An oxymoron-sounding name, but a real Taiwanese classic: Frozen Baked Sweet Potatoes. These are baked to caramel-sweet perfection, then frozen to achieve an almost popsicle-like texture.
Sweet potatoes are a staple in Taiwanese cuisine: they are second to rice as the starch of choice. In Taiwan, these are so commonplace you’ll find them packaged in 7-Eleven. And oddly enough, it’s some of the best sweet potatoes you’ve ever had.
As a bonus, frozen baked sweet potatoes like this is known to contain less calories, as well as a number of health benefits. The freezing process creates an abundance of “resistant starches,” which passes through the small intestine without getting digested and instead feeds bacterial fermentation in the colon.
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Frozen Baked Sweet Potato (冰烤地瓜)
Course: SnackCuisine: TaiwaneseDifficulty: Easy4
servings5
minutes1
hour20
minutesAn oxymoron-sounding name, but a real Taiwanese classic: Frozen Baked Sweet Potatoes. These are baked to caramel-sweet perfection, then frozen to achieve an almost popsicle-like texture.
Ingredients
4 sweet potatoes (300 – 400g each)
Directions
- Choosing Sweet Potatoes. Different varieties of sweet potato contain different amounts of sugar content — choosing the correct one is key. For this recipe, I recommend using Taiwanese, Japanese, or Korean sweet potatoes. Note: I’ve tried many sweet potato varieties and found the best results with Japanese sweet potatoes (the reddish color skin, pale-yellow flesh variety also known as satsumaimo). Sugar content is pivotal so do NOT use starchy varieties like the Okinawan sweet potato (purple flesh). The ideal shape will be long, slender sweet potatoes that are not too round or too big. The ideal weight will be 300-400 grams. They also should not be sprouting, as that process tends to reduce sugar content.
- Bake the Sweet Potatoes. Preheat the oven to 230 C (450 F) with convection on, if available. You may also want to place a sheet pan on the rack below to catch any sugar drippings. Brush and wash the sweet potatoes very well, then dry completely. Note: Make sure to clean the sweet potatoes very well, especially if you’re planning to eat the skin (which I highly recommend!). Place sweet potatoes directly on the oven rack and let bake. The baking process will take 40-80 minutes, depending on the size and shape of your sweet potatoes. The way to tell when they’re done is by poking & tapping the skin: it should feel hardened and almost completely separate from the flesh, creating a hollow sound. The kitchen should smell distinctly of dark caramel. Once the sweet potatoes are at your desired doneness, take them out of the oven and let them rest on a wire rack. Note: you can enjoy some hot and freeze the rest.
- Freeze the Sweet Potato. Once the sweet potatoes have cooled completely, pack them in a freezer-safe bag and freeze for about 4 hours. This will get you the perfect ice cream like texture. Note: Letting the baked sweet potatoes cool completely prevents condensation in the freezer bags. Alternatively, you can freeze them uncovered without cooling, then pack them in bags later. If freezing overnight, let the sweet potatoes thaw for about 10 minutes at room temperature before enjoying. Alternatively, microwave the sweet potato for about 30 seconds, flipping half-way to ensure even heating. Eat it while cold!
Notes
- Batch Size. Depending on the size of your oven, you can bake as many as 12 sweet potatoes at once. For small toaster ovens, I recommend 3-5 sweet potatoes at once. You want to have enough space between each sweet potato for hot air to circulate.
Love this recipe simple and delicious. Never knew sweet potatoes could be treated this way. One learns something new every day. Thank you.
I just ate three of them my stomach hurts so worth it!
Thanks so much for the amazing discovery, I’ve always been big on sweet potatoes but this might just be my new favourite way to eat them! love it with some homemade almond butter and chai tea 😀
YUM! My store carries two types of Japanese sweet potatoes – yellow flesh or purple (ube). Do you have a preference between the two?
Yes!! I much prefer the yellow flesh Japanese potatoes. I actually don’t recommend using the purple variety at all — they are much starchier and more suited for eating hot.
I’m so excited to try this!
I cooked up a sweet potato and it dripped out a little bit of sweet caramel sugar, mmm! Now, should I cut it before freezing?? Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Mmm! It’s as if I could smell it again. You don’t have to cut it before freezing~
This sounds amazing!! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for sharing this. I’m going to try it with a Hannah yam!
mmhh this is appealling ! 😀 Do you think I could try in the airfryer, or does it definitely sound like a very bad idea ? greetings from Northern Norway 🙂
Greetings from Taiwan! 🙂 I don’t think it’s a bad idea at all — actually, it could be a great idea! An air fryer is like a mini convection oven, so I assume the cooking time would be shorter.
I’ve tried in the regular oven and it was yummy 😋 next time in the air frye 👍🇳🇴🤝🇹🇼🍽
Very intrigued by this recipe…..In the oven now…..smells amazing!
Out of the oven and out of the freezer…..omg!! Delicious and totally healthy…I want to share this with everyone! This will be a staple in my diet for sure…no guilt…. (I did cut it in half when I put it in the freezer just for the portion size)… Only made one to try it….back to the grocery store tomorrow to make a bunch and I’ll give the air fryer a go…. Thanks again!
question: Is there any reason the sweet potatoes couldn’t be “baked” in a microwave??