These sweet potato biscuits are packed with healthy mashed sweet potato and feature a delicate sweetness and irresistible fluffy and buttery texture. Even better — they only take 25 minutes to make!
Are you a biscuit or scone person? I’ve changed sides on this debate with age and I’m now firmly planted in the biscuit camp. It’s hard to beat a warm biscuit straight out of the oven with steam pouring out of its tender middle as you spread butter on top. Right?
The simple addition of sweet potato to biscuit dough combined with the sweetness of maple syrup makes these sweet potato biscuits the ideal treat for breakfast. Serve them warm with regular butter, maple cinnamon almond butter, or a dollop of whipped cream.
If you’ve been following me for a while then you’ll know that I enjoy adding fun and delicious twists to classic recipes. While there’s always a place and time for traditional buttermilk biscuits, why stop there?! These gluten-free chocolate biscuits and honey biscuits show you just how easy it is to create the kinds of biscuits that your family will love.
Why You’ll Want To Bake These
- These sweet potato biscuits offer the perfect alternative to sweet potato bread or muffins – great for special occasions, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas.
- The subtle and natural sweetness of the mashed sweet potato pairs beautifully with the maple syrup while also adding a boost of nutrition to these treats.
- These biscuits are light and fluffy and can be enjoyed as part of your breakfast, brunch, or as a side dish to lunch or dinner.
Ingredients For Sweet Potato Biscuits
- Mashed sweet potato – You’ll need about 1 cup of sweet potato which is roughly 2 medium potatoes. Feel free to use up mashed sweet potato from leftover sweet potato casserole.
- All purpose flour – Use gluten-free flour when catering to gluten sensitivities but make sure it’s a reliable 1:1 gluten-free baking flour.
- Tapioca starch – This binding agent helps to create light and fluffy biscuits without them crumbling apart.
- Salt – Omit if you use salted butter.
- Baking powder
- Butter – Cutting the butter into cubes will help to work it into the flour mixture to make flaky dough. It’s important that the butter is very cold when making biscuits.
- Milk – I prefer full-fat milk, but reduced fat milk is an option too. Use buttermilk for added moisture and rich flavor.
- Maple syrup – This adds a delicious sweetness to these biscuits which compliments the natural sweetness from the sweet potato. You can use honey instead, if you prefer.
How To Make Sweet Potato Biscuits
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F, and line a baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
If you are making the mashed sweet potato from scratch, boil a pot of water and add peeled and cubed sweet potato to the pot to cook for about 13-15 minutes or until fork tender. Drain the sweet potato and mash it with a fork or a potato masher until you achieve a smooth consistency that is free of lumps.
Make the biscuit dough by combining the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, and then rubbing in the cubed butter to create a crumb-like texture. Next, add in the milk, maple syrup, and mashed sweet potato to form a dough.
Lightly flour a clean surface and knead the dough a few times. Roll the dough into a ball about 3/4 inch thick and transfer the dough to the freezer for 15 minutes to firm up.
Remove the chilled dough and roll it out to an even ¾ inch thickness. Shape it into rounded biscuits using a 2-inch cookie or biscuit cutter. Re-roll the excess dough to use up as much as possible. You should have about 7 biscuits in total.
Transfer the sweet potato biscuits to the baking sheet and brush the tops with milk. Bake the biscuits for 13-15 minutes until golden.
Allow the baked sweet potato biscuits to cool slightly on a wire rack to firm up. Enjoy them as is or with butter.
My Pro Tips
Recipe Tips
- For a special treat, serve these sweet potato biscuits with honey butter.
- Prepare ahead of time by boiling and mashing the sweet potatoes so that you reduce the total time for making these fluffy sweet potato biscuits. I find it best to cut the peeled sweet potatoes into cubes which reduces the boiling time to about 13-15 minutes for a very tender texture that will mash easily.
- Be careful not to overwork the biscuit dough or the biscuits will become dense instead of light and fluffy.
- While these sweet potato biscuits are best served immediately from the oven, you can reheat stored leftover biscuits in the oven for a few minutes.
Variations
- Biscuit shape: Instead of creating rounded biscuits with a cookie cutter, make a more rustic version by simply cutting the rolled out dough into roughly uniform squares. The rolled out dough should be about a ¾ inch thickness for these square biscuits.
- Convenience: For added convenience, use canned sweet potato instead of boiling and mashing potatoes from scratch. Keep in mind that some brands of canned sweet potato may include extra sugar and spices that can alter the taste slightly.
- Kitchen equipment: A food processor can be used when combining the ingredients instead, if you prefer.
- Savory twist: Add bits of crispy pieces of bacon into the dough for that classic sweet and salty combo!
- Puree: If you don’t enjoy sweet potato, make these biscuits with pumpkin puree or butternut squash instead.
Storage
Store leftover sweet potato biscuits in an airtight container on a countertop for 3-4 days or in the fridge for 2 days.
You can also freeze these biscuits for up to 3 months, wrapped individually with plastic wrap and stored in an airtight container or sealable plastic bag.
More Scrumptious Biscuit Recipes To Try
If you’re in the mood for a savory biscuit twist, these rustic rosemary cheddar bacon biscuits won’t disappoint. The cheesy bacon flavor with rosemary is unbeatable.
Vanilla butternut squash biscuits are for all the sweet tooth people out there. The winter squash, maple syrup and vanilla flavor all combine to a deliciously subtle but definitely sweet version of your favorite biscuit. They make a great addition to a special breakfast or brunch.
These parmesan pumpkin scones are obviously not biscuits but they bake up with such perfect flaky layers, they’re incredibly similar. Their savory flavor profile also makes them a great alternative to this sweet potato biscuit recipe.
Sweet Potato Biscuits
Ingredients
- 1 cup sweet potato, mashed (about 2 medium)
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons tapioca starch
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup butter, cubed
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the flour, starch, salt and baking powder to a mixing bowl and stir to combine or pulse in a food processor.
- Add the cubed butter and cut into the flour mixture until fine or pulse in a food processor to form a crumb.
- Add milk and maple and rub/pulse again to form the biscuit dough.
- Sprinkle flour onto a clean surface. Knead the dough a few times and roll into a ball approximately 3/4 inch thick.
- Place the dough in the freezer for about 15 mins to firm up. Use a 2-inch cookie cutter to form into biscuits, re-rolling the excess dough to form 7 biscuits.
- Place the sweet potato biscuits on a baking sheet and brush each with milk.
- Bake for for 13 – 15 mins until golden. Place on a wire rack and allow to cool to firm up. Serve with butter and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
I prefer biscuits over scones for the same reason you stated. Warm from the oven is always so good. I had never added sweet potatoes to a biscuit, so I had to try your recipe, which came out great. Served them with hot honey!!!!