Sweet Potato Puree
Homemade sweet potato puree is a great stage-one baby food recipe that's easy to make with cooked sweet potatoes and water. Store this delicious, preservative-free sweet potato baby food in the freezer (up to 3 months) or fridge (up to 5 days).
When I decided to make homemade baby food, I expected a larger time commitment and higher costs. Boy was I wrong! To my surprise, baby food is easy, quick, and cheaper than store-bought baby food. Also, I know exactly what I put in it (just orange sweet potatoes- imagine that!)
I batch-prepare two weeks of baby food in about an hour. Thirty baby food containers are filled with four to five different homemade baby food purees and stored in the freezer. My daughter, Isla, has a few favorites- sweet potato puree, pear puree, green peas (go figure!), and apple puree.
This easy sweet potato puree recipe is also great for adult and kid breakfast sweet potato almond butter bowls or as a side dish (you can add some butter and salt).
How To Make Pureed Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes: My favorite sweet potato for this recipe is jewel sweet potato because it is dark orange in color and is buttery smooth and sweet. There are also purple sweet potatoes and white sweet potatoes. Use any kind of sweet potato available.
Peel the sweet potato with a peeler. Chop the sweet potato into similar-sized pieces. Boil the sweet potato chunks in large pot of water for about 15 minutes or until a fork tender. Separate and reserve the liquid from the cooked potatoes.
Puree the sweet potatoes with a food processor or handheld immersion blender. Add some of the reserved liquid until the desired consistency is achieved.
Store the sweet potato puree in freezer-friendly glass containers, silicone ice cube trays, or an airtight container in the fridge.
Adjusting Puree Sweetness
The natural sweetness from sweet potatoes is enough for this homemade sweet potato purée, in my opinion, especially for baby food. But if you want something a little sweeter, you can add some maple syrup or brown sugar.
Recipe Tips
Roasted sweet potatoes are delicious and an alternative way to cook the potatoes- check out the recipe card for instructions on that method. I prefer to boil the sweet potatoes (like the method in my southern sweet potato casserole) because it's quicker and makes a silky smooth puree.
📋 Recipe
Sweet Potato Puree
Ingredients
- 3 lbs sweet potatoes
Instructions
- Peel and chop sweet potatoes into similar sized pieces. Place chopped sweet potatoes in a pot filled with water about 1" above the sweet potatoes.
- Boil for about 15 minutes until a fork pierces them easily. Separate liquid and sweet potatoes. Using a food processor or hand immersion blender, puree the sweet potatoes. Add some of the reserved liquid to reach the consistency desired.
- Spoon sweet potato puree into storage containers. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Reheating instructions: The baby food containers I purchased (affiliate link in the equipment section) have survived going from the freezer, straight to the microwave. Just make sure to remove the plastic liquid. Sometimes, I'll move some of the containers from the freezer stash to the fridge the night before.
- Through multiple uses of the baby food containers, I decided to throw away the gasket seals. The containers don't seal as well, but I keep my food container upright, so it's not a problem.
- Other ways to modify this recipe:
- Mix in some milk, breast milk, or formula to thin out the puree.
- I prefer to make single ingredient baby food purees and then mix them when serving to my child. Try this sweet potato puree with homemade applesauce, pear puree, or pureed carrots.
- Add maple syrup, cinnamon, butter, or ghee to add some different flavors.
- Roast the sweet potatoes with skin on rather than boiling the potatoes. Pierce the flesh of the sweet potato with a fork and wrap in foil. Bake for about an hour at 400℉. Baked sweet potatoes have a caramelized flavor that boiled sweet potatoes don't have. BUT, I prefer boiling the potatoes because it's faster, and the texture of the potatoes are super smooth when pureed.
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