plate to drain. Add more oil to the skillet as needed.
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Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Serve warm with the garlic yogurt dipping sauce.
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Step By Step Photos
Start by pricking the skin of each sweet potato to allow steam to escape as they cook. No one wants to clean exploded sweet potato out of their microwave.
Wrap one potato in a paper towel and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Carefully squeeze it to make sure it’s soft in the center and then cook the next one. I used one paper towel for all four sweet potatoes.
They’ll be super hot when they come out of the microwave, so let them cool just a bit before cutting into them. Slice it open and scoop out the cooked flesh.
Place the cooked sweet potato in a bowl and add the frozen corn kernels (they’ll help cool the sweet potato the rest of the way), sliced green onions, roughly chopped cilantro, salt, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Stir it all together.
Now it’s time to add the binders. I used one egg, 1/3 cup of cornmeal (it helps bind and gives more texture than just breadcrumbs) and one cup of breadcrumbs. The breadcrumbs are not in the picture (don’t ask). Stir it all together and then refrigerate for 30 minutes.
While the sweet potato mix is refrigerating, make the garlic yogurt sauce. Finely mince a clove of garlic and roughly chop another handful of cilantro. Stir those into a cup of plain yogurt. You can add a pinch of salt if you’d like. Refrigerate the sauce until you’re ready to serve.
After the mixture has chilled, it’s time to cook. Take about 2 Tbsp of sweet potato mix and shape it into a small patty. My mixture was still pretty wet/sticky, but it was shape-able.
Heat some vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. You want the oil to be quite hot before adding the cakes. It should look wavy on the surface. You can take a pinch of the sweet potato mixture and add it to the skillet to test it. It should sizzle heavily. Add about four patties to the skillet and cook until deep golden brown on one side, then flip.
Cook on the other side in the same manner. It should only take about two minutes per side. Try not to make your patties too thick otherwise the inside won’t heat through before the outside browns. About a half inch thick is good.
Place the cooked sweet potato cakes on a paper towel lined plate and cook the next batch. Add more oil as needed, always allowing it to heat up before adding more sweet potato cakes.
Why, hello there little warm, delicious sweet potato corn cakes…
These look delish! I’m wondering if anyone has tried air frying?
We haven’t tried it, Wanda! I’m sure there’s a way to make it work, but I can’t give you exact directions at this time.
Delicious but you HAVE to season. Cumin and cayenne are not enough. I also recommend using a whisk to make the sweet potatoe smooth
I make this recipe all the time. I’ve used canned corn instead of frozen, still works, I’ve left out the corn and upped the herbs, it still works. I’ve played with the spices, left out the bread crumbs etc. It always works.
My favorite hack is to cook these using a waffle iron to cut down on the grease and heat
The results I got were very tasty, but I totally failed at the original cooking instructions. My attempt at patties had no structural integrity, and I worried that the egg wasn’t fully cooked as they were still wet in the middle, so I ended up making a savoury sheet pan cookie out of this instead – baking at 200C for 30 minutes gave me a crispy outside and fully set inside.
Trying to fry these was just a mushy oily mess :'( I’m sad cuz I’ve made potatoes pancakes before so I don’t know why these just wouldn’t hold together at all or get brown. I’ll try baking the rest of the batter later. Sad because I’m starving at this point and the flavor is good.
I did substitutions! I used leftover bread ends, processed and toasted, with a can of sweet potatoes. They had sugar, so I added extra spice and they turned out perfect. The yogurt was SO GOOD WITH IT! I considered leaving it out but it makes this perfect.
I’m honestly a terrible cook, so I was reluctant to try making these, but you explained the recipe really well and it was easy to follow. My first batch was a little bit thick, then my next batch was a little bit burnt, etc, etc, but I eventually got them just right and. . They were so delicious! They’re my new favorite food, and I make them every chance I get using your tutorial. Thank you so much!
Being a vegan, I wonder what I can use instead of yogurt?
I know it’s a year since this was asked but maybe useful for others, cashew cream would be a great vegan sub for yogurt.
Loved these! What I especially loved is that I didn’t have to read a novel to get to the recipe. Well done! Love this blog!
So good, my husband loves anything with sweet potatoes! He came home from work and gobbled them down while I was still cooking them!!
Do these freeze well? I’m the lone vegetarian in my household so would not even close be able to eat them all at once! Thanks!
Yes I think if you put them on some parchment or wax paper in a freezer bag they would be great to snag and reheat at your leisure!
I actually baked these and they were just fine! I didn’t put in any breadcrumbs though as I didn’t have any, just doubled the cornmeal and used loads more spices. Then baked for 30 mins or so at 180 c on a silicone baking mat. They weren’t as crispy as they look in the pictures but they tasted great.
Hi! I wanted to make these for a dinner party – can I make the mixture a day before and keep in the fridge overnight, then shape and fry the next day? Also, how many sweet potatoes would equal the pounds you mentioned? Is it 4 medium as you mentioned in the step by step? Thank you!
