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    TaraTeaspoon » Recipes » Side Dishes

    Baked Sweet Potato Cubes With Cinnamon Meringue

    Published: Oct 8, 2021 · Updated: Oct 6, 2022 by Tara Teaspoon · This page contains affiliate and sponsored links. See my full disclosure

    Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe
    Baked Sweet Potato Cubes with Cinnamon Meringue
    Baked Sweet Potato Cubes with Cinnamon Meringue
    Baked Sweet Potato Cubes with Cinnamon Meringue

    Baked sweet potato cubes with cinnamon meringue is my decadent improvement on the classic Thanksgiving side dish. I replaced the typical marshmallow topping with a fluffy, smooth, spiced meringue.


    Side dishes at Thanksgiving are the best! As a kid I would meticulously spoon gravy into the crafted crevice of my mashed potatoes.

    I'd assemble perfect bites made from stuffing and cranberry sauce. Buttery green beans were the perfect savory veggie, but king of them all were the marshmallow-topped sweet potatoes.

    sweet potato cubes with meringue
    Jump to:
    • Ingredients for Baked Sweet Potato Cubes
    • How to Bake Sweet Potato Cubes
    • Tips for Making Sweet Potato Cubes
    • More unique side dishes for dinner
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    It was a strategic battle to beat my brothers (and mom!) to the crispiest bits of toasted marshmallow and bite into the brown sugar smothered sweet potatoes. It was dessert...before dessert!

    To this day, I still like that hit of sweet with the other savory favorites at Thanksgiving. I just wanted to spruce it up a bit.

    Keeping the sweet potato cubes just as simple and tasty, I simply roasted them. Then they get coated with a touch of brown sugar and salt, to bring out the savory flavor.

    The topping switched from simple marshmallows to a luxurious, silky, cooked meringue. Not at all hard to make.

    It's whisking on the stove and then beating to pillowy peaks. Cinnamon takes it one step further, to give each bite of this Thanksgiving-worthy side a festive feel.

    full dish of cooked sweet potatoes and merinuge

    Ingredients for Baked Sweet Potato Cubes

    This sweet potato side dish looks impressive, but it uses very simple ingredients. The roasted sweet potato cubes are seasoned with salt and light brown sugar before being cooked.

    Then, the sweet potatoes are topped with a homemade meringue. The meringue consists of egg whites, granulated sugar, and just a pinch of cream of tartar.

    Ground cinnamon finishes off the meringue and imparts that classic Thanksgiving flavor.

    How to Bake Sweet Potato Cubes

    If making meringue sounds intimidating, keep reading! I've given tons of tips and tricks for making the baked sweet potato cubes in the recipe card below.

    Here's a brief overview of the recipe:

    1. Pierce the potatoes with a fork. Roast in a 400°F oven until tender.
    2. Let cool enough to handle, then peel and cube. Toss with salt and brown sugar.
    3. Bake, covered, until heated through.
    4. While the potatoes are heating, make the meringue. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar.
    5. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is hot.
    6. Transfer the egg white mixture to a mixer and whip on high until stiff peaks form. Stir in cinnamon.

    You can place the finished dish under the broiler to get a toasty top on the meringue, or flash it with a cooking torch.

    The toasted top tastes just like mom's crispy-topped marshmallows. So good!

    cooked sweet potatoes with toasted meringue

    How Long to Bake Sweet Potato Cubes

    For this recipe, I roasted the whole sweet potatoes for about 50 minutes prior to cubing them. Once they were cubed, the sweet potatoes needed just 25 more minutes in the oven.

    Can This Recipe Be Prepped in Advance?

    The entire dish can't be assembled in advance, but you can roast the whole sweet potatoes until tender up to two days ahead of time. Then, all you'll need to do day of is make the baked sweet potato cubes and meringue.

    Tips for Making Sweet Potato Cubes

    • The cream of tartar can't be substituted. Without it, the meringue won't remain stiff.
    • When you set the meringue mixture over a pot of simmering water, make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water. If that happens, the eggs will scramble.
    • You're welcome to add more or less brown sugar to the sweet potato cubes depending on your preferences.

    More unique side dishes for dinner

    Baby Broccoli with Hazelnut Butter is special enough for your Thanksgiving or Christmas table. The delicious toasted nuts simmered in melted butter are a decadent addition!

    Italian Potato Salad has a rich balsamic dressing and fresh mozzarella.

    Skillet Green Beans with Charred Artichokes only takes ten minutes to make on the stove. No oven needed!

    Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad has apples and pomegranate for a fresh and beautiful side.

    📖 Recipe

    baked sweet potato cubes with cinnamon meringue recipe image

    Baked Sweet Potato Cubes with Cinnamon Meringue

    Tara Teaspoon
    Baked sweet potato cubes with cinnamon meringue is my decadent improvement on the classic Thanksgiving side dish. I replaced the typical marshmallow topping with a fluffy, smooth, spiced meringue.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Work Time 15 minutes mins
    Cook Time 25 minutes mins
    Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins
    Course Side Dish
    Servings 6 to 8 servings

    Ingredients
      

    • 3 lbs sweet potatoes
    • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
    • ¼ cup light brown sugar

    Meringue:

    • 3 egg whites (room temperature)
    • ¾ cup granulated sugar
    • 1 pinch cream of tartar
    • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

    Instructions
     

    • Pierce potatoes a few times with a fork. Roast in a 400°F oven until tender, about 50 min.
    • Let cool enough to handle, then peel and dice. Toss with salt and brown sugar and arrange in a 2-qt baking dish. Bake, covered, until heated through, about 25 min.
    • While potatoes are heating, make meringue: In the bowl of an electric mixer combine egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar; set bowl over a pan of simmering water. Whisk until sugar is dissolved and mixture is hot, about 3 min.
    • Transfer to mixer and whip on high until stiff peaks form, about 7 min. Stir in cinnamon.
    • Heat broiler to high or prepare a kitchen torch. Spoon meringue over potatoes and toast under the broiler or with a kitchen torch.

    Notes

    You can place the finished dish under the broiler to get a toasty top on the meringue, or flash it with a cooking torch. I use one like this. The toasted top tastes just like mom's crispy-topped marshmallows. So good!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 335kcalCarbohydrates: 80gProtein: 5gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 346mgPotassium: 801mgFiber: 7gSugar: 43gVitamin A: 32176IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 79mgIron: 1mg
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    Tara Teaspoon

    I’ve been in food publishing for over 25 years, creating recipes & food-styling for magazines, books, television, food brands, & advertising. With two cookbooks under my belt and thousands of my recipes at your fingertips, I hope you'll be inspired to spend more time in the kitchen!

    More about Tara

    Recipe Tara Teaspoon and Megan Weiss, Photography Raymond Hom, Food stylist Sara Neumeier, Prop Stylist Penelope Bouklas, Originally published LHJ Nov 2011

    Comments

      5 from 1 vote

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    1. Mary says

      July 19, 2018 at 6:56 pm

      The meringue makes such a delicious difference. Soooo tasty!

      Reply

    Hi, I'm Tara Teaspoon!

    I’ve been sharing my original ideas for years. What began as a passion, turned into a publishing career as Food Editor at Martha Stewart Living and Ladies’ Home Journal magazines.

    Now I write cookbooks, and share delicious recipes and expert cooking tips with you here! Thanks for stopping by Tara Teaspoon!

    More about me →

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