When it comes to food-centric holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas, I like to pull out all the stops. A stunning main course is important, but it’s all the side dishes that make the meal. But, as you know, no holiday dinner is complete without some delicious bread to sop up all the yummy flavors. These tender sweet potato biscuits are a fun seasonal riff on classic buttermilk biscuits, replete with tons of flaky, fluffy layers you want in homemade biscuits with the addition of a lovely fall-inspired hue and flavor.
Made similarly to regular biscuits, mashed roasted sweet potato gets folded into the dough for this recipe, creating soft and tender flaky biscuits with perfect crispy edges, ready for a slathering of honey butter! For more biscuit recipes, try my easy drop biscuits, buttermilk biscuits recipe, and cheesy cheddar biscuits recipe.
What You Need To Make This Recipe
Sugar – adding a touch of sugar helps the biscuits achieve a beautiful golden-brown color in the oven. Organic cane sugar is an acceptable substitute!
Baking powder – not to be confused with baking soda, this leavener helps your biscuits rise to impressively lofty heights. If you’re not sure how old your jar is, you can easily test if its still active by adding a spoonful to a dark bowl and adding a splash of hot water. If it bubbles and fizzes, it’s good to go.
Cold unsalted butter – “cold” is the operative word here. When you’re done mixing up the biscuit dough, you should see visible, pebble-sized chunks of butter throughout. As they bake, the butter melts, creating steam that separates the dough into flaky layers. If you only have salted butter on hand, cut down the added salt to about ¼ – ½ teaspoon.
Mashed sweet potato – in total, you’ll need about 1 large sweet potato. You’re also welcome to use canned sweet potato purée so long as it’s pure sweet potato with no extra additives.
Buttermilk – the fat and acidity in buttermilk is essential in creating a terrifically tender crumb. To make your own, add a tablespoon of acid (e.g. lemon juice or vinegar) to a liquid measuring cup, then top it off with enough milk (preferably whole) to make a cup. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes to curdle, then use as directed.
How To Make Sweet Potato Biscuits
1. Preheat the oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt).
2. Add the butter and toss to coat in flour. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the pieces are pea-sized.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the mashed sweet potato and buttermilk.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture. Stir together using a spatula just until the mixture has mostly come together in a single mass.
5. Turn out the biscuit dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead a few times to bring the dough together. Roll or pat to a 1-inch thickness.
6. Using a floured 2-inch round biscuit cutter, cut out the biscuits and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Gather and reroll scraps once. Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops appear dry and the bottoms are golden brown. Serve warm brushed with melted butter if desired.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Make sure your sweet potato puree is cold when adding it to the mix. I like to use leftover sweet potatoes or bake them the day before and chill them overnight. If the mash is hot when added to the mixture, it will melt the butter, resulting in a less flakey biscuit.
- Invest in a pastry blender to make short work of cutting the butter into the flour. If you don’t have one, you can press the pieces of butter between your fingers, flattening them into little discs. Continue doing so until the butter is worked into small pieces.
- Don’t overwork the dough. It will be slightly shaggy and crumbly once mixed together in the bowl — that’s totally normal! You’ll give it a few turns to bring it together, but don’t worry if a few little pieces still feel loose. They’ll bake up together just fine! And if you keep working the dough, the biscuits will be tough.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! That said, I suggest opting for an orange-fleshed variety to add a pretty hue to the biscuits.
These sweet potato biscuits are delicious in any situation where you’d typically serve rolls or plain biscuits. They’re a no-brainer for your holiday tables and Thanksgiving dinner, served as a side dish alongside easy green bean casserole, creamed spinach, classic mashed potatoes, and tradional roasted turkey, but are also lovely served with sausage gravy or sliced in half and stuffed with eggs and bacon as a breakfast sandwich.
While they’re best served still warm from the oven, you can store any leftovers for a day or two. Allow them to cool completely, then transfer to an airtight container and keep them at room temperature. Unbaked cut biscuits can be frozen until solid, then stored in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Bake as directed from frozen, adding 3 to 5 minutes to the cook time.
You definitely can! Just make sure you don’t over-blend the flour. A food processor is a very powerful piece of equipment, and pressing the pulse button a little too long can take your sweet potato buttermilk biscuits from fluffy and flaky to tough and dense in an instant. I recommend pulsing 3 times to incorporate the butter, then pulse while pouring in the sweet potato mixture.
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If you’ve tried this Sweet Potato Biscuit recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Sweet Potato Biscuits
Equipment
- Pastry blender or two knives
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (360g)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup cold unsalted butter cubed
- 1 cup mashed sweet potato (250g) (about 1 large potato)
- ¾ cup buttermilk (180ml)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and toss to coat in flour. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the pieces are pea-sized.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the mashed sweet potato and buttermilk. Add to the flour mixture. Stir together using a spatula just until the mixture has mostly come together in a single mass.
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead a few times to bring the dough together. Roll or pat to a 1-inch thickness. Using a floured 2-inch round cutter, cut out the biscuits and place them on the baking sheet. Gather and reroll scraps once.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops appear dry and the bottoms are golden brown. Serve warm brushed with melted butter if desired.
Notes
- Make sure your sweet potato puree is cold when adding it to the mix. I like to use leftover sweet potatoes or bake them the day before and chill them overnight. If the mash is hot when added to the mixture, it will melt the butter, resulting in a less flakey biscuit.
- Invest in a pastry blender to make short work of cutting the butter into the flour. If you don’t have one, you can press the pieces of butter between your fingers, flattening them into little discs. Continue doing so until the butter is worked into small pieces.
- Don’t overwork the dough. It will be slightly shaggy and crumbly once mixed together in the bowl — that’s totally normal! You’ll give it a few turns to bring it together, but don’t worry if a few little pieces still feel loose. They’ll bake up together just fine! And if you keep working the dough, the biscuits will be tough.
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