Hi, yes, I think you can definitely mix this up and refrigerate overnight, then shape and fry the next day. The exact number of sweet potatoes will vary quite a bit depending on the size and shape of the sweet potatoes, so make sure to use the scale at the grocery store and aim for as close to 3 pounds as you can. :)
Delicious, thank you!
I used a couple cups of leftover mashed sweet potatoes and estimated the other ingredients (probably easier to make a batch of the mashed sweet potatoes as you describe in the amazing sweet potato cornbread recipe rather than individually microwaving and scooping out potatoes). I substituted quick oats for the bread crumbs, probably a little cheaper, healthier and/or easier than bread crumbs.
Does anyone happen to know how many cups of mashed sweet potatoes 3 pounds of sweet potatoes make? My estimates worked fine, but it would be nice to have it official.
your SWEET POTATO CORN CAKES recipe looks yummy. We are add in our menu and Our client Loved this. This recipe So delicious and so easy to make. Thank you!
Loved this recipe! So delicious and so easy to make. Thank you!
Made this without the cornmeal, subbed the green onion for chives, and cut the recipe in half and these still turned out amazing!
Did you substitute anything for the cornmeal??? Or just took it completely out of the recipe?
Would I do anything differently if I am using leftover roasted corn on the cob? Use more than a cup probably?
I don’t think you’d need to do anything differently. :) You could sub 1:1, or if you want a little more corn it’s flexible enough to accommodate.
Made this tonight! It was amazing! My husband loved it! Will definitely make it again! Great idea for a pot luck!
Except for changing the taste, would using regular potatoes work in this recipe? I have family members who do not care for sweet potatoes and I really want to try these.
White potatoes also have a different texture and moisture content than sweet potatoes, so it may change the texture as well. Unfortunately, it’s really hard to say exactly to what extent it would affect this without testing it.
Can you freeze these?
You can freeze them after shaping and before cooking.
To cook them after freezing do you defrost them first or cook from frozen?
I just cooked them from frozen because they’re so small that they defrost and heat through very quickly. :)
Hi. Love the recipe. But I have a question. Is this recipe for 10 people or for 10 corn cakes? Thank you
Sorry about that, looks like that info got lost when we switched recipe cards! It makes about 30 cakes, or 10 servings of 3 cakes each (appetizer size servings).
This recipe looks yummy! What are some suggestions on what to serve with this?
These look so good! Is the nutrition breakdown for one corn cake as a serving?
This is definitely entering the “rotation!” I thought I was going to mess it up but even I couldn’t. The patties are delicious enough by themselves, but with the sauce…omg…
hey. Since you made them I was wondering …..is this recipe for 10 people or for 10 cakes? Thanks :)
This is my second time making these. I brought them to work and everyone who was fortunate enough to try one loved them (even the meat-eaters )Lol. I used vegan mayo, garlic, cilantro and sweet chilli sauce omg!
These were delicious! I was feeling lazy, so I used a jalapeno-parmesan-artichoke dip on top of it. My husband used some mayonnaise. They both worked! Definitely a make again!
I used gf flour 1 cup was the only change to ingr. For baking I used my silpat baking sheet and put a dot of oil where each cake was going to be placed. Drop by tablespoon on each spot of baking oil on silpat gently form flat cake. Bake at 500degrees till lightly crispy on bottom 11 minutes. Remove pan and flip each cake. And gently press down with spatula to flatten shape. Bake another10 min till lightly browned, remove to paper towel. These came out crispy and light density. Tastes good.
Could I use the oven instead of frying the patties?
I was looking for other sides that are healthier and loved this!!! I cut the recipe in half and still had a ton and had to use regular white onions because I was out of green onions -.- but I can see this being part of my sides vs rice
Any ideas on making it gluten free?
Aside from finding some gluten-free bread crumbs, I’m not sure. It would take some major re-working otherwise.
Absolutely great base for sweet potato. I found that lemon, black pepper and ginger seasoning to be a bit more compatible with the recipe than cilantro and cumin but that is the wonderful thing about this recipe. It can be tweaked many ways and still maintain the original concept.
It looks nice, but i don’t have a microwave, How long will it stay in oven
These were super yummy.
Reminded of the veggie burgers I get from Trader Joe’s.
I substituted parsley for the cilantro and sweet onions for the green because that is what I had on hand but it’s really the seasonings that make them so delicious.
Just made these this evening and they were fab!
Quick to make, satisfying and filling.
Yum
My two teenage boys gave them thumbs up to keep on the menu rotation!
Very good…
Since you demanded it, I tried it. LOL… they were wonderful. I used regular white chopped onion, about 1/4 cup, instead of green onions (didn’t have any) and they were fabulous. Thanks for the recipe.
I did these in a V-ZUG Combi Steam oven which gave a grill like effect on HOT AIR & Steam. Amazing
These look great! Is there anything I could use to make it low carb? DH is diabetic.
Thanks!
