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Bon Appétit

Sweet Potatoes With Tahini Butter

4.7

(59)

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Photo by Gentl and Hyers, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Nina Lalli

Steaming offers extreme speed and high hydration, which means that whatever you cook—from seasonal vegetables to proteins—will be done quickly and always moist. Sweet potatoes in particular benefit from this treatment, which makes their flesh pudding-like and fluffy. And you may think the tahini and butter will never combine with the liquids. Don’t give up; it will happen. This recipe is from Where Cooking Begins by Carla Lalli Music.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    6 servings

Ingredients

3

lb. sweet potatoes, any color (6 small or 3 large), scrubbed

6

Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature

¼

cup fresh lime juice

2

Tbsp. tahini

1

Tbsp. soy sauce

2

tsp. toasted sesame oil

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

Flaky sea salt

Toasted sesame seeds and lime wedges (for serving)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a medium pot fitted with a steamer basket. Halve sweet potatoes crosswise if large and place in steamer. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and steam until fork-tender, 25–30 minutes.

    Step 2

    Meanwhile, smash together butter, lime juice, tahini, soy sauce, and sesame oil in a small bowl with a fork until smooth, about 3 minutes. Season tahini butter with kosher salt and lots of pepper.

    Step 3

    Arrange sweet potatoes on a platter or a large plate. Let cool until you can just handle them, then split open and generously spread tahini butter over. Season with sea salt; top liberally with sesame seeds. Serve with lime wedges (this dish really comes alive with lots of bright citrus).

Explore Bon AppétitSweet PotatoPotatoVegetableTahiniEasySideMainVegetarianHealthyishSteamDinner
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Reviews (59)

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  • Absolutely Love this one!! The tahini butter cuts the sweetness of the sweet potato perfectly, a perfect balance.

    • Anonymous

    • 11/13/2023

  • My son assigned me this dish for Thanksgiving. I looked at the combination of ingredients and couldn't imagine it working but it was delicious I too had troubles getting the butter, lime juice, tahini, etc. to mix so also put it in a little blender. Anyone have advice? The butter was room temperature too.

    • Anonymous

    • Wi

    • 11/25/2022

  • Made these for thanksgiving. Nobody liked it, especially the lime. I may try the recipe again without it.

    • Lori

    • Salem, OR

    • 11/29/2021

  • So easy to make and sooo delicious. A new taste treat using sweet potatoes, one of my favorite starches, this is a healthy, scrumptious recipe that deserves to be made again and again.

    • Mary Ellen

    • Portland, OR

    • 4/26/2021

  • Wow, so good -- a total keeper. A weekday dinner, I served this with some Italian sausages and these flavor bombs were a fantastic complement.

    • Terry

    • San Francisco

    • 3/25/2021

  • This is so much tastier than it has any right to be. I added in some caramelized Brussels sprouts and chickpeas roasted with smoked paprika and sumac. Party in the mouth!

    • Corey-Jan

    • Roswell, GA

    • 2/19/2021

  • The sauce is absolutely fantastic. I only had regular potatoes but it still paired nicely. I boiled my potatoes & smashed & tore them, then roasted at 425 degrees for ~25 min. I also did not have sesame oil so I used olive. I will definitely be making this sauce again & I can only assume sweet potatoes would be even tastier!

    • Anonymous

    • 2/6/2021