A breakfast veggie doesn’t get much more versatile than the sweet potato, yam I right? You can bake it in the oven or throw it in the microwave, and you can eat it any time of the day. It plays a crucial supporting role on the Thanksgiving dinner table, but it can also make itself at home in your salad bowl, and it’s not afraid to take on the disguise of a French fry.
This magical root vegetable is a vegan– and paleo-friendly source of Vitamin A, fiber, potassium, magnesium, and other essential vitamins and minerals, so why wait until lunchtime to reap all of these benefits? Here are five ways to start enjoying sweet potatoes for breakfast:
1. PotatOats
Sweet potato oatmeal isn’t as weird as it sounds, especially if you embrace the PotatOats pun. Just boil 1 cup of water or your milk of choice, add in a 1/2 cup of oats, and then, just before the oats are done, mix in a cooked sweet potato and some cinnamon. You can top it with nuts, seeds, fruit, peanut butter, almond butter, more cinnamon, or any of your other favorite breakfast goodies.
2. PotaToast
Mashing up a sweet potato and spreading it on your toast? Lame. Heating up a sliced sweet potato so that it becomes toast itself? So not lame. Just cut a sweet potato into thin slices, dab it with a little olive oil, and place in a toaster oven at 450 for 10-15 minutes, or toast on the highest setting twice through until the slices soften. Once they’re toasted, you can dress them up with any sweet or savory toppings and spreads you want.
3. Sweet Potato Smoothie
If you’re looking for a thicker smoothie, sweet potatoes are the perfect base. Add a dash of cinnamon, combine with bananas, peaches, or other fruits to enhance the sweetness, and add a 1/2 cup of almond milk (or whatever milk you prefer) to get that creamy consistency.
4. Sweet Potato Bowl
After seeing @shutthekaleup post her famous sweet potato bowls on Instagram too many times to ignore, I had to make my own masterpiece. Siggi’s yogurt, berries, banana slices, walnuts, hemp hearts, flax seeds, cinnamon, and almond butter complement the sweet potato in my bowl, but the beauty of this breakfast is that you can get creative and add whatever ingredients you need to power you through your morning.
5. Sweet Potato Overnight Oats
All you need is 1/2 cup oats, 3/4 cup almond milk, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 tablespoon flax seeds, and a mashed sweet potato to make this quick and convenient fall breakfast treat. Just stick it in the fridge overnight, and it’s ready to go when you’re rushing out the door to get to your 8 am the next morning. You can layer the ingredients in a jar or simply combine them in a bowl or container, and, as always, experimenting with nut butters and other mix-ins is encouraged.