I don’t think so because sweet potatoes are the main ingredient and they are mostly carbs. :)
These are SO good! I like them with peas instead of corn :)
Love Love Love this recipe. I added 3 Tsp minced Garlic, tripled the whole recipe, Added 6 cups of corn and chopped fresh rosemary instead of cilantro and served it with a Chipotle cream I made with Yogurt, one lime, 1 Tbsp of Agave Nectar and two chipotles in adobo sauce. Blended it together and WOW! Just the right heat and savory ness! Can’t wait to make them again and wonder if I roasted the corn first and charred the kernels some if it would be even better. Might also be good with a poblano cream sauce.
These are goooooood. I like them warm and cold. Super easy to make!!
Hi! I want to know did anybody tried to bake them? I don’t want my kid to eat fried food so i would like to cook them in the oven?
Not a huge potato fan, but these were excellent! The recipe made way more patties than I expected, so I’ll be eating these for days! :)
Made these last night and was impressed. They were delicious! Used chia seeds in place of the egg and regular yellow onion in place of the scallions because that’s what I had. Excellent recipe, thank you!
This are sooo good!! They have been on my mind ever since I pinned them onto my food board. I did not have cornmeal on hand, and I chopped and added spinach, I also used Greek yogurt . Nonetheless it was amazing!!
Great recipe, I enjoyed it very much! It definitely made a lot of patties! Will definitely be making this again. Love the dipping sauce.
Made these last night to have with the Thai curry veg soup. I cut it to a 1/3 and made 4 larger patties. I did not add enough breadcrumbs, I think. I remember I was in fact, being lazy. (trust your instincts if it feels too wet!) I will totally make these again!!! So good – and the garlic sauce, too!
I don’t eat meat, so I have a soft spot for vegetable fritters and cakes, and this one will definitely go into my rotation. I did double the size of them just so I had less of them to cook. I fried up half of them and then decided to freeze the rest. I formed them and put them on a cookie sheet to freeze. To reheat, I did 30 seconds on each side in the microwave on defrost mode. They were a lot wetter than they were fresh, so I made sure to only flip them one time in the pan. They still came out crispy and delicious and made a great meal with some left over black eyed peas I had!
Made this twice now, actually following the recipe both times because they are so. Damn. Good. Picky husband loves them. Wait.. I used labneh instead of yogurt, but that is mostly the same. These are going on medium rotation, paired with the sainsburys recipe for herby peri peri chicken and steamed kale.
I made these tonight for dinner, with a few modifications, they were delicious! I used only corn meal (because I am gluten free) and added black beans for more protein.
Thanks for this recipe, it will be one of my go to meals from now on!
Look yummy. Was looking for inspiration for supper! Egg- you could beat in cup and then add as required!
Delicious 😊 I paired these with the smoky parmesean roasted cauliflower and some quinoa. I love sweet potatoes and quinoa together.
Made these tonight! AMAZING! We are gluten free so I omitted the bread crumbs and did a little bit of almond/rice flour. Still good and they stayed together. I also didn’t have any cilantro. I can only imagine the cilantro making it even more amazing. The dipping sauce was phenomenal! Used greek yogurt, and scallions in place of cilantro and it was delicious! So glad I pinned this :)
Are these freezer friendly? I’d like to make a huge batch to have on hand for quick lunches
They will probably freeze okay before cooking, but they won’t be quite as good if frozen after cooking.
Hi Pikyeatersmom, I know it was a while ago when you asked the question but did you freeze them at the end? Were they alright once cooked? Thanks
The way this recipe shows up on Facebook is all screwed up. All of the fraction ingredients show up as their denominator for the amounts. I.e. The 1/4 cup of cilantro is listed as four bunches. 3 cups of corn meal, and four teaspoons of cayenne! Mmmmmmmm! Technology sucks, and so would this recipe if some poor soul makes it the way it shows up!
I know, that happens with Pinterest too! I wish they would either fix it or just not pull the ingredients at all. :(
Would you happen to know the nutritional information on these?
No, I’m sorry I don’t. :(
Can these be reheated as leftovers?
They can. They won’t be crisp like they are just out of the skillet, but they’re still quite tasty. You can just warm them in a skillet.
Can these be baked? If so, what temp and how long.?
I tried baking some and they were not good. The skillet gives it a nice crispy exterior that you won’t get if they’re baked.
Can not wait to try!! Do you know if these freeze well before or after cooking? Could you refrigerate the mixture overnight instead of 30 min?
I think they would freeze and refrigerate well uncooked (or even unshaped). :)
I feel silly for asking, but should I use the bulb or the stem of the green onions;-) ?
That’s not a silly question at all. Some people use just the greens, some use the bulb. I like to use both. :) I find that both ends have quite a bit of flavor. The greens alone usually look better visually, but I’m more concerned with flavor and reducing waste, so I use both.
I just finished making these and I had to comment on how DELICIOUS they are!!!!
Thanks for this recipe!
Great recipe!!!! I cooked them on a griddle so cooking time was super fast! I used Greek yogurt. This is such a balanced recipe!
