These savory-sweet bite-sized sweet potato balls are crispy on the outside and soft and delicate on the inside. Sweet potato puffs can be air-fried or baked. So make a batch and dip it in vegan ranch or your favorite sauce.
Since I love sweet potatoes, I decided to make sweet potato balls as an appetizer for tonight's dinner. Also called sweet potato puffs and sweet balls, sweet potato balls are a savory and sweet bite-sized treat. Because I recently tried sweet potato balls at a Malaysia-based street food pop-up, I chose to make a sweet ball recipe oil-free with an air-fried and baked option.
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Because I wanted my sweet potato balls recipe to taste savory and sweet, I focused on the spices added to the sweet balls recipe. And I chose to serve the sweet potato puffs with vegan ranch dressing because my family loves it. But I also selected other dips and sauces which work as alternative dips.
How to Choose Sweet Potatoes
Choose small to medium sweet potatoes, sweet and creamy, to find the best sweet potatoes. (The larger ones tend to be starchier.) Furthermore, the potato skin should be firm, smooth, and even-toned. The deeper the color of the potato, the better.
Potato Puff Ingredients
- Sweet Potatoes: Sweet potatoes are high in fiber and antioxidants, which protect your body from free radical damage and promote a healthy gut and brain. They're also incredibly rich in beta carotene, which is converted to vitamin A to support good vision and your immune system.
- Shallot: Shallots have a delicate and sweet flavor with a hint of sharpness, while onions bring a more intense heat.
- Garlic: I prefer fresh garlic vs. garlic powder or jarred garlic.
- Flour: I used garbanzo flour because I was cooking for a gluten-free guest, and I like its texture.
- Nutritional Yeast: Nutritional yeast gives the recipe a creamy and cheesy flavor.
- Cumin: Rich and hearty, earthy and warm, with an edge of citrus, Cumin adds instant depth to any dish.
- Coriander: Floral and citrusy, coriander is a very fresh-tasting spice. Its mildly sweet, lemony flavor is harnessed in conjunction with other herbs in savory recipes; you'll often see cumin and coriander paired together.
- Cayenne Pepper: Although cayenne is spicy, just a little gives the potato puffs a unique flavor.
- Sea Salt: A little sea salt brings out the flavor of the spices in the recipe.
- Pepper: I prefer fresh ground pepper in recipes for the maximum flavor.
- Parsley: Fresh parsley gives the potatoes a fresh taste.
Potato Puff Ingredient Substitutions
- Substitute white potatoes for sweet potatoes in this recipe.
- Red onions are sweet and comparable to shallots.
- One clove of garlic equals about ⅛th of a teaspoon of garlic powder – not much, so it's worth starting small and tasting as you go!
- Any flour works with this recipe.
- Miso paste, soy sauce, coconut aminos, or Tamari often replace nutritional yeast in recipes, giving it the umami flavor.
- Double the coriander if you don't have cumin.
- If you don't have coriander, double the cumin.
- If you are sensitive to spice, skip the cayenne pepper or add small amounts and taste to adjust to your preference.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Try basil instead of parsley.
How to Make Sweet Potato Balls
First, saute the garlic and shallots in a skillet on medium-low. When the shallots start to stick to the bottom of the pan and brown, add ⅛ cup water and use a spatula to scrape browned shallots and garlic from the bottom of the pan.
Then, remove from heat and set aside while cooking the sweet potatoes.
First, boil the cut sweet potatoes until soft and easy to penetrate with a fork.
Once the sweet potatoes cool completely, transfer them to a food processor with a large blade. Or, mash potatoes with a hand mixer or a potato masher until all the pieces are mashed.
What is Nutritional Yeast?
- An inactivated form of yeast commonly used to leaven bread, nutritional yeast looks like red pepper flakes, only yellow or powdered Parmesan cheese. It shares a deceptively similar flavor, despite being non-dairy.
- Vegan-friendly ingredients add a cheesy flavor to everything from popcorn to garlic bread to pasta. Aficionados often refer to it as "nootch."
Then, transfer the mashed sweet potato dough into a bowl, add chopped parsley, and stir. At this point, the dough appears too wet to roll the potato balls, so cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour until the dough thickens.
Next, roll the sweet potato balls into uniform meatball-sized sweet balls.
Air-Frying
To make fried sweet potato balls oil-free and delicious, follow these simple steps:
- Roll the sweet potato balls into uniform sweet balls the size of meatballs.
- Place a single layer of sweet balls in the base of the air fryer
- Cook at 370 degrees for 10 minutes, flipping the balls over 5 minutes into cooking.
Baking
Don't worry; baking these bite-sized treats in an oven is simple.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
- Place rolled sweet potato balls on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper, or use a mini-muffin pan to keep the balls from moving around.
Sauce Options
Whenever anyone dips at my house, they ask for vegan ranch dressing, so I aim to please. But these sweet balls taste great dipped in any sauce. However, I recommend these delicious vegan dip options.
- Maple Dijon Dressing
- Lemon Basil Dressing
- Vegan Thousand Island Dressing
- French Dressing
- Mustard Dipping Sauce
- Cranberry with Orange Sauce
- Romesco Sauce
- How to Make Organic Vegan Barbecue Sauce (Quick & Easy!)
Recipe FAQs
The trick combines shallots, garlic, cumin, coriander, and cayenne. We combine these ingredients to supply the "savory" to balance the sweetness of the sweet potatoes.
