How To Freeze Sweet Potatoes Without Blanching

Are you looking to learn how to freeze sweet potatoes without blanching them? There’s no doubt that sweet potatoes are super versatile, and great food to keep stored in the freezer.

However, when buying fresh sweet potatoes you may find that you need to preserve some to use later. You can do so by freezing them. Due to their high water content, freezing sweet potatoes raw isn’t an option.

However, blanching them in order to reduce that water content can be very time-consuming.

Therefore, in this post, we’ll be demonstrating how you can freeze sweet potatoes without blanching them.

The Benefits Of Blanching Sweet Potatoes

Blanching will help to maintain the colour of your sweet potatoes and may also help protect the flavour and texture. Depending on how you plan to use your sweet potatoes after they have been in the freezer this may or may not be a factor you want to consider.

Blanching has also been known to cleanse the surface of vegetables such as sweet potatoes. This, in turn, destroys microorganisms and protects any nutritional content which might otherwise be lost during the freezing process.

While sweet potatoes only need to be in boiling water for between 3 – 5 minutes (the exact time depends on their size) the total time it takes to blanch your potatoes is likely going to be around 20 minutes. This is why many of us look for freezing methods that don’t require blanching.

The Best Time To Freeze Sweet Potatoes

If you’re planning to freeze your sweet potatoes after they have been cooked then you should wait until they have cooled and freeze them no later than 24 hours after the cooking process.

If you’re planning to freeze your sweet potatoes after blanching then you should do so at your earliest convenience and no later than 12 hours after the blanching process.

This will help preserve the nutritional content and the taste and texture of the potatoes during the freezing and defrosting/reheating process.

Tools & Equipment For Freezing Food

These are my tried and tested tools and equipment for freezing food.

Whether it’s fresh fruits or completely prepared meals these tools will make the process easier, and the food last longer and taste better!

Containers – We opt for glass containers as they are better for the environment, much higher quality and don’t stain like plastic, however they are an investment.

So if you’re short on money buy high-quality plastic containers in the meantime.

Just be sure that you buy your containers in a range of sizes as you’ll be using them to freeze and store a range of different foods.

Ziplock Bags – Invest in quality freezer bags and they’ll help keep out air, prevent frost and keep your food fresh for longer.

The majority of the high-quality ziplock bags come with a small area for you to write information about the food (i.e. what it is, when it was frozen and defrosting instructions) on the bag.

Ice Cube Trays – Ice cube trays can help you freeze more than just water. Instead, we use them for freezing small portions of food such as egg whites, tomato sauce, pesto etc.

Simply add the food to the tray, freeze and once frozen pop the food out and into a ziplock bag, then you can simply take one or two portions of food out and defrost as needed.

Foil Baking Containers – We use foil baking containers when we’re batch cooking frozen meals.

They are affordable, durable and come in a variety of sizes allowing you to portion out or put everything in one large container to be cooked at a later date.

If all that wasn’t enough, the majority of meals are safe to be cooked in the oven with the foil container. This reduces the amount of hassle, time and washing up you’ll have to do – winner!

How To Freeze Sweet Potatoes Without Blanching

Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, begin scrubbing the sweet potatoes to remove any of the dirt.

Then, prick each of the sweet potatoes a couple of times, this will prevent them from bursting from the pressure of the heat while cooking.

Then cover each one with tinfoil, place in a pre-heated baking tray and pop them in the oven until tender for around 50-55 minutes.

Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven. They smell great, don’t they? Let them cool down a bit, and then pop them into the freezer.

You can do this while the sweet potatoes are still in the tinfoil, however, if you’re short on space consider waiting until the potatoes have cooled before chopping them into smaller chunks and storing them in a freezable container or freezer bag.

Sweet potatoes will keep in the freezer for up to 12 months.

How To Defrost / Reheat Sweet Potatoes

Once you’re ready to reheat your sweet potatoes, either cover them in fresh foil (if you left them as a whole) or spread them out on a baking tray with a drizzle of oil (if you cut them into chunks)

Pop them back in the oven for around 25 – 35 minutes on the 350-degree Fahrenheit temperature once again.

There you go, frozen sweet potatoes without blanching. Nice and simple, and a great way to save a big batch for quick easy meals in the future.

Additional Freezing Guides

If you’re wondering how to freeze other vegetables and fruits, you don’t have to go far. Just read these guides on freezing pears for smoothies, swedes, juice in mason jars, quiche slices and mangetout.

How To Tell If Your Sweet Potatoes Have Gone Bad

It’s relatively easy to tell if your sweet potatoes are going (or have already gone) bad based on the skin of the potato alone.

You’ll notice growths on the skin as well as a darker discoloration before eventually turning black. During this deterioration process, you may also notice that the potatoes become incredibly soft and find that they leak water.

If you notice any deterioration on your sweet potato then you should throw the entire potato out (I know many people just chop off the damaged parts) as it is likely to have already been a negative impact on the flavor, texture, and nutritional value.