Made this for the first time on friday night and wowza! I have a new fave recipe!!! so amazing. I didnt add the cornmeal (none on hand) and they still tasted great and held together well. Making them again tonight and subbed in some oats to bind them as well as breadcrumbs and are still amazing!!! I used greek yogurt instead of plain and it did make the sauce more tangy/sour but it balanced the sweetness and richness of the cakes very well.
This recipe was so good that I literally went and followed you on pinterest AND THEN went through ALL your boards, pinning recipes along the way!
Such an amazing recipe and so cheap, its perfect!
I am gluten free so I use 1 cup of rice flour instead of breadcrumbs. I fried them in coconut oil. They were absolutely amazing!!!!
I tried this tonight and it was amazing!! I loved the southern twist on a vegetarian meal. Definitely one of my new favorite recipes . I paired it with parmasan oven roasted asparagus and broccoli. It was a perfect pair. I also recommend using a organic sunflower and/or coconut oil for lightly frying.
i am not crazy about garlic and onions, do I have suggestion for a replacement for those ingredients?
Hmm, unfortunately there’s really nothing similar enough to the garlic and onions that would work well. You can try making them without, but I really think those are two of the main flavors so the recipe might be lacking.
You could try some diced red and green peppers.
Try a paste called harissa! Its packed with flavour. Google harissa if you like. I want to try this recipe! Looks great! I just pinned it then someone pinned it within seconds!
OMG! Just made them amazing. Thank you for the recipe. I think I need help in the sauce. To watery may be the yogurt.
Try strained yogurt…or what the marketeers now call “Greek” yogurt (and charge 3 times its worth)
Have you tried freezing these? If so is it best to fully cook then freeze or do a partial or raw?
I haven’t tried it, but I think I would just freeze them before cooking.
I did not consider myself a sweet potato fan, but these are FANTASTIC. (If you like this, also look for “loaded sweet potato salad.”)
Oh, and the garlic yogurt sauce MAKES this recipe. The first time I had them, we just used Ranch. I was skeptical when my sister made up this dipping sauce, because I figured – you can’t beat Ranch dressing! But it does!
I just made these for dinner and both my husband and I loved them! I used canned corn kernel instead of the frozen one and dried oregano instead of cilantro (it tastes like soap to my husband). I’ll for sure make this recipe again soon! Thanks for sharing it.
I made this for lunch and it was very delicious. I baked it and it came out perfectly. This is what I did: I greased the baking dish; placed my sweet potato corn cakes in the dish and then sprayed olive oil on the cakes. I then covered the baking dish with aluminum foil and placed it in the oven. Just perfect!
I will be making this again.
Great idea! How long did you have them in the oven?
Hi, can you let us know what temperature you baked them at and for how long? Thanks!
Love this idea, as my digestive tract reacts poorly to fried…
I made these into burger sized patties, served them as burgers with the yogurt sauce and topped with one of your more recent recipes, Cumin Lime Coleslaw. Great success!
I made this for dinner last night and it was a hit! My husband and 2 year old loved it. We only had 5 patties leftover. Definitely one for the books! :)
These are so delicious and filling. I’ve been eating these and your yellow jasmine rice for dinner since Sunday and I’m not tired of it!
Could you waffle them?
Ooh, probably! Great idea!
Great idea! Not only to eliminate the frying but also deliver a cool presentation and reduce cooking time!
Love the sound of this recipe- especially since I’ve been on a sweet potato “kick” lately- but do have a question: about how much cilantro is used in this recipe? I can’t always find it in bunches at my grocery, so was wondering about how much I’ll need if I have to buy the little clamshell packages (or if I can find it at a farmer’s market in the spring). Thanks!
Hmm, I’m not sure how big those clamshell packages are, but the amount needed for the recipe is very flexible and forgiving. I think you’ll be safe with one big handful. :)
Absolutely loved this!! My first attempt turned out brilliantly, I can’t believe how much this makes!
I’m from the UK and couldn’t find cornmeal, so just added more breadcrumbs and it still turned out fine. Absolutely amazingly delicious, and my family loved them (including a fussy younger brother)
Paige, look for polenta instead of cornmeal, it will be the same thing and probably easier for you to find. (Uncooked!)
Made these tonight and loved them! The only thing I did differently. Was cooked them in coconut oil. They held together just fine and were delicious! Will make again!
sounds SICK.
These taste amazing!! The issue is they do not stay together very well. I was as gentle as I could possibly be with them and only flipped them once as per the instructions. I am wondering if I need to up the cornmeal or breadcrumbs as this was very frustrating having each one fall apart.
Yes, more breadcrumbs will probably help. They’ll soak up some of the moisture and help it hold.
I’m trying to avoid bread…could I substitute the breadcrumbs with something else? Maybe more cornmeal?
I’ve been trying to find a good substitute for bread crumbs for “patties” for a long time, but haven’t found one yet. The problem with cornmeal is that it doesn’t absorb moisture as readily. Breadcrumbs absorb on contact, whereas cornmeal needs heat/cooking to absorb moisture (because it’s so hard). I haven’t had good success with cornmeal.
