Easy Sweet Potato Biscuit Recipe

This sweet potato biscuit recipe makes tender, flaky biscuits with just a hint of cinnamon. The light touch of sweetness makes them perfect for breakfast, brunch, or your holiday feast, but they're easy enough to make any time you like.

If you're on a biscuit kick, our 3 Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits are where we perfected the frozen butter trick that makes these so flaky. And if you like a little sweetness with your bread, our Cinnamon Biscuits are phenomenal with a drizzle of icing on top.

Jump to:

• Where This Recipe Came From
• Ingredients Needed
• How to Cook Sweet Potatoes for Biscuits
• How to Make Sweet Potato Biscuits
• What to Serve with Sweet Potato Biscuits
• Pam's Expert Tips
• Equipment Needed
• Storage Information
• Recipe FAQs
• More Sweet Potato Recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• Savory Bread

Sweet potato biscuits, you say? Yeah, man! They're like the best of all worlds in one little round bit of yumminess. If you love sweet potatoes, it's one more way to get some in your belly.

But honestly, the sweet potato flavor is subtle enough that you'll love these even if you don't love sweet potatoes. A gentle touch of cinnamon takes the flavor to a whole new level. I am not kidding! You have got to try these.

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Where This Recipe Came From

This recipe for sweet potato biscuits started in one of my all-time favorite cookbooks, The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook. This link is to my original 1999 cookbook, but if you'd prefer the updated version, this goes to The All New Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook. Mine is the original 1999 edition, and it has the stains and dog-eared pages to prove it.

Is anybody else out there like me and still loves a printed cookbook? I find recipes online like everybody else, but there is something satisfying about sitting down with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and thumbing through a real old-fashioned cookbook.

I've made a few changes over the years. The biggest one is that I took out the shortening and went with all butter. Freezing the butter and grating it into the flour is the best way I know to get flaky biscuits, and it worked so well in our buttermilk biscuits that I had to bring it over here too.

There is something therapeutic about making biscuits. Mixing up that big ball of dough, sprinkling it with flour, and rolling it out is just good clean fun.

Ingredients Needed

• All Purpose Flour - Plain all purpose flour is what I use. A soft Southern flour like White Lily works great too.
• Sugar - Just enough to bring out the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes.
• Baking Powder - This is what gives the biscuits their rise, so make sure yours isn't expired.
• Cinnamon - Only a teaspoon. You'll notice it, but it won't take over.
• Salt - Balances out the sweetness.
• Butter - I freeze mine for at least 2 hours so it grates easily and stays cold in the dough.
• Sweet Potatoes - You'll need 1 cup cooked and mashed, which is about 1 large sweet potato. See below for all the ways to cook them.
• Milk - I use whole milk, but whatever you have in the fridge will work.

How to Cook Sweet Potatoes for Biscuits

There is more than one way to get your cup of mashed sweet potato, and they all work. The thing to keep in mind is moisture. The drier your sweet potato, the easier your dough will be to handle.

Baked: This is my favorite way because it gives you the deepest flavor and the driest mash. Prick the sweet potato all over with a fork and bake it at 400°F for 45 minutes to an hour, until it's very soft. Scoop out the flesh and mash it.

Microwaved: This is the fastest way. Prick the sweet potato all over, then microwave it for 8 to 12 minutes, flipping it halfway through, until it's soft all the way through. Slice it open to let the steam out, then scoop and mash.

Boiled: Peel the sweet potato, cut it into 1-inch cubes, and boil for 12 to 15 minutes until fork tender. Drain it really well and let it sit in the colander for a few minutes so the extra water can steam off before you mash it. Boiled sweet potatoes hold more water, so you may need a little extra flour.

Canned: If you're short on time, canned sweet potatoes will work. Drain them very well, mash them, and measure out 1 cup. Canned sweet potatoes are wetter than fresh, so plan on adding a little flour to your dough (more on that in my tips below). I'd steer clear of canned sweet potato purée, since it's thinner than what you get from mashing them yourself.

