Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Butternut Squash

DinnerGluten FreeLunchRefined Sugar FreeSidesThanksgiving

Nov. 18

Written By

The Ultimate Thanksgiving Side Dish

Who doesn’t love mashed potatoes? It’s that creamy, comforting side dish that always seems to hit the spot! Well, what if I told you that you could make mashed potatoes with sweet potatoes? And you can add even more vegetables into it without tasting it???Welcome to the world of Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Butternut Squash! My mother-in-law, Sandra, invented this recipe and really my only role in this recipe is to season it, taste it and season it again. So major kudos goes to Sandra! Thank you for letting me share this recipe!

A New Kinda Mash

Mashed sweet potatoes became a staple in our family when my father-in-law was diagnosed with diabetes. Since the doctor recommended eating sweet potatoes, instead of white potatoes, we had to figure out a way to have mashed sweet potatoes that would still fill the creamy, comforting side dish quota!I personally love sweet potatoes. I think it’s so much more flavorful than white potatoes! For these mashed sweet potatoes and butternut squash, I add an extra savory flavor with a little garlic powder, in addition to the requisite salt and pepper. Sweet potatoes are loaded with positive health benefits. They are high in antioxidants, like beta-carotene, which gives the orange hue to the potato. Sweet potatoes are also high in fiber, which gives you that full feeling, and helps to slow sugar absorption which prevents spiking or crashing blood sugar levels. Another great benefit of sweet potatoes is the high Vitamin A content. Vitamin A helps to increase the production of immune cells to fight off infections and disease. Perfect for this time of the year when colds are running rampant!Butternut squash also brings an extra boost of nutritional benefits. Like sweet potatoes, butternut squash contains high levels of antioxidants, vitamin A and manganese, which helps the enzymatic reaction of the antioxidants in the body. Butternut squash may also help to fight melanoma, ovarian and lung cancer. I think the most interesting thing is that a particular kind of squash, called Cucurbita moschata, may also help prevent the formation of new fat cells in the body for storage. That means that no new fat will be created! Amazing stuff! Mashed Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash

The Secrets to this Recipe

Now for the secret to these Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Butternut Squash…. An immersion blender! This handy little kitchen tool creates the fluffiest, creamiest texture. And you won’t need to add any extra liquid to the mash because of it. If you don’t have an immersion blender, or if you prefer a less smooth mashed potato, you could definitely use a potato masher too. There’s also real butter in this recipe! If you’re using a good quality butter, this makes all the difference to the sweet potatoes. Don’t worry about the amount of butter used - you’re not going to eat the whole thing in one sitting. And realistically, this is probably less butter than other recipes use. I’ve seen a lot of mashed potato recipes that use butter, milk, cream cheese and/or sour cream! Mashed Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash

Thanksgiving Deliciousness

I think these Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Butternut Squash would be an awesome side for Thanksgiving. Not only are they very festive with the orange color, but they are a delicious side and no one would even realize it is a healthier alternative! It’s also a super easy, one pot recipe. And isn’t that perfect for Thanksgiving too?! Only one pot to wash for this side dish! You could also make it a day ahead, and keep in the fridge overnight. Then just reheat it, either in the microwave or on the stove top (if you have space) on Thanksgiving day. Yum!Let me know if you give this recipe a try! Take a photo and tag me at @nourish_with_renata as well as using the hashtag #nourishwithrenata.