What about using Panko as a binder.
That would probably work, but is it 100% rice flour used to make them or is it a mix of rice and wheat? I’ll have to look into that…
Hi! Just chipping in a possible substitution… I’ve had good luck with chickpea flour (super cheap at Indian stores, and gluten free) for my salmon patties. I don’t even need to use an egg, and they hold together just fine! ^_^ Anyway, I can’t wait to make these sweet potato patties — they sound like they’d be delicious! Thanks, Beth!
Nice! Thanks for the tip!!
I made these with Panko bread crumbs. My family loved them! I’m the only vegetarian in our household but these patties were enjoyable to all of us. I’m making them for friends next. Thanks!
My Mom made something like this with leftover mashed white potatoes. Was my favorite ways to eat potatoes. Since I really like sweet potatoes – these might really be right up my alley. Will try very soon. (Also, did you know- sweet potatoes are better for you than the white? At least on my heart diet.)
These were yucky. And I love sweet potatoes.
I have a ton of sweet potatoes! I cannot wait to make these!!
Hi there! What dish compliments these fabulous cakes?? I’m trying to think of a dish to go with it for tonight :)
Wow! These are delicious. I didn’t have any green onions and cilantro so i tinkered with the spices a bit and scaled the recipe down to size (kinda wish I didn’t I think I could eat these for days). I also made siracha mayo as the dipping sauce and it was the perfect complement. Yummy thanks so much for sharing. Definitely adding this one to my arsenal. :)
these would probably be delicious with a brown sugar glaze on top! i am going to have to make these tonight!
Made these for dinner. Loved them!! I am new to liking sweet potatoes- taken me awhile to come around to them. But this was delightful! My husband and I scarfed them down. You would never know really that these were mashed sweet potatoes. I didn’t have plain yogurt for sauce, so I subbed sour cream and added a pinch of salt, pepper, garlic powder and added the cilantro and green onions to it and mixed. Yum!!!
I would try this with leftover mashed sweet potatoes.
Loved this so much I”m curious on the calorie count, since it’s soooo good!
Sounds yummy but I really hate frying (no matter what it stinks up the house, which is probably operator error!) Beth do you suppose I could put patties on a greased cookie sheet to bake/flip instead? I’m sure the outer texture would be a little different – but maybe 450° for 10-15 mins on each side??? Wondering if anyone else has tried with success…
They’re quite soft, so I’m not really sure how that would work out. It might dry them up a bit, but I think you’ll just have to experiment with it to see. Let me know how it works if you give it a try!
These bear a similarity to potato latkes, so if you don’t want to fry them in a pan, you could “fry” them as one makes an oven-baked potato kugel: oven @ 350, heat a couple of TBs of oil in a baking dish; when hot, swirl it all around the dish; ladle in the mixture (don’t make it too deep, just about the same depth as a pan-fried cake); bake at 350 until golden, c. +/-25 minutes, depending on pan size and depth. Mixture will be crispy on the edges/top/bottom and soft in the middle. Means the house doesn’t smell like fried food, and this methods uses less grease.
Could I substitute butternut squash?
They’re kind of similar in texture and flavor, so it might work.
I dipped these in applesauce. So. Good.
Didn’t have yogurt, so I made a curry mayo sauce (curry, mayo, and turmeric) and it was delicious.
ooh, I like that idea! Thanks for sharing!
for Liba,
What about tadka-carmelizing some onions with the curry and tumeric and then adding it to the mayo?
http://www.ishafoundation.org/us/blog/tempering-spices/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJo7aITMdog even if you can’t use this suggestion, “TADKA” is a good technique to know. Thanks for the tips
vern
These taste very good, but they didn’t stay together. They all broke apart and turned into more of a “hash”. not sure what I did wrong….
Hmm, maybe a little bit more breadcrumbs would have helped keep them together. You do have to be careful when flipping, though, they are quite delicate.
I have the biggest craving for sweet corn and I know I have sweet potatoes at home. I’ll be making this for dinner tonight! Thanks for sharing.
So I made these a little different, I added some shredded zucchini and substituted flax egg (my son is allergic to eggs). I can’t fry anything to save my life, they just stuck to the pan and were a mess. So I decided to try them in my mini cupcake pan and bake them. Perfect! Not as much of a crispy crust, but still yummy. I baked them at 400 for about 30 minutes or so, I have no idea really, I just kept checking on them. Delicious, thank you!
Could you freeze these if you make too many? If not, how long would they be good for in the fridge?
Yes, I do think these would freeze well, either before or after cooking. They’re so small that you can reheat them in a warm (but not hot) skillet.
Ok thank you! Working on them tonight for dinner.
Green onion does not freeze well, leave it out if you’re gonna freeze them.
If you do not want to use the microwave to prepare the potatoes you can peel and slice the potatoes and cook them on the stovetop in water then mash them. I have made these a couple times now and they are absolutely delicious.
