Packed with nutrition and deliciousness, sweet potatoes are versatile and healthy. This sweet potato hash is a healthy, delicious, vegan side dish that is easy to make and can even be a full meal.
Aren’t sweet potatoes amazing?
They’re super yummy. They last like forever in the pantry. They are healthier than regular white potatoes. They can go sweet or savory.
See? Amazing.
If you’re like me, at any given moment, you probably have 2-3 sweet potatoes sitting in your pantry along with an onion and a few stalks of celery in the fridge.
And do you know what that means?
It means you can make this delicious, easy and healthy side any time you want!
This sweet potato hash is one of the best sweet potato recipes to use any night of the week while you’re dealing with the rest of dinner. Just pop the sweet potatoes into the pan and forget about them for like 20 minutes while you take care of the rest of the meal. Or the kiddos. Or Facebook. Whatevs.
Really, this “side” could easily be made a meal by itself, if you’re willing to forgo the meat in your dinner. It’s very filling and satisfying to the tummy. I’ve also just wrapped them up in some lettuce leaves for a tasty and quick dinner.
OMG yum.
Seriously, though. This sweet potato hash recipe is super versatile — it can be a vegan breakfast hash, lunch or dinner.
It can be a side, a meal, or a wrap filling. It also happens to be completely vegan and paleo, too.
This simple sweet potato recipe really covers all the bases.
WHY SWEET POTATOES ARE GOOD FOR YOU
I say sweet potatoes are amazing, but you’re not 100% convinced yet?
Ok, then let’s have the “why are sweet potatoes good for you” talk…
Sweet potatoes are:
- low in calories – 86 calories per 1/2 cup
- high in fiber
- high in potassium
- high in vitamin A – 1/2 cup of sweet potato = 283% of the recommended daily dose of vitamin A. Yes, 283%. No mistake here.
- fat-free
- a great source of vitamin B6
- a great source of vitamin E
- a good source of calcium and magnesium
Now you believe me when I tell you sweet potatoes are good for you, right?
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SWEET POTATO AND A YAM
Ok so here’s the deal. You know those yams you can buy at the grocery store? Yeah, those are probably sweet potatoes.
Wait, what? How can that be?
Give me a sec and I’ll explain everything.
First of all, let me start by saying yams and sweet potatoes are not the same thing. They are not even related, actually. They are both root vegetables, but this is where the similarities end.
So what is the difference between a sweet potato and a yam?
Yams are native to Asia and Africa. They are cylindrical, they have a dark brown almost black skin and purple or white flesh. They taste nothing like sweet potatoes and they are starchier and drier than the versatile root veggie we all love.
Sweet potatoes, on the other hand, can have white, orange, red, yellow or brown skin and orange, red-orange, and white flesh. They have a more elongated shape than yams and they have that sweet taste we all know and love.
Here’s where the confusion started. In the US, there are 2 types of sweet potatoes sold in grocery stores:
- Firm sweet potatoes: These sweet potatoes have gold skin and a pale yellow flesh. These sweet potatoes remain firm after cooking.
- Soft sweet potatoes: They have copper skin and deep-orange flesh. Soft sweet potatoes become creamy after cooking.
What you see labeled as yams in grocery stores are actually soft sweet potatoes. Ahhhhhh!
HOW TO MAKE A SWEET POTATO HASH
Now that you know all there is to know about yams and sweet potatoes – well, not everything but everything that will help you when you go grocery shopping – it is time to get back to our sweet potato hash recipe.
And, let me tell you, this is one of those do-what-you-please hash recipes. AKA a versatile healthy sweet potato hash.
You can enjoy it as it is as a side dish. After all, it is delicious. And vegan and keto and paleo and gluten-free and clean eating friendly, by the way.
But you can also transform it into one of the most delicious vegetarian sweet potato recipes if you add a fried egg for a little extra protein. Or maybe even add sausages (if you’re not vegan or vegetarian and you like sausages, of course).
CAN YOU EAT SWEET POTATO SKIN?
I often get this question so I wanted to be sure to answer it. The very short answer is, “YES!!!!!.” The longer answer is this: You do not need to remove the sweet potato peel to make sweet potato hash. If you don’t happen to like the taste or texture of the peel, then you’re free to remove it. HOWEVER, the peel contains a lot of the nutrients of the sweet potato.
The skins contain…
- fiber
- beta-carotene
- vitamin C
- vitamin E
- folate
- potassium
- iron
So it’s a good idea to not just throw all that goodness away.
How to peel sweet potatoes, if you want to:
- Scrub the sweet potato with a brush or wet cloth.
- Rinse the sweet potato under running water.
- Peel the sweet potato with a vegetable peeler or a paring knife.
