Hot Takes and Hot Plates: Sweet Potatoes

By Kaitlin McDowell

Edited by Taylor Morgan

KAITLIN MCDOWELL / UP Co-Copy Editor

Hot Take: Sweet potatoes belong in the dessert category of the food chart, not the produce aisle 

I love sweet potatoes, and every time I eat them for dinner, which is quite often, I wonder how they are considered a vegetable and related to their more savory relatives, white potatoes. Vegetables have long been demonized as “boring” and are the villains on every child's dinner plate. However, the orange potato practically melts in your mouth with hints of caramel, making it incredibly tasty and reminiscent of a sweet treat. 

Not only are sweet potatoes famed for their nutty, slightly honeyed taste and creamy texture when cooked, but this fall staple is nutrient-packed. Sweet potatoes are filled with fiber (which is the new protein?), benefiting one’s gut health. Additionally, they are a great source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C and electrolytes, providing more hydration than a bottle of Gatorade. If this all means I can eat one of my favorite foods and benefit my health, I will take two, please! 

I have seen countless recipes on social media, where creators make “dessert sweet potatoes” by baking the potato and adding a variety of other toppings. The concept of eating a sweet potato for a dessert feels a little strange to me, given its vegetable classification, but to each their own. 

However, given my love for sweet potatoes, when I saw a recipe for sweet potato brownies, I was intrigued and had to make them.

The idea of a sweet potato brownie combines my love for sweet treats and the health benefits of one of nature’s candies. It does not hurt that these brownies are naturally sweetened and healthier than other brownies, but the added chocolate makes them a little more satisfying for a late-night craving.

To start, I baked my sweet potato at 400 F for about an hour in order to properly mash it. Once baked, I cut the sweet potato in half and peeled the orange delight from the skin. It already smelled good enough to eat, but I held off. 

I mashed the sweet potato, which was much easier than the banana from my last recipe, and let it cool before combining with the other ingredients. While waiting for the sweet potato to cool, preheat your oven to 350 F and round up your other ingredients. 

KAITLIN MCDOWELL / UP Co-Copy Editor

To make the sweet potato brownies, I mixed (measurements listed below) flour, eggs, cocoa powder, cinnamon, sea salt, espresso powder (to deepen the chocolate flavor), vanilla, baking powder, dark chocolate chips and maple syrup. 

The specific recipe I followed called for a cup of mashed sweet potato, but I have the mindset of the more sweet potato the merrier, so I measured with my heart and used all the mashed sweet potato I had. 

Once mixed, I poured the batter into my baking dish and added more chocolate chips to the top. Bake for 35 minutes. 

After what felt like years, my timer went off. I took the brownies out of the oven, and to my delight, they looked and smelled just like conventional brownies. 

I sliced into the chocolate-scented treat after it had cooled, revealing vibrant orange ribbons of sweet potato woven throughout the fudgy baked good. This was a pleasant surprise, as I was worried the sweet potato and its flavor would be disguised amongst the other ingredients mixed in the treat. 

Nothing could have prepared me for the satisfaction I experienced upon biting into the brownie. Truly love at first bite.

My brownie tasted just like any other brownie, yet with the added sweet potato caramel-like flavor, better. The added sweet potato also gave these brownies a light and fluffy interior compared to the overly dense texture you sometimes get with traditional recipes. Additionally, the fact that I made these brownies myself, unsure of what I would get, made them all the sweeter. 

For serving, I highly recommend warming the brownies as the gooey chocolate chips and warm fudge flavor literally melt in your mouth, bite after bite. 

After making this recipe, I will never judge a food combination by its cover again. Maybe sweet potatoes really were meant to be dessert.

I would also like to note that since making this recipe, I have found myself on the sweet potato side of TikTok with my fellow sweet potato lovers and have come across so many new ways to use a sweet potato, so stay tuned for more sweet potato-based recipes. 

I hope everyone dares to try this unconventional food pairing and tag @upmagazinemu on Instagram if you do. I am already dreaming of making these brownies again. 

Ingredients: 

• 2 eggs 

• 6 tbsp flour 

• 1 Mashed sweet potato

• ½ cup maple syrup

• 3 tbsp cocoa powder 

• Dark chocolate chips (measure with your heart) 

• Dash of cinnamon 

• Dash of sea salt 

• 1-2 tsp of espresso powder

• 1 tsp vanilla extract