Don’t waste time peeling and slicing; boil the sweet potatoes whole in their skins! They still cook pretty quickly, definitely faster than individually microwaving 3lbs worth.
My daughter found this recipe, i am vegetarian, thought it sounded amazing…made these today, and we both loved them! They taste as good as they look.
Delicious! I served these with manchego and honey instead of the garlic sauce when some friends came over. Such a hit! Everyone devoured them.
Made this today & they were delish! I didn’t have clinatro on hand but they still came out yummy. I believe the breadcrumbs setting is probably the most important part of this dish. This recipe is printed and will be in my rotation. PS. I didn’t fry in veggie oil. I don’t use veggie oil..I used olive & it turned out great.
Made these, love these. So yummy and a nice texture. Thanks for the recipe, I know I will make these often!
These were so delicious! I’ve never been a fan of sweet potatoes, but this looked savory enough that I though I’d give it a try. It was my first time cooking with sweet potatoes and I’m so glad I did! I made it vegan by using a flax egg and coconut milk yogurt for the sauce, also used coconut oil for frying. So good, thanks for a great recipe!
Oh, and I served it with your coconut rice recipe take 2, went great together!
great idea with the coconut oil. I will try this next time
Delicious. Crispy on the outside smooth on the inside. The corn and onion and cilantro all play well together and just when you think it doesn’t need anything the yogurt sauce finish it off. :) definitely shape the patties small and by hand. I used pinko and had to add extra due to the size of my sweet potatoes. Also used coconut oil for frying. Will be repeating this often.
These are so delicious!!!
So the thing I hate the most is when someone goes love the recipe but I did this different and this different blah blah, because recipes should always be tried first the way you saw them, then adjust. However, I’m gonna be one of those people. Only because I like the idea of it, and I had one little sweet potatoes and russet potatoes. Its make what you got in the house week.
So I cooked my iddy biddy sweet potato and russet potatoes in microwave for 20 minutes till they were soft. And of course I had no corn *sigh*…please note this recipe looks and sounds amazing and I will try your idea….anyway, I cut carrot up really small, and regular onion, I managed all the spices YAY! I added some grated Parmesan because russets can have a bland taste and I did have to add more seasoning. And for my dip of course no yogurt but I had sour cream, garlic a little bit of mayo and crumbled feta. Turned out great! While I couldn’t make yours this evening I appreciate your idea and will make yours properly when I have the ingredients on hand, thank you :)
Alright….I guess I’ll challenge it and let you know how it goes lol wish me luck! Yikes! I’m making them with your honey spice chicken thighs.
My husband and I are trying the “use what’s in the house” and I have one sweet potatoe and russet potatoes, what are your thoughts on mixing the two potatoes? I would love to try it but not sure if russet potatoes would be to dry?
Hmm, I just can’t imagine how that would taste. I don’t think there will be a problem with it being too dry, though.
I only have Greek yogurt sour cream. Could I use that instead of plain yogurt?
Yep! The Greek yogurt would work best.
I’m not a big garlic fan… do you have any other sauce ideas that would go with these really well?
I really can’t wait to try them, I LOVE sweet potatoes and these sound fantastic.
Maybe just a cumin-lime sauce. Try mixing a touch of lemon juice, some ground cumin, and salt into the yogurt (or maybe even sour cream).
Just made these and they are SO good! This recipe makes tons – I halved it and got 15 decent size cakes.
We don’t have too many stores selling sweet potatoes nearby, but have many homegrown Okinawan sweet potatoes (the purple ones) Do you think they are too sweet to use with this recipe?
Hmm, I’m not sure! I’ve never tasted one of those before. :)
I want to make these for a wedding reception, the bride requested something that people could hold in their hands and wasn’t served family style. When you say ‘big batch’ about how many cakes did one batch make?
I’m pretty sure it made around 30 cakes (2 Tbsp each), or ten servings of 3 cakes.
Perfect! Thank you so much!!
This is one of my favorite recipes! Made it again today and altered it a bit…. Used fresh corn, whole wheat bread crumbs and baked it in muffin tins. Love love love!
Did the baking work? That would make it easier to serve these at parties. :)
Oops forgot the 5 STAR RATING! ;-)
BEYOND tasty!!!!! I tripled the garlic in the dip (I am a garlic FIEND). Mine hopelessly fell apart tho LOL… dang Panko!
I really hate reading food blogs with 100 comments about how great the food “looks” or how great the recipe “seems”.
I actually made these and they were incredibly delicious.
Someone suggested panko and I am horrified. I hate panko bread crumbs. The recipe is great just the way it is. Inevitably, one will see a great recipe and realize they don’t have something on hand, and improvisation must be necessary. It’s to be expected.
Thanks for a cheap and delicious recipe. Super quick to assemble. I will be trying to bake them, however, because frying is so many calories–yikes!
