These Sweet Potato Biscuits are soft, ultra fluffy with a crisp crust, and amazingly tender! They are slightly sweet and flavorful, using roasted sweet potato, and irresistibly good. No buttermilk!
These homemade sweet potato biscuits are perfect for fall or holiday baking. The dough comes together with ease, thanks to the sweetness and depth of flavor from roasted sweet potatoes. These biscuits are wonderfully flaky with a hint of softness from the sweet potatoes.
Sweet potatoes not only boost the nutrition but also add fantastic flavor and vibrant color to these biscuits. While I love my quick and easy cream biscuits, this recipe really shines—especially when you have leftover baked sweet potatoes on hand.
The tops brown beautifully in the oven, creating a wonderfully crispy crust when warm. These biscuits are simply outstanding, especially when you slather them with softened salted or cinnamon butter.
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Why you'll love this?
- Sweet potato adds a beautiful color and flavor.
- Amazingly fluffy, soft, and tender with a crisp crust.
- Tastes as good as it looks.
- Make ahead and freeze for the big day.
- Perfect way to use leftover baked sweet potato
Ingredients
Scroll down to the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and amounts.
- All purpose flour - Adding too much or less flour is one of the most common baking mistakes. Fluff up your flour before scooping it into a measuring cup, and then level off with the flat side of a butter knife before using it in the recipe.
- Sweet potato - You will need cooked and cooled sweet potato, like for the sweet potato pie recipe. Otherwise, it may cause the cold butter to melt, compromising the desired fluffy texture.
- Butter - Cold butter straight from the fridge is essential for any biscuit recipe.
- Baking powder - 3 teaspoons of baking powder gives sufficient lift!
- Sugar - As in the buttermilk drop biscuits, it adds a subtle sweetness and enhances the sweet potato flavor.
- Milk - Whole milk adds richness and makes them tender.
How to cook sweet potato?
Wash and dry your sweet potatoes. Prick them in a few places with a fork for the steam to escape.
Bake in oven - Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake in a 400-degree oven for 40 to 70 minutes, depending on the size.
Air fry - If you'd prefer to use your air fryer, check out the instructions for air fryer baked sweet potato. Just set the air fryer to 375°F and cook for 40-50 minutes.
Microwave - Place the potato on a paper towel and microwave on high for 3 minutes. Flip and microwave for another 2 minutes, or until fork-tender.
👩🍳 How do you know when the sweet potatoes are cooked? The skins will look slightly puffy, and the potato will be soft when pressed gently.
Let your cooked sweet potato cool completely before making the biscuits. Once cooled, slice it open, scoop out the flesh into a plate or bowl, and mash until smooth and lump-free using a potato masher or the back of a fork.
👩🍳 Tip: You can use a food processor to mash for an extremely smooth texture, but be careful not to over-process, as this can make the sweet potatoes gummy.
How to make sweet potato biscuits?
You can find full printable recipe below, but here is a quick overview of the procedure along with step-by-step photos.
5. Add all-purpose flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt into a medium bowl and whisk until combined.
6. Add cold butter and cut using a pastry cutter or your fingertips, until the mixture resembles a coarse meal with some pea-size chunks of butter within.
👩🍳 Pro tip: Cold butter melts in the oven's heat, causing the layers of flour to separate, resulting in light and flaky biscuits, which is the key to their fluffy texture.
7. Add the wet ingredients and mix using a spatula. Fold until the mixture is just moistened and holds together, adding 2 to 3 more tablespoons of milk if needed. Don't overwork the dough!
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9. Sprinkle a small handful of flour on a clean work surface. Turn the dough onto the surface and knead lightly 4 or 5 times with the palm of your hand until the mixture becomes a smooth ball.
10. Pat the dough to about ¾ inch thick.
11. Use a biscuit cutter (mine measures 2 ¼-inches), cut out the biscuits, and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, touching.
👩🍳 Pro tip: When cutting your biscuits, be sure not to twist the cutter. Twisting can seal the edges and won't give you tall, fluffy biscuits. Instead, press the cutter into the dough and lift it straight up.
12. Brush the tops with cream, milk, or melted butter. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes at 425 degrees, until the tops are lightly golden brown.
👩🍳Tip: Place them close together for even taller biscuits. Biscuits rise nice and tall when touching, pressed snuggly against one another in the oven.
How to serve?
Sweet potato Biscuits are great served hot for breakfast with a little spread of cinnamon butter, cranberry orange sauce or simply with softened salted butter.
They also make a nice addition to your Holiday meal, such as Thanksgiving or Christmas. Add them to your menu along with air fryer green beans or roasted sweet potato and kale salad.
Storage and Reheating
Allow your freshly biscuits to cool completely on a wire rack before storing them.
To Freeze: Place cooled biscuits in a zipper bag, seal, and freeze for up to 2 months. Let them thaw at room temperature for several hours before reheating.
To reheat:
- Oven - Place the desired number biscuits on a baking sheet and bake for about 5 to 10 minutes in a preheated 375-degree oven or until they are warmed and the edges are slightly crispy.
- Air fryer - Place them in a preheated 340-degree air fryer basket and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or warm through.
Recipe tips
- It is important to keep the butter as cold as possible. Avoid letting the dough sit at room temperature before baking the biscuits.
