Mashed Purple Sweet Potatoes and Banana
These mashed purple sweet potatoes make a sweet side dish. If you like both mashed sweet potatoes and banana, this is the recipe for you.
This the best purple sweet potato recipe because the richness comes from the sweet potatoes and the banana. So you can make these healthy mashed sweet potatoes without milk, butter, or cream. You won’t miss them at all.

Backstory
I don’t know when I started adding banana to mashed sweet potatoes. But it was obvious that was what I needed to do with a couple of the Stokes purple sweet potatoes I picked up at the grocery store.
And they stay purple! After a few disappointing adventures in color with somewhat purple latkes and my reddish velvet beet waffles, have you ever seen anything like the color of this sweet potato and banana mash?!
What’s the difference between purple sweet potato and purple yams?
Tip from the wise quacker: people commonly confuse sweet potatoes and yams. Sweet potatoes come in all sorts of colors – orange, yellow, and purple. Almost everything we get in the U.S. is a sweet potato, not a yam.
You can read more about the difference between purple sweet potatoes and purple yams (ube) here. Hint: the only thing they share in common is their color.

Tips and tricks
How to cook the purple sweet potatoes
First, roast the purple sweet potatoes in your oven at 425 degrees or so. Poke a few holes in the skin and then wrap them in foil. They’re done when you can easily pierce the skin and flesh with a fork or knife.

Mashing the purple sweet potatoes
Let the baked purple sweet potatoes cool just a bit until you can handle them. Then put them in a bowl with the banana and salt. Mash with a potato masher and serve immediately. Easy!
You don’t even have to peel your mashed potatoes if you don’t mind the skin. In fact, sweet potato skins provide a lot of nutrition!

What to serve with mashed purple sweet potatoes
This is a great simple side to complement a simple roast meat like these cast iron chicken breasts or this pork tenderloin (minus the apples). And I’m tempted to serve these with some brown sugar and covered in marshmallows for a non-traditional Thanksgiving sweet potato!

FAQs
Absolutely. The sweet potatoes and banana make these so rich and creamy, even when dairy-free. You could add a vegan butter or any non-dairy milk of your choice to make them creamier. Or you could leave both out.
Of course. White, orange, or purple-fleshed. It all works. These purple sweet potatoes are just a bit drier than other sweet potatoes, but they won’t taste any different.
Yes. Sweet potatoes can be frozen either after cooking or after mashing and stored for months. The texture won’t be the same, but they’ll still taste good.
Related recipes
Enjoy some other uglyducklingbakery recipes with purple sweet potatoes like baked purple sweet potato loaded with white beans, my purple sweet potato sourdough, or those purple sweet potato pancakes.
Mashed Purple Sweet Potatoes and Banana
Ingredients
- 2 small purple sweet potatoes one per person
- 1 small to medium banana one half per person
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon butter, optional
- 1 tablespoon cream or milk (dairy or non-dairy), optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- Scrub the sweet potatoes. Use a fork to puncture the skin in several paces, and then wrap them in aluminum foil.2 small purple sweet potatoes
- Bake for 45 to 60 minutes until the skin and flesh is easily pierced with a fork.
- Let the potatoes cool enough so that you can handle them. If you want to peel them, use a knife to cut a thin slit in the skin and peel.
- Combine the peeled sweet potatoes and banana in a small to medium sized bowl and mash them with a potato masher or fork until well-combined. Add salt and butter, milk, or cream, if you are using them, adding a little bit at a time and adjusting for taste and texture as desired. Serve warm.1 small to medium banana, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon butter, optional, 1 tablespoon cream or milk (dairy or non-dairy), optional
Notes
Nutrition
What’s next
If you make mashed purple sweet potatoes, want to ask a question about sweet potatoes, or just want to share your love of purple food, please leave a comment or rating here.
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