Beth,
Am a huge fan of this site. I’ve only known about it for four months but it has already changed the way I think about food. Am now planning all my meals for the week and re-using ingredients throughout. I needed a sweet potato recipe because I had used them already this week in a soup and for sweet potato fries with some black bean burgers. While all the recipes were good, this one was AMAZING. Served it with a side salad and it was so filling. Keep up the good work! By your example I’ve made all my own pizzas when I want them, used better than bouillon and have frozen so many meals for those nights when my boyfriend and I are too tired for cooking! Thanks for all the yums. Especially this one. :)
My three-year-old takes two corn cakes and sticks them together with the sauce to make a sandwich. He ate three “sandwiches” last night at dinner and asked for more for breakfast this morning. I call that a success.
Also: I only had 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs, so I just used extra cornmeal. I refrigerated the dough overnight, and it worked just fine.
These were amazing! I served them over a bed of sauteed arugula with a side of roasted sunchokes.
LOVE them!!!!!! My husband suggested making them with canned salmon next time, so I will do that with the other 1/2 of the batter I froze for an awesome Sunday brunch. Failed miserably at the dip, but paired it with Trader Joe cilantro lime dip and it was perfect. Thanks!
So. Damn. Good!! Microwaving each potato one at a time was very time consuming compared to just putting them all in the oven and forgetting about them for an hour. Next time I’m going to plan ahead a bit and just do that. They may take a little longer to cool too. But I think it will be worth it, since it seems like the skin comes off easier when I bake it too.
We used a can of corn, and it ended up being too much corn. So I’ll go with the recipe and use the frozen corn next time!
Thanks for the recipe! I love this site!
Milosmommyzilla – They might be pretty good still. I think the only sticky points would be A) the texture won’t be crispy on the outside and B) sometimes reheated fried things have that strange old oil flavor… but I dunno, the ingredients are so strongly flavored them selves that it might not be bad? Those are my only thoughts having never done it :)
Beth, I really REALLY want to make a bunch of these and take them to a luncheon next month at work, but obviously I can’t just fry them up on the spot! Sad day! If I were to cook them the night before, keep them in the fridge, then foil line my crock pot and put in on WARM for a few hours before hand, do you think they’d still be okay? They were just SO GOOD I have to share!
These turned out great! My one year old ate two in no time at all! We had LOTS of the yummy sauce left… is there any good way to store this? I know that yogurt doesn’t always hold up well to freezing…
Love your idea, Nicole…that will be perfect for your Thanksgiving feast!! I’ll be making these this week for my book club gathering!! Can’t wait to try them!! And, then…try them again during the holidays using Nicole’s idea!!:)
I think I am going to try to make these for thanksgiving but with sage and nutmeg instead of cumin/cayenne/cilantro and use a maple cream sauce. Ill have to try the original recipe after the holidays, they look great!
I’ve featured this recipe on my blog: http://dontboilmybooks.weebly.com/1/post/2012/11/sweet-potato-madness.html
We made these last night and they were to. die. for. My husband picked up strawberry yogurt instead of plain (?) so we just used a little mayo and it worked great. And we just ate leftovers on buns as a veggie burger!
I would suggest baking the potatoes instead of boiling, because you don’t want a lot of excess moisture. I tried baking some of the cakes and they turned out rather dry. Perhaps if you cover them with a good bit of non-stick spray (or some spray oil) it will be similar to frying.
I don’t have a microwave, can I just boil the sweet potatoes? also my oven is not working right now so I can’t bake. any ideas?
Oh I love sweet potatoes. I just made some this past weekend. Check out my version (Indian spiced) at http://www.recipris.com. Love your blog btw! I’m going to try this garlic yogurt dip, yum!
…had some sweet potatoes that needed to be eaten ASAP (they were starting to sprout!), so I made these tonight. I didn’t want to buy cornmeal, so I just used extra breadcrumbs. For more flavor (and because I believe onions make everything better), I chopped & sauteed a vidalia onion and threw that into the mix as well.
Also, i had a few roasted garlic cloves that I substituted in the sauce.. made with plain greek yogurt.
it turned out fabulous! I only cooked 2 patties and then portioned & froze my extra mix.
Thanks for sharing such a tasty recipe.
These look so delicious! I am making them ASAP – I love sweet potatoes and am always looking for ways to make my husband like them too.
These are awesome! I made a batch one Sunday and took a few on a bed of spinach, plus some dressing on the side, each day that week for lunch. They held up surprisingly well. And they made for a hearty lunch. Thanks for sharing!
I made these to accompany chicken in a red curry sauce with broccoli and they were like a better/healthier version on a samosa! I didn’t have any cornmeal on hand so I used more breadcrumb, I can see how the cornmeal would be a better binding agent, but they still came out great. I also didn’t have any plain yogurt on hand so I used some fat free small curd cottage cheese with excellent results. I’ll be making these again.
I think any kind of beans (or peas this time of year in the South) would be good, but a big salad might be even better.
tmacalmon – Yellow Jasmine Rice would be really good with this, and maybe some seasoned black beans?
Anyone have any ideas for side dishes for this? I am at a loss.
Aisha – I think they probably would freeze pretty good, but they’re pretty sticky when raw so you might need to freeze them between two sheets of wax paper or something to keep them from sticking.