- Press straight down with your biscuit cutter and do not twist or turn it, which seals off the edges and keeps them from rising as much.
- For a golden brown top, brush with heavy cream, whole milk, or melted butter.
- Never overwork the dough.
- Let the sweet potato cool completely before using it in the recipe.
- You will need 1 very large or about 2 medium sweet potatoes for this recipe.
Troubleshooting tips
- Dry dough - If your dough looks dry and crumbly, making it difficult to form a smooth ball, mix in more cold milk.
- Flat biscuits - If they spread too much during baking and turn out flat, it could be because your oven was not properly reheated or the butter wasn't as cold, and it began to melt immediately.
- Too dense or heavy - It could be because your baking powder wasn't as fresh or past the expiry date. Also, adding too much flour than the recipe called for can make them heavy.
Recipe FAQs
The main difference between lies in the addition of sweet potatoes, which gives them a sweeter flavor, orange color and a soft texture.
Regular biscuits are typically made with basic ingredients such as all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, butter, and milk or buttermilk. They have a simple buttery flavor, making them versatile for savory and sweet dishes.
Although sweet potato biscuits use the same ingredient list, adding cooked sweet potatoes adds subtle sweetness. It often has a softer texture with a tender crumb due to the moisture content of the mashed potatoes.
Sure can! It is a convenient option, especially when you are short on time. Just ensure that it is adequately drained and does not contain added sugars or flavorings that might alter the taste of your biscuits.
Yes, you can use different types of sweet potatoes. The choice of sweet potato variety will influence the recipe's flavor, color, and sweetness.
1. Orange - They are the most commonly found sweet potatoes, with a vibrant orange flesh, and are often labeled as yams in some regions. They are a great choice because they add sweetness and color to the dough.
2. Purple - They have a vibrant purple flesh and a slightly sweeter and nuttier flavor than the orange variety. It will result in a unique purple hue and a distinctive flavor.
3. Japanese - They have reddish-brown skin and a creamy, yellow flesh that is sweet and chestnut-like flavor.
4. Garnet - They have reddish-brown skin and a deep orange flesh. They are slightly sweeter than white but not as sweet as orange variety. They make a good choice if you want a milder sweet potato flavor.
More Holiday Sides
Sweet Potato Biscuits
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
Wet ingredinets
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
- 1 cup mashed cooked sweet potato
- ½ cup + 1 tablespoon whole milk plus 1 to 3 tablespoons as needed
- Additonal cream, milk or butter, to brush on top
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix the cooled, mashed sweet potato and milk in a medium bowl, until smooth and combined.
To make biscuit dough by hand
- Add all dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add cold butter and cut using a pastry cutter or your finger tips, until the mixture resembles a coarse meal with some pea-size chunks of butter within.
- Add the sweet potato-milk mixture and mix using a spatula, fold until the mixture is just moistened and holds together, adding up to 2 more tablespoons of milk if needed. Don't overwork the dough!
To make biscuit dough in food processor
- Add all dry ingredients into a food processor and process a few seconds to mix.
- Add the chunks of cold butter, then pulse a few times until the mixture resembles coarse meal with some pea-size chunks of butter within.
- Add the sweet potato-milk mixture and pulse a few times until the mixture begins to come together, adding 2 to 3 more tablespoons of milk if needed.
Cut and bake
- Sprinkle a small handful of flour on a clean work surface. Turn the dough out onto the surface and knead lightly 4 or 5 times with the palm of your hand until the mixture comes together into a smooth ball. Pat the dough to about ¾ inch thick.
- Use a biscuit cutter (mine measures 2 ¼-inches), cut out the biscuits and place them on the prepared baking sheet, touching. Tip: Once you've cut out as many biscuits as possible, gather the scraps and pat the dough out to ¾-inch thickness a second and third time to finish cutting out all of the biscuits.Pro tip: When you're cutting your biscuits, be sure not to twist the cutter. Twisting can seal the edges and won't give you tall, fluffy biscuits. Instead, press the cutter straight down into the dough and lift it straight up.
- Brush the biscuit tops with cream, milk or melted butter. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden brown.Tip: Place them close together, for even taller biscuits. Biscuits rise up nice and tall when they are touching, pressed snuggly against one another in the oven.These are outstanding served warm, with a slather of salted butter.
Notes
- Prick the sweet potatoes in a few places with a fork for the steam to escape.
- Place on a foil lined baking sheet and bake in a 400 degree oven for 40 to 70 minutes, depending on the size.
- Slit open the cooled yams, scoop out the flesh into a plate or a wide bowl and mash using a potato masher or the back of a fork, until smooth and lump free.
Nutrition
Nutritional information, based on third-party calculations, should be seen as estimates, not guarantees, as various factors like product types, brands, processing methods, and more can alter the nutritional content in recipes.
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Kathleen Gittens
I made these recently & they were great. I used left over yams from a restaurant dinner. The yams were too sweet for me so I decided to repurpose ( because of the existing sweetness, I did not add sugar) They came out great. Only thing… the 425 oven temp & 22 min + bake time was too long. I did the 425 for 17 min. I tested the 22 min and those two tester biscuits burnt. Depends on your oven.
Maria Doss
That’s so great to hear, so glad you loved it. We appreciate your feed back and we have adjusted the bake time as per suggestion. Thank you - Maria