Leftovers: Got leftover plain baked or mashed sweet potatoes? Use them! Just skip any that already have butter, brown sugar, or marshmallows mixed in.

No matter which way you go, let the sweet potatoes cool completely before you add them to the dough. Warm sweet potatoes will melt that frozen butter, and you'll lose your flaky layers.

How to Make Sweet Potato Biscuits

1. Cook and cool the sweet potato. Use whichever method above works for you, then mash it until mostly smooth. A potato masher or food processor both do the job.
2. Mix the dry ingredients. Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a big bowl.
3. Grate in the butter. Grate the frozen butter right into the flour, tossing as you go so the pieces get coated and don't clump together.
4. Add the sweet potato and milk. Stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Don't overmix.
5. Knead and roll. Turn the dough onto a floured surface, knead it 4 or 5 times, and roll it to ½ inch thick.
6. Cut and bake. Cut out your biscuits, place them on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake until lightly browned. Brush the tops with melted butter if you like.

What to Serve with Sweet Potato Biscuits

These are wonderful with a drizzle of cane syrup or a smear of honey butter. The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook suggests filling them with a slice of ham, bacon, or turkey, and that's an idea we can wrap our heads around!

We happened to have some homegrown tomatoes on biscuit baking day, so we had a hot biscuit with a piece of Applewood bacon and a slice of tomato. Oh my!

They also make a lovely addition to the bread basket on Thanksgiving, right next to the Cajun fried turkey and smoked ham.

Pam's Expert Tips

• Fix sticky dough with flour, a little at a time. If you used canned or boiled sweet potatoes, your dough will probably be wetter than usual. Sprinkle in more flour 1 tablespoon at a time, just until the dough is manageable. Go easy, because too much flour makes a tough biscuit. Flouring your hands and your biscuit cutter helps too.
• Don't twist the biscuit cutter. Press straight down and pull straight up. Twisting seals the edges and keeps the biscuits from rising as high.
• Handle the dough as little as possible. Overworking the dough melts the butter and develops the gluten, and both of those work against you. Four or five kneads is plenty.
• Pick your size. The first time I made these I used a 2-inch biscuit cutter, and I thought they were a little small. I like 2.5 inches for a more substantial biscuit, but that's a matter of preference. You could even make little tea biscuits. Yum!
• No biscuit cutter? The rim of a drinking glass dipped in flour works fine.

Equipment Needed

If you don't have them yet, this is your list of items to gather up before you get started:

• Food processor (this links to a page of several choices - all Amazon 4 star rated or better)
• Potato Masher
• Biscuit Cutter Set
• Parchment Paper

Storage Information

Store leftover biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Warm them in a 350°F oven for a few minutes before serving.

I'm a huge fan of doing anything I can ahead of a big holiday meal. We even have a whole collection of 15 Make Ahead Recipes for Holiday Meals! The more time I have to spend with friends and family, the happier I am. You can freeze these biscuits two ways.

Baked: Let the biscuits cool completely, then put them in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. I'm very comfortable making mine 2 or 3 weeks before Thanksgiving, and no one can tell the difference. I promise. Thaw them on the counter, wrap them in foil, and warm them in a 350°F oven for about 10 minutes.

Unbaked: Cut out the biscuits and arrange them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze them until solid, about 1 to 2 hours, then transfer them to a freezer bag for up to 3 months. When you're ready, bake them straight from the freezer without thawing. Just add a few extra minutes to the baking time.

Recipe FAQs

More Sweet Potato Recipes

• Sweet Potato Cornbread
• Sweet Potato Praline Pie
• Sweet Potato Muffins with Crumb Topping
• How To Make Homemade Sweet Potato Butter
• Pan Fried Sweet Potatoes
• Smoked Sweet Potatoes Recipe
• Gullah Recipe for Sweet Potatoes

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