WHAT TO SUBSTITUTE FOR ONION
If you’re looking to enjoy this sweet potato hash recipe, but you don’t like onions, you have some options for a tasty and easy onion substitute. Here are some easy onion alternatives:
- mushrooms
- shallot
- chives
- leeks
- bell peppers
- lentils
- cabbage
- eggplant
- carrots
Any of these onion alternatives will work great in this recipe. Of course, you can also decide to just leave them out entirely. These substitutions also work very well if you’re wanting to make sweet potato hash without bell peppers.
3 MORE HEALTHY SWEET POTATO RECIPES
Do you want more healthy sweet potato recipes? Sure, no problem. I have other 3 sweet potato recipes you will most definitely fall in love with!
SWEET POTATO SKINS
Sweet potatoes are perfect all day long. They make a great breakfast, a great lunch, and a great dinner. But they also make a great appetizer. These Sweet Potato Skins are proof of that.
These Sweet Potato Skins are not your typical sweet potato skins, they are made with chicken, spinach, and Greek yogurt, which makes them lighter and healthier than the traditional recipes but not at all less delicious. Get the recipe.
SWEET POTATO TORTILLAS
With only 3 ingredients you can make these amazing Sweet Potato Tortillas. They are dense, flavorful, healthy, and perfect for clean eating.
You can use the Sweet Potato Tortillas to make all your wrap, taco, quesadilla, and enchiladas recipes healthy and delicious. Get the recipe.
SWEET POTATO LASAGNA
Lasagna stays on the same level as pizza on the list of favorite Italian dishes. At least in my house. But lasagna is not very healthy. Wait, whoever says that never tried my Sweet Potato Lasagna.
You know why? Because this Sweet Potato Lasagna is mouthwatering and delicious but also healthy and good for you. Get the recipe.
This sweet potato hash recipe is a healthy, delicious, vegetarian side that is easy to make and can even be a full meal.
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 medium sweet potatoes, skin-on and diced into equal, bite-size chunks
- 1/2 medium white onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- sliced green onions, for garnish
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Heat oil in large pan over medium-high heat.
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Add the potatoes, onion and celery to the oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
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Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are almost tender.
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Turn the heat to high and add the garlic, stirring to combine. Cook on high for 2-5 more minutes until sweet potatoes are nicely browned.
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Serve hot and with sliced green onions, if desired.
Recipe Video
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I omitted the celery due to personal preference and added a chopped zucchini with the garlic. Delicious!
Loved this recipe and I’m not even a sweet potato fan! The celery gives it such a nice flavor and the garlic at the end is genius! PS I left the skin on.
Wow. I almost gave up using the recipe because it took sooooo long to get to it with all the “talking”. It was the equivalent to vloggers charting it up and wait until the 6 minute mark to speak on the subject at hand 🙃
Oh my gosh, I was thinking the same thing! Get on with it!
Eek – Sorry about this, ladies! There is a way to surpass all this if you click the button on top labeled “Jump To Recipe” I’m Lacey’s blog moderator and hope this will help you navigate the posts better. Thanks for commenting! -Jen
Awesome!
Wonderful recipe. Thanks so much, I’ll make this part of my weekly meal planning.
Hi again, I hate to be a motormouth, but I thought you may like my idea to save time on this recipe. I use a 2 qt PamperedChef black microwave veggie pot to cook my sweet potatoes in the microwave. I just halve the sweet potatoes,(they are so hard) and I nuke them for 2 min. at a time until they are done. Usually a total of 4 minutes cooks 3 potatoes. As soon as the potatoes are cooked a little, you still want them to be a little firm, but done…. You just brown them off in a skillet quickly and then add your other veggies to the potatoes after you have sauteed them in a separate skillet. This keeps the different veggies at jut the right crispness that I prefer.
I hope this helps all you busy people!
Microwaves should never be used for cooking. Maybe…maybe light reheats.
Thanks for the idea! Not a thing wrong with your recipe ingredients, ya know how each of us are different? Yeah, that. Ha. Anyway, I used Anaheim chili’s instead of your celery, added smoked paprika and just a touch of maple syrup on top of the sweet potatoes after they were cooked. Sauteed the veggies seperately and kept them slightly crunchy for texture. Added veggies to potatoes after they were browned. Topped with fresh cilantro w/lots of the stem chopped coarsely.
The women in my house went insane over it. Just coming back to let ya know, as I start another batch on another day. Thanks again.
Soooo tasty. I kept the skins on potatoes. I substitute zucchini for the celery. Served it with an over-easy egg and avocado/lime/salt n pepper. The egg and creamy avocado was soooo nice with the hash. worked beautifully together.
This is a delicious, healthy alternative to the traditional hash browns. I left the skins on and they brown up quite nicely. Was a great New Year’s Day breakfast item as my boyfriend and I started our 2019 off eating healthier. I think celery was a nice addition, but I let it cook down so it was really soft and less crunchy.