In an air fryer, cook at 370 for 10 minutes, rotating after 5 minutes. In an oven, bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
Yes, but cook them first. Then place them in a freezer-proof container with an inch between the lid to prevent freezer burn. Also, freeze in a single layer with wax paper between layers. To reheat, thaw completely, and reheat in a 325-degree oven for 10 minutes or in the air-fryer at 325 degrees for 5 minutes.
Tips
- Skin and then cut the potatoes into uniform sizes for equal cooking.
- Add a teaspoon or 2 of salt to the water for boiling.
- Use a colander to drain the potatoes and allow them to cool completely before making the dough.
- For quicker cooling, run cool water over the sweet potatoes in the colander until all the potatoes are cool.
- Or, leave the cooked sweet potatoes to cool while preparing the other ingredients.
- Use a mini muffin pan when baking or air-frying (if the air fryer accommodates a muffin pan) to prevent the sweet balls from moving around on the pan.
Try these sweet potato balls for a snack, side dish, or lunch. Or transform leftover sweet potatoes into this sweet potato puff recipe.
Other Great Vegan Recipes to Try!
If you love this sweet potato balls recipe, give us a 5-star review and comment below. We would love to hear from you.
📖 Recipe
Sweet Potato Balls
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Balls
- 1 ½ pounds sweet potatoes or 4 cups cut, skin removed, and cut into uniform sizes.
- ¾ cup garbanzo flour or flour of choice
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 shallots diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- ½ teaspoon cayenne optional
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- ½ cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1 cup vegan ranch dressing
Instructions
Prepare the Sweet Potatoes.
- Peel and cut sweet potatoes into uniform bite-sized pieces
- Add to a large pot, cover in water and add 1-2 teaspoons of salt.
- Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes or until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.
- Drain potatoes in a colander, and allow them to cool completely.
- For faster cooling, rinse sweet potatoes in cold water until room temperature.
- Saute the garlic, shallots, and spices
- In a skillet, saute minced garlic and diced shallots until the mixture begins to stick to the pan and brown.
- Add spices and stir.
- Now add ⅛ cup water, using a spatula to remove the browned bits at the bottom of the pan.
- Continuing cooking until browned,
- Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Making the Sweet Potato Balls
- Place the cooled sweet potatoes in a food processor with a large blade.
- Pulse until potatoes are mashed.
- Add the sauteed shallots, garlic and spices, flour, baking powder, and nutritional yeast.
- Pulse a few times to combine.
- Transfer the dough to a bowl and add the chopped parsley.
- Stir to combine.
- *Note: Potatoes may be mashed by hand or with an electric mixer. Just add the ingredients and stir together.
- Cover the dough and place it in the refrigerator for at least an hour to cool and set up.
- Remove from the refrigerator, and using your hands, form identical-sized sweet balls the size of meatballs.
Air-Frying Instructions
- Place a single layer of sweet balls in the base of the air-fryer
- Cook at 370 degrees for 10 minutes, rotating balls after 5 minutes
- Remove and cook the second batch
Baking Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Place a single layer of sweet balls on the pan, and bake for 20 minutes.
- Or, use a mini muffin pan.
Serving
- Serve sweet potato balls with vegan ranch dressing or your favorite sauce.
Notes
- Skin and then cut the potatoes into uniform sizes for equal cooking.
- Add a teaspoon or 2 of salt to the water for boiling.
- Use a colander to drain the potatoes and allow them to cool completely before making the dough.
- For quicker cooling, run cool water over the sweet potatoes in the colander until all the potatoes are cool.
- Or, leave the cooked sweet potatoes to cool while preparing the other ingredients.
- Use a mini muffin pan when baking or air-frying (if the air fryer accommodates a muffin pan) to prevent the sweet balls from moving around on the pan.
Nutrition
Hi! My name is Kathy, I am a retired high school English teacher & vegan enthusiast and blogger. My entire blog is fully plant-based vegan. I truly believe what we eat & how we live determines our health & the preservation of our planet! 🙂
Anne M Weisbeck
I made these tonight, and like the other reviewer, they took much longer to cook for me. I made two pans worth and for the first pan I cooked it in my air fryer oven at 400°. At approximately 40 minutes, the outsides were getting very brown but the inside was still uncooked. I was able to turn it down to 300° and cook it for about 10 more minutes and mostly cook the inside. For the second pan (which had been at room temperature of all the first one cocked) I cooked it at 300 degrees the whole time and they were done after 45–15 minutes. Very tasty though
Suzanne
I love your website and recipes! May I ask why no print widget? It would make it so much easier! I can't look at a tiny screen while cooking due to a vision disability. Thank you! Let me know if I've missed it.
Kathy Carmichael
Hi Suzanne, Thank you! There is a print option on the top of the recipe card.
Suzanne
Thanks so much!
Linda
Have it sitting in my fridge right now, but the directions did not say when to add the baking powder. I added with the flour as that is when I do it in most recipes. Used tapioca flour, hope it works as it looks wonderful.
Kathy Carmichael
Hi Linda, thank you for letting me know, You are correct to add with the flour. Sorry about that. I don't think the type of flour matters. Let me know if you like them 🙂
Sis
Made this recipe today and enjoyed it very much!!
Kathy Carmichael
Hi Sis, I'm so glad you enjoyed the potato puffs. I appreciate your feedback.
Jane
Theses were so good. I used your ranch dressing for dipping. I baked them in my convection oven. It need closer to an hour with turning 4 times. Maybe I made them too large. But they were still good.
Kathy Carmichael
Hi Jane, I'm so glad you liked the sweet potato puffs. The size will determine the cooking time. But I'm glad they turned out well and you liked the ranch dipping sauce. Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it.