How to Freeze Sweet Potatoes
Did you know that you can store sweet potatoes for up to 12 months in the freezer?
If you want to store your Muzzarelli Sweet potatoes for a long time, and storing in a cool, dark area is not an option (not everyone has such an area in their homes), or you want the sweet potatoes to last longer than 6 months, then you can store them in a freezer.
Never Freeze Raw Sweet Potatoes
The first thing to remember when freezing sweet potatoes is that they must be cooked before freezing. Due to their high water content, raw sweet potatoes easily get freezer burn when frozen, they can turn mushy or grainy when thawed, and most importantly, freezing raw sweet potatoes actually makes them spoil more quickly.
When freezing sweet potatoes, start with cleaning the sweet potatoes with water (no soap), then pat dry with a paper towel.
To Freeze Whole Sweet Potatoes
- Prick clean sweet potatoes with a fork in a few places.
- Place on a baking sheet (add parchment paper for easy cleanup).
- Bake sweet potatoes for 1 hour (larger sweet potatoes may require up to 75 minutes) at 400 to 425, or until they can be pricked easily with a fork.
- Let sweet potatoes cool completely to room temperature, at which point you can either remove the skin or leave it on (although if frozen with skin intact, the skin may be a bit chewy after they're defrosted).
- Wrap each baked sweet potato in aluminum foil and place in a freezer bag in the freezer.
To Freeze Mashed Sweet Potatoes
- Peel and mash clean sweet potatoes well.
- Don't add seasoning (do this when they're ready to be served).
- Transfer mashed sweet potatoes to a freezer bag, flatten the bag, and put in the freezer.
To Freeze Sliced or Diced Sweet Potatoes
- Put clean, sliced or diced sweet potatoes in a large pot of boiling water for 5 minutes until barely tender (this is called "blanching").
- Drain and place on a baking sheet in a single layer.
- Place baking sheet with single layer of sweet potatoes in freezer for several hours (this step is important so that the slices don't stick together when you put them in the freezer bag).
- Transfer to a freezer bag and put in the freezer.
- When they're ready to use, thaw sweet potatoes in refrigerator.