Omit the celery and it’d be good.
I love that you also recommended your sweet potato skin recipe! Now I HAVE to try both recipes! haha
My husband and I LOVED it! Thank you for sharing!
Woot! So happy to hear 🙂
I followed this recipe exactly, except that I halved it and I peeled my sweet potato. The result was something a little more mash like than hash like (albeit still delicious). Do you think this is because I peeled the potato?!
That’s very likely – the skin does help it hold up some to the cooking. Maybe try with the skin next time?
Awesome. My wife of 37 years and i have started eating very clean. This was wonderful. Next time we’ll probably skip the celery and try something else. As a fellow photography enthusiast i also wanted to say the pics are top notch. You really have perfected your craft. Subscribing.
Thank you soooo much! xoxox
What a great find! Just made this for breakfast and we LOVED it! I didn’t have celery so used zucchini. Delicious!!
Ooh! Love the idea of adding zucchini to this! How did you cut it?
Have you ever tried grating the sweet potatoes/yams instead of dicing?
Yes! You could totally do this and it would resemble hash browns a little more — it might get a little mushy and you’d have to cook it longer before tossing, but I’d bet it’d be tasty!
Hey can you use sweet potatoes that are already cooked for this recipe?
I’ve actually never tried – but I’d cook everything else first and then toss in the cooked sweet potatoes right at the end and heat through so they don’t get too mushy.
This sounds yummy! Does it do well made in advance and warmed up later? I need. Vegan side dish for Easter brunch and would love to make it the day before.
Thanks.
Yep, this would be perfect for that! 🙂
How do you suggest re-heating the sweet potatoes? I’d love to make this the night before and reheat for breakfast the next day
You can either reheat in the microwave or a skillet. The microwave will make it more soggy and the skillet will make it a little more crispy – you choice on which you prefer 🙂
Love***Love***Love this quick and easy recipe. I started cooking on the stove, then finished with about 5 min on the grill. I triple wrapped the foil to prevent from burning with pam spray. I will be making this again….very soon.
Very cool! I would have never thought to try that. Thanks for sharing!
Delicious! Just tried it for the first time and I loved it!!
Yay, so happy to hear that 🙂
This is a delicious recipe. So easy and quick. I added a little curry powder for some extra flavor. Will definitely make again.
Love the addition of curry powder – thanks for sharing!
I made this this morning and it is my new favorite breakfast! I do feel the need to share, however, that what you have shown is a YAM, not a sweet potato. Americans tend to use the two names interchangeably, but they do not TASTE the same. Sweet potatoes are shaped like regular potatoes and are almost white on the inside with a very mild flavor and a more, well, potato consistancy and might ruin this awesome recipe! Thanks for coming up with this!
lol, yea we do tend to use yams and sweet potatoes very interchangeably so apologies for any confusion that may have caused and thanks for making that distinction. 🙂
Hello!
I tried this recipe and quite enjoyed it (it’s heating on the stove right now for later 🙂 ).
However I’d like to note that they aren’t actually yams… They are labelled as yams in some parts but a real yam is purple inside 😛 That’s the scientific naming, anyway.
The orange fleshed ones are labelled as yams and sweet potatoes in different places, but they are actually sweet potatoes. There are two types… Anyhow, there are a few articles on it if you want extra information.
In other words, the author of this post is correct in that they are sweet potatoes!
http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-between-yams-and-sweet-potatoes-word-of-mouth-211176
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/vegetables/sweetpotato.html
lol, thanks for sharing that knowledge on yams and sweet potatoes, Moe!
At first first announcement of “sweet potato hash,” I received a “one-arched-eye-brow” puzzled look… After the first bite, it was “double-arched-eye-brow” wows all around! Thanks Lacey, it was a hit!
Yay! So glad it was a hit! 🙂
Around our house, my wife lets me do breakfast cooking on Sunday mornings. Along with the fried or scrambled eggs, links and whole grain toast, my favorite is always a big 12″ cast iron skillet of “camp-fire” fried potatoes. You know the drill I’m sure. A medium – large onion is sliced and fried, to a point just short of cremated! With of course, 3-4 potatoes that were “baked” in the microwave either the night before, or if necessary, 30 minutes before. Larapin’
As it happens, we also add microwave “baked” sweet potatoes to our lunch or dinner menu often. I am here to tell you that THIS Sunday morning, Sweet Potato Hash is gonna be on the menu. It sounds Larapin’ as well as easier! Thanks Lacey!
Hi Gary! Thanks for sharing. I hope you enjoyed the sweet potato hash this morning!! 🙂
My hubby loves hash for Sunday morning breakfast! We’ll be trying this!
I hope you two have a wonderful breakfast this Sunday! 🙂