Do you think these would turn out okay if you froze them raw? I’ve loved a lot of your other recipes for the convenience of freezing them and being able to make them later when I want more
OMG! That’s it!
I just made these and they were delicious! I don’t like to fry things so I browned them in a pan with cooking spray for about 3 mins/side and then finished them off in the toaster oven. SO yummy!
Update: For the leftovers, I tossed arugula in a little lime juice & olive oil, then put the sweet potato cake with some of the garlic sauce on top. Amazing.
I just made these and they were delicious! I don’t like to fry things so I browned them in a pan with cooking spray for about 3 mins/side and then finished them off in the toaster oven. SO yummy!
Just made these tonight for my Mom’s 50th B-day. Made them as the main dish & we were seriously scraping the plate for more. Unbelievable. THANK YOU for introducing us to this amazing recipe.
Yum! So good. I used all cornmeal and omitted the breadcrumbs. I used red onion instead of spring onions cause that is what I had on hand. And I used hot smoked paprika instead of cayenne (1 tsp.) cause it makes everything taste yummy.
Thanks
Did you know you can simply wrap the sweet potato (or regular potato) with a tea towel and that way spare buying paper towels?
Great recipe will try it this weekend!
This recipe is amazing. A huge hit at my house and with my friends. It is a must. The sauce was a perfect “sour” to the “sweet”.
Shar – More power to ya! I fully encourage people to alter recipes to meet their personal dietary needs and food convictions. :)
This would be much more expensive using organic but that way you wouldn’t be eating GMO corn. It would be so worth the extra money not to be eating a poisonous product. I’ll be making an organic version because I care about how my food is grown !
A word of caution: there’s NO NEED to use a paper towel for microwaving sweet potatoes. The paper towel can set on fire if you’re not careful and burn up the entire microwave – this happened to my aunt recently. Just stick them on a plate and microwave. Oh and you can put all of them in at once, you’ll just have to adjust the time.
Am taking this recipe to a family reunion. I think it will be a huge hit as an appetizer. The garlic sauce is an inspiration – I bet I’ll need to make a double amount. Thanks for yet again another great recipe!
These were phenomenal!!! Not a fan of the sauce, but the cakes were to die for! Thanks!
I agree on the oil, coconut or even peanut would be great for frying, but I would honestly avoid safflower or other high Omega-6 oils like corn or canola, the smoke point is lower and it isn’t the healthiest once heated!
These look wonderful, I actually sat wondering what “Com” cakes were until I saw corn was an ingredient! LOL
These look like some tasty eats! I know what I’m doing with my sweet taters now. :)
me – You could probably use either.
Anni – I think that if you fry them, the oil will help keep them moist when you reheat them. But, seeing as I haven’t actually tried it, I can’t say for certain.
I am looking for appetizers for a summer party for about 60 people. If I made tiny bite size ones and fried them first, do you think re-heating them in the oven before serving would dry them
out?
Does it matter if it’s white or yellow cornmeal?
Cornmeal and polenta are basically the same thing, but sometimes cornmeal is ground a bit more fine. You could probably use either one.
is corn meal basically polenta?
oh this looks delicious. I’m about to give up nightshades (tomatoes, eggplant, capsicum, onion and so on) so this looks like a delicious and healthy recipe that I can work with!
I think coconut oil would be more virtuous than vegetable oil. Even though they’re already incredibleas you say and coconut oil would be more expensive, the flavor boost and health benefits would be worth it
These look just amazing! Finally a good use for the microwave. ;) Sweet potatoes and corn clearly love each other, and that sauce sounds wonderful!
gorgeous job. these look moist, flavorful & perfect for summer!
xo
http://allykayler.blogspot.ca/
They sound great!
chinders – You’re right! I forgot about the breadcrumbs when I added that label. I’m just going to remove it instead of specifying. Thanks for catching that!!
You’ve labelled these as gluten-free at the end of post, which would only be true if using breadcrumbs from gluten free bread, no? The recipe looks really good, I shall have to give it a try soon!
Jodi – absolutely!
These look amazing. They remind me a tad of your amazing falafel recipe. Do you think I could deep fry these like I do your falafels?
Melissa – I’d just leave it out, they’d still be great! You might try a little parsley, but I’d be afraid that it would over power the other flavors.
I went with basil and it tasted lovely
These sound great! Do you have a suggestion for a substitue for the cilantro, though? We aren’t big cilantro fans around here…
If you open a restaurant in New Orleans, we will move there and eat there every day!
These look great! You should look for frying in Safflower Oil rather than Vegetable. I’ll make these though, looks yum!
These look great! You should look for frying in Safflower Oil rather than Vegetable. I’ll make these though, looks yum!
MMmm – panko would probably be really good!
Wow, this sounds incredible! I HAVE to stop by the store tomorrow and pick up some more sweet potatoes! Do you think I could make this with panko breadcrumbs or should I stick with regular?Can’t wait to give it a try!
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