Sweet Potato Popsicles Are a Healthy and Delicious Summer Treat — And They’re So Easy to Make
Sweet potatoes have long been a delicious dish packed with loads of vitamins and minerals — and also plenty of flavor. You’re probably used to eating them as part of lunch or dinner, but did you know that frozen sweet potatoes could also make the perfect snack for a hot summer day?
Sweet potato ice cream has been around for a while (if you want to try it for yourself, here’s a recipe!), but a chef named George Lee posted an easier way to freeze baked sweet potatoes and get the same — albeit much healthier — treat. And it doesn’t require a fancy ice cream mixer or other specialized kitchen gadgets!
The recipe is incredibly simple, and all you need are sweet potatoes. Lee points out that various types of sweet potatoes may have different sugar levels. He recommends sweeter Taiwanese, Japanese, or Korean ones and only says to stay away from Okinawan ones (known for their purple hue) since they’re much starchier and therefore not as sweet. He also explains to look for ones that are around 300 to 400 grams each and aren’t especially long or round.
From there, bake your sweet potatoes anywhere from 40 to 80 minutes at 450 degrees Fahrenheit. You may need to check on them periodically to make sure they’re not burning. You’ll know they’re done when the skin is a bit brown and soft enough to tear. After that, place them in your freezer for at least four hours, pull them out, pull away the skin, and voila, you’ve got frozen sweet potato treats — no popsicle stick required!
I was immediately intrigued by Lee’s method given that I’m a baked sweet potato lover and the temperatures near me were in the nineties this week, so I knew I had to try it out for myself. I followed his instructions to a T and froze mine overnight. He recommended either thawing the potatoes for 10 minutes or putting them in the microwave for 30 seconds if they were frozen for a while, so I chose the former. Sure enough, he’s totally right: These frozen sweet potatoes have an almost creamy consistency and were perfect for such a hot summer day. Despite not being like a traditional popsicle on a stick, it was easy to hold onto the skin like a wrapper (similar to how you’d eat an ice cream sandwich), and it was plenty sugary.
I can’t wait to make batches of these all summer long!
