How To Make Steamed Sweet Potatoes: 9 Steps (with Pictures)

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Terms of Use wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Learn why people trust wikiHow How to Make Steamed Sweet Potatoes PDF download Download Article 5 Recipe Ratings | Success Stories Co-authored by Sasha Reyes

Last Updated: February 19, 2026

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  • Making Basic Steamed Sweet Potatoes
    • |
  • Recipe Variations
    • |
  • Ingredients
    • |
  • How Do You Cook Sweet Potatoes?
    • |
  • Expert Interview
    • |
  • Q&A
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  • Tips
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This article was co-authored by Sasha Reyes. Chef Sasha Reyes is the Executive Chef and Owner of Artisan Personal Chefs. With over 20 years of food industry experience, she specializes in private dinner parties, custom sports nutrition plans for professional athletes, and cooking lessons. Chef Reyes graduated from Arizona Culinary Institute in 2011 with a degree in Culinary Arts, Baking, and Restaurant Management. This article has been viewed 400,588 times.

With their deliciously smooth taste and nutrient content, sweet potatoes are perfect as both a staple food and as a "sometimes" snack. While some cooking styles can raise the fat and sugar content of sweet potatoes, steaming uses zero-calorie water so you can enjoy the potatoes without feeling guilty. Best of all, it's easy — all you need is heat, water, and a few pieces of cookware.

Ingredients

Basic Steamed Sweet Potatoes

  • 1 pound sweet potatoes (about 3-5)
  • 2 cups water

Recipe Variations

  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, ground
  • 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 1/2 white onion, sliced
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Steps

Method 1 Method 1 of 2:

Making Basic Steamed Sweet Potatoes

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  1. Step 1 Peel the sweet potatoes 1 Peel the sweet potatoes. This is generally easiest to do with a conventional potato peeler. You can also use a sharp knife.
    • Throw the peelings into a compost bin to avoid waste. Better yet, cut the peels into long strips, leave a little flesh on them, and make sweet potato skins
  2. Watermark wikiHow to Make Steamed Sweet Potatoes 2 Cut the potatoes into chunks. The exact size isn't important — cutting each potato into three or four slices is usually fine. What matters is that all the chunks are about the same size so that they cook evenly. Advertisement
  3. Watermark wikiHow to Make Steamed Sweet Potatoes 3 Place the sweet potatoes in a steam tray. Steaming the sweet potatoes means exposing them to hot steam without submerging them in the boiling water below them. To do this, first put your potato chunks into a steam tray, which is a metal device that sits in a pot above the boiling water. Put the full steam tray in a large pot with two cups of water at the bottom.
    • If you don't have a steam tray, you can improvise one from a small metal strainer. You can even put a clean cooking rack at the bottom of your pot.
  4. Watermark wikiHow to Make Steamed Sweet Potatoes 4 Boil the water. Put the pot + steam tray on the stove over high heat. Cover the pot. When the water reaches a strong boil, reduce the heat to medium. Let the potatoes cook this way until soft all the way through.
    • Depending on how big the sweet potato pieces are, cooking times will vary from about 15-20 minutes. A good policy is to check the potatoes for done-ness after about 12 minutes. You can do this by prodding them with a fork. If the fork slides in easily, the potato is cooked. If they still feel hard, cook for another 5 minutes.
    • Remove the pot lid carefully — the escaping steam can burn you.
  5. Watermark wikiHow to Make Steamed Sweet Potatoes 5 Serve and enjoy. When the sweet potatoes are soft, they're ready to eat. Turn off the heat and transfer them to a serving plate. Serve immediately. Season as desired.
    • Sweet potatoes are (obviously) naturally sweet, so you can enjoy them as-is if you wish. In the next section, however, we've provided a few easy serving suggestions if you don't want to eat them plain.
    6. Advertisement
Method 2 Method 2 of 2:

Recipe Variations

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  1. Step 1 Eat with butter, salt, and pepper. 1 Eat with butter, salt, and pepper. This classic combination tastes just as good on sweet potatoes as it does on normal potatoes. It's not fancy, but it's always a fine choice.
    • If you wish, you can simply toss the potatoes with butter, salt, and pepper once they finish steaming. However, if you're dining with picky eaters, you may want to serve the potatoes plain with butter, salt, and pepper on the side so everyone can have as much as they want.
  2. Watermark wikiHow to Make Steamed Sweet Potatoes 2 Try savory garlic sweet potatoes. Garlic may not seem like a good accompaniment for sweet potatoes, but its zesty flavor actually compliments the vegetable's smoothness well. Don't use too much, however, as it can overpower the mild flavors of sweet potatoes easily. Here's just one way to make a garlicky sweet potato dish:
    • Steam the potatoes as normal.
    • Add olive oil, chopped garlic, and rosemary to a serving bowl with the potatoes. Stir well to combine and coat the potatoes evenly.
    • Garnish with ground pumpkin seeds for presentation.
  3. Step 3 Cook with onion. 3 Cook with onion. Onion is another savory vegetable that pairs well with sweet potatoes. Like garlic, it's something you won't want to add too much of or you risk overpowering the potatoes. For best results, use white, yellow, or sweet onions — red onions have a little less sugar, so they're less sweet.[1]
    • Adding onions to a sweet potato dish is easy: just chop half an onion into small bits and steam them in the pot along with the potatoes.
  4. Step 4 Season with your favorite spices. 4 Season with your favorite spices. Adding just the right spices to sweet potatoes can make them taste like a dessert without adding any extra calories. Sweet, pungent spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves tend to go best with sweet potatoes.
    • Sprinkle very lightly at first — you can always add more, but you can't take the spices off once you've already added them.
    5. Advertisement

How Do You Cook Sweet Potatoes?

Community Q&A

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  • Question How do I boil sweet potatoes? Community Answer Community Answer Boil sweet potatoes for 15 to 20 minutes, until they are tender when pierced with a fork. Note: it will take less time if you cut the sweet potatoes into smaller pieces. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 0 Helpful 7
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Tips

  • Brown sugar glazes are another common accompaniment for sweet potatoes, but they're a little more difficult to pull off when you steam them. Your best bet is to make the glaze from brown sugar and melted butter, then baste the steamed potatoes with it and transfer them to a pre-heated oven. Since the potatoes are already steamed, take them out after 10 minutes or so.[2] Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
  • Sweet potatoes come in several different colors and tastes. They all cook roughly the same, so try mixing and matching for a multi-colored presentation. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
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Expert Interview

Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about cooking, check out our in-depth interview with Sasha Reyes.

References

  1. ↑ https://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/vegetables/different-types-of-onions.asp
  2. ↑ https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/glazed-sweet-potatoes-recipe-1943354

About This Article

Sasha Reyes Co-authored by: Sasha Reyes Executive Chef This article was co-authored by Sasha Reyes. Chef Sasha Reyes is the Executive Chef and Owner of Artisan Personal Chefs. With over 20 years of food industry experience, she specializes in private dinner parties, custom sports nutrition plans for professional athletes, and cooking lessons. Chef Reyes graduated from Arizona Culinary Institute in 2011 with a degree in Culinary Arts, Baking, and Restaurant Management. This article has been viewed 400,588 times. 5 votes - 80% Co-authors: 15 Updated: February 19, 2026 Views: 400,588 Categories: Featured Articles | Potato Dishes Article SummaryX

To make steamed sweet potatoes, start by peeling some sweet potatoes and cutting them into chunks. Then, place the chunks on a steam tray or in a small metal strainer and set the tray or strainer over a pot of water. Next, cover the pot and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Finally, once the water starts boiling, lower the heat to medium and steam the potatoes for 15-20 minutes. To learn how to make different recipes using steamed sweet potatoes, scroll down! Did this summary help you?YesNo

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Reader Success Stories

  • Anonymous

    Anonymous

    Jun 10, 2018

    "To peel a potato and cut then place on the steamer."
Share your story

Did this article help you?

Yes No Advertisement Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Sasha Reyes Co-authored by: Sasha Reyes Executive Chef Co-authors: 15 Updated: February 19, 2026 Views: 400,588 80% of voters found this recipe helpful. 5 votes - 80% Click a star to add your vote Anonymous

Anonymous

Jun 10, 2018

"To peel a potato and cut then place on the steamer." Share yours!

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