Soft Sweet Potato Biscuits

These soft sweet potato biscuits will literally melt in your mouth with how tender they are. Learn how to make a simple but comforting twist on a classic southern recipe. Perfect for little ham sandwiches or smothered with butter and honey for breakfast!

You are going to instantly fall in love with this recipe. Unlike your traditional southern buttermilk biscuits that are full of flaky layers, sweet potato biscuits are soft like clouds and almost melt in your mouth!

We are going to use a little bit of a different technique for these, unlike regular biscuits. No cutting in cold butter or buttermilk for this recipe - we are actually using MELTED butter instead! These are foolproof and easy and a staple recipe I know you will love.

Enjoy these tender little treats warm and smothered with honey butter, your favorite jams, or my personal favorite, as mini ham sandwiches. Serve these for breakfast or brunch, or the little sandwiches at a tailgate, bridal or wedding shower, or a party where an appetizer is required!

Ingredients Needed

You just need a couple of simple ingredients for this recipe.

• Flour - I always use King Arthur brand flour for all my baking recipes.
• Brown Sugar - this adds a hint of sweetness that compliments the sweet potato flavor so well!
• Baking Powder - make sure you have fresh baking powder - like within the past 6 months. I write the date on the lid so I don't forget to replace it every 6 months, even if it isn't used all the way (and it usually isn't). If you have old baking powder, this will affect the rise of the biscuits - they will not turn out as tall and tender as they should.
• Salt
• Cinnamon
• Sweet Potato - you will need either 1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes, just depending on the size of them. Pro-tip - the smaller you dice the cubes when you boil them, the faster they will cook and easier they will be to mash!
• Butter - unlike your traditional southern buttermilk biscuits, we need the opposite of what is normally needed when it comes to fats and biscuit making. The butter will need to be melted for this recipe - not cold! I know, it's completely different, but these sweet potato biscuits are more moist and tender than a traditional flaky biscuit.
• Milk - I recommend using whole milk.

Equipment Needed

You will need a couple of tools that will make this recipe just a bit easier.

• Rolling Pin
• Biscuit Cutter or Cookie Cutter - the tools needed for cutting out the biscuits
• Cast Iron Skillet - they dish to baking biscuits in
• Pastry Scraper - this is optional, but I find this most helpful in scraping off the countertops of biscuit dough when cleaning up after

Step-By-Step Instructions

How to prep your cast iron skillet for homemade biscuits - on a paper towel, take some lard or shortening and rub it all around your cast iron skillet before placing the biscuits inside. This helps prep the pan and prevents the biscuits from sticking to the bottom while baking.

STEP 1 - Preheat oven. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a cast iron skillet with a little bit of shortening and set aside.

STEP 2 - Prep sweet potatoes. Add a large pot on the stove over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Peel and cube the sweet potatoes into small cubes. Place the sweet potato in the boiling water and cook until fork tender - for about 10-15 minutes. Once tender, remove from the heat, drain in a strainer, add to a bowl, and mash until smooth with a fork. Set aside to cool slightly while you prep the rest.

STEP 3 - Mix dry ingredients. Mix together the flour, sugar, and spices in a large bowl.

STEP 4 - Add in wet ingredients. Add mashed sweet potatoes, melted butter, and milk to the flour mixture. Gently mix together with a spatula until a soft dough has formed - do not overwork the dough. It will look a little crumbly and that's ok! 

STEP 5 - Prep Dough.  Place dough on a countertop and gently bring it together with your hands and a rolling pin in a round disk around about ½" high.

STEP 5 - Cutting biscuits. With a 2" round biscuit or cookie cutter, cut straight down into the dough and lift up. Gently place in a cast iron skillet. Repeat until all the dough has been used, allowing the biscuits to touch in the skillet - being gentle to bring it together each time and not overwork the dough. Brush the tops with melted butter.

STEP 6 - Baking biscuits Place the cast iron skillet in the preheated oven and bake for 14-15 minutes. When finished, remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes.

Homemade Biscuit-Making Tips

It can be easy to mess up homemade biscuits. Here are some tips that will help you in your baking process.

• ONE - do not overwork the dough! This is the most important tip! To keep sweet potato biscuits soft - so the key is you CANNOT overwork the tender dough. Bring together the dough with your hands and use gentle pressure with the rolling pin. You do not want to be squeezing, pressing, rolling hard, and bringing the dough together a bunch. This will result in dense biscuits that will not be tender and rise tall. The dough will be crumbly throughout the process and that is ok and correct.

More Biscuit Recipes

• Cast Iron Buttermilk Biscuits
• Jalapeno Cheddar Drop Biscuits
• Flaky and Tender Cheddar Chive Biscuits
• Sweet and Tender Strawberry Shortcake Biscuits

Print

Recipe

DISCLOSURE. SOME OF THE LINKS BELOW ARE AFFILIATE LINKS, WHICH MEANS THAT IF YOU CLICK ON A PRODUCT LINK, I MAY RECEIVE COMPENSATION. THIS COMPENSATION COMES AT NO ADDITIONAL COST TO YOU, AND AS ALWAYS I ONLY RECOMMEND PRODUCTS I TRUST!  HEATHER BILYEU IS A PARTICIPANT IN THE AMAZON SERVICES LLC ASSOCIATES PROGRAM, AN AFFILIATE ADVERTISING PROGRAM DESIGNED TO PROVIDE A MEANS FOR SITES TO EARN ADVERTISING FEES BY ADVERTISING AND LINKING TO AMAZON.COM.