You can either love or hate sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes can be in different forms such as fried, baked, mashed, and others. It is classified as an alternative to normal healthy potatoes. Sweet potatoes are very versatile with a sweet flavor. There are some people who only think of sweet potatoes when it comes to Thanksgiving.
You should be aware that we have several ways to deliciously enjoy sweet potatoes. However, if after you have prepared sweet potatoes and eaten some, but you have leftovers, you will have to store them and reheat them later. How exactly can you go about this?
Can your sweet potatoes be reheated? Depending on the method used when they were cooked originally, the best method you can use to reheat your sweet potatoes is to do it in an air fryer or an oven. An oven is most widely used to reheat your sweet potatoes and any other dish that contains sweet potatoes. It is recommended that the oven is preheated to a temperature of 400°F after which you can reheat your sweet potatoes within 10 to 15 minutes.
If you want to have the full details about how you can reheat your sweet potatoes and other information as regards reheating all types of dish made from sweet potatoes that you can have, please continue reading this article.
The Ultimate Guide to Reheating Sweet Potatoes
There are several ways in which sweet potatoes can be cooked. What we want to do is to have a breakdown of the list of specific kinds of sweet potatoes for you to have the full knowledge of how to undergo reheating without sacrificing the flavor and texture.
We are first going to check out how cooked sweet potatoes can be properly stored so that your reheating process will not contain the growth of mold.
Cooling and Storing Sweet Potatoes
Depending on the method you used to cook your sweet potatoes, if after you have eaten, you have some leftovers, and you want them to cool to maintain the soft or crispy or fluffy texture, you will have to properly store them where such environment can be maintained.
Storing Mashed Sweet Potatoes
The best thing to do with mashed sweet potatoes is to store them in your refrigerator for one or two days and ensure to eat for dinner or lunch. Freezing your mashed sweet potatoes could allow the texture and consistency to be tampered with. They cool easily if you give a few stirs at intervals. Make sure an airtight container is used to store in your fridge.
Storing Sauteed (Or Any Type Of Chopped Sweet Potatoes)
One major distinction between this type of sweet potatoes (Sauteed) and the steamed or baked type is that the former is usually chopped into smaller sizes. Your cooking method does not matter as how the size of each potato piece matters.
A whole potato is a good ground for bacteria and mold to survive because it takes a lot of time to cool fully.
Your sauteed sweet potato, however, cool faster before any growth of mold. Because they are in smaller pieces, they become cool very fast. You can skip the step of putting them in the fridge and place your sautéed sweet potatoes by leaving them on a counter to cool before putting into your freezer. This does not mean you should leave your sweet potatoes exposed all day.
Storing Baked or Steamed Sweet Potatoes
To store baked or steamed sweet potatoes, they could be stuck directly inside the refrigerator immediately. When you place them directly inside the refrigerator, they get to cool quickly. To prevent this type of sweet potatoes from developing mold particles, it is better to cool them in your fridge instead of you to leave it to cool on their own unless you plan to eat them immediately. Ensure you allow the sweet potato to completely cool in your refrigerator before you stick it inside your freezer so that you will avoid potential freezer burn.
Storing Fried Potatoes (aka Sweet Potato Fries)
If you want to store sweet potato fries or crispy sweet potatoes in general, you will have to give enough time for the potatoes to cool so that the fries will not be left with condensation when they are allowed to cool in the refrigerator or freezer. Freezer burn is the same thing as condensation inside the freezer that will result in a change of flavor and also dull your food’s color. The slices will turn soggy if they are taken into the refrigerator while still hot. The crispy, fluffy fries will be all but gone.
Reheating Sweet Potatoes – The Best Way
So we have been able to cover the best way to cool your sweet potatoes and how to best store them. It is time for us to check out our main focus of today which is how you can reheat your sweet potatoes.
Reheating Mashed Sweet Potatoes
There is a little bit of work to be done if you want to reheat mashed sweet potatoes, most especially when they are already frozen. Remember we recommended earlier that it is better not to freeze them. However, in case you did, follow this guide to save them. The best method to reheat your frozen mashed sweet potatoes is to microwave them:
- Put your mashed sweet potatoes in your microwave-safe bowl
- Allow them to microwave for one minute on high heat and additionally in the 30-second interval until thoroughly warmed.
- Because of the properties of your microwave at high-heat, the mash should be kept intact.
Your mashed sweet potatoes can also be reheated in an oven.
Reheating Sauteed Sweet Potatoes
Sauteed sweet potatoes are very delicious when added to fresh dishes like stews and soups. If you will like to reheat your sautéed sweet potatoes alone, you should do that in the oven just like when you want to reheat sweet fried potatoes or they can be sautéed all over again. Check below for how you can reheat them:
- Sautee them exactly how you prepared it. Add oil to a pan that is under medium heat before you proceed to sautee them until it is hot.
- Note that the sautéed sweet potatoes may disintegrate a little because they were once warm and are precooked. You could be left with them being mushy because they were already soft.
- If your burner is on medium-high heat, i.e. enough heat depending on your oil’s smoke point, this problem of being mushy could be avoided but ensure you do not allow them to burn.
Reheating Baked or Steamed Sweet Potatoes
Using your oven is still the best method to reheat steamed or baked sweet potatoes. Check out the step by step method below:
- Allow the oven to preheat to a temperature of 400°F.
- Remove the steamed or baked sweet potato from the freezer.
- Place them line by line with your baking liner on the baking sheet. There should be enough space between each of them so that they can properly crisp.
- Bake them for one hour.
- In case you wish to reheat a smaller amount of sweet potatoes, you should check on them after 30 or 45 minutes so that you will be on the safer side because a larger amount takes longer.
Reheating Fried Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potato fries can best be reheated inside the oven. Their fluffy and soft center and their outside crispy texture will be retained when this method is used. One good thing is you can remove them from your freezer and directly put them in a preheated oven. Check below for the step by step guide of how you can reheat your frozen sweet potato fries:
- Allow the oven to preheat to a temperature of 400°F.
- Remove the sweet potato fries from the freezer.
- Place them line by line with your baking liner on the baking sheet. There should be enough space between each of the fries for them to properly crisp.
- Bake them for 10 to 15 minutes or until it is hot.
- Remove and enjoy your delicious and crispy sweet potato fries.
Another method you can use to reheat them is to use an air fryer. The air fryer method will also give similar results with baking. You must however ensure that you do not overfill the air fryer if you want them to properly crispy. The ideal thing to do is to reheat them in batches. The oven is considered the best because you can heat as many as you can at once.
Related Questions
In case you have some questions, we have put together some that may be lingering in your mind.
Can I store reheated sweet potatoes?
It is not recommended to store reheated sweet potatoes. It is best to reheat any kind of food once and eat all at once. If you doubt finishing it all at once, you should only reheat the portion you can consume in order not to waste it.
What if my sweet potato is mixed into a dish, like a curry or rice?
In case you have your sweet potato mixed with another dish, all you need to do is to reheat your dish as normal. Be sure to reheat it thoroughly and stir it often so that the bottom portion will not be overcooked.
What is the difference between yams and sweet potatoes?
Yam originates from the Caribbean, its inside is starchy and less sweet and its exterior resembles bark. Yam has low beta carotene that is largely contained in your sweet potatoes, most especially those orange types. A fun fact is that the yams that you buy when you go to grocery stores are orange-fleshed sweet potatoes.
Sweet potatoes, however, are popularly grown in the United States and they are sweeter in comparison with yams. You could commonly see them in stores labeled falsely as “yams.” One thing you should know is that both yam and sweet potatoes are root vegetables and very nutritious but they are completely different.
