Ombré Gratin
Alexa Weibel
2573 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
2,573
3 hours
Sweet Potatoes With Bourbon and Brown Sugar
- Total Time
- 1¼ hours, plus cooling
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:10 to 12 servings
- 3½pounds sweet potatoes, pricked with a fork (10 to 12 sweet potatoes)
- 6tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 to 4tablespoons dark brown sugar, or to taste
- 1½tablespoons bourbon or orange juice
- ¾teaspoon grated lemon zest
- ¾teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- ½teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- ¼teaspoon black pepper
- Large pinch of ground cloves
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
176 calories; 6 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 30 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 192 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap potatoes in foil, place on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until tender, about 1 hour. Let rest until cool enough to handle but still warm, then remove the foil and peel off the skins.
- Step 2
Add sweet potatoes to a food processor, along with butter, brown sugar, bourbon or juice, lemon zest, salt, nutmeg, pepper and cloves. Purée until smooth. (Or, for a chunkier texture, mash them by hand.) Taste and add salt, sugar or both if you like. Serve while still warm or reheat before serving.
Tip
- This recipe can be made up to 3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Reheat just before serving, either in the microwave or in a pot on the stove over low heat.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Michael
Melissa must live somewhere where they grow tiny sweet potatoes. There's no way 3.5lbs is 10-12 potatoes for me. I bought 5 red garnet sweet potatoes that totaled almost 4 lbs. Also, an hour at 350 is nowhere near enough to make them tender.
dimmerswitch
Being among "those" who wonder why people post about recipes they have not yet made, I become one of "those" to do that thing. To say it was ingredients that drew me in. What's not to like for in a household where we eat lots of sweets? Not to mention Thanksgiving on the horizon. But what leads me to post now is recommend "WATCH THE VIDEO!" With that emphasis. Ina and Jeffrey? I'll raise you Melissa and Daniel! And adorable Dahlia too!
Ruth M.
I loved the video, but that was *never* 1.5 T of bourbon. LOL More like 1/2 C . . . but in this Louisville household of bourbon lovers, that wouldn't be a problem. Looking forward to making this.
Brad
My go-to, most requested Thanksgiving sweet potato dish is Mark Bittman's sweet potato and goat cheese gratin with black olives and shallots. But I made this today because it sounded so good and it's definitely worth a place at our Thanksgiving table this year. Sweet, savory, cream; what's not to love?
Elvis
Made this yesterday (Thanksgiving) and it was the star of an exceptionally stellar plate. Of course the brown sugar and bourbon, or in my case whisky, we’re going to brighten the dish, but who knew that it would be the lemon that would actually make all the ingredients to shine. Sublime! Oh, and do watch the video. Actually all them about Melisa Clark’s Thanksgiving recipes. Don’t miss the one on brioche stuffing. Which you should also make.
Hetta
Thank you Melissa! I used 3 of your side dish recipes this Thanksgiving and all 3 were successes. Made this one 2 days ahead and microwaved to serve. By mistake, I doubled the bourbon and it will remain a future adjustment.
Juliet Jones
I loved the sound of this recipe (no, I have not yet made it. It's not Thanksgiving yet) but even more than that, I loved meeting Melissa's family. Thank you, Melissa!
Kate B
I don't have a food processor--will a hand mixer work OK?
Deborah
I decided to try this recipe and leave out the brown sugar, since sweet potatoes have a natural sweet and nobody at our table needs more sugar. They came out great; lovely aroma of bourbon and the hint of spice and pepper.
Karen
The recipe is just below and to the left of the video.
tiger squeakily, jr.
There’s no recipe ingredient list nothing in writing I read I don’t watch where are the ingredient and prep instructions?
Kristen
Thank you. That was my concern too. The 6 potatoes I bought were just over 3.5 lbs.
Chris
Made this recipe with rum. Yum, yum.
Brad
from the number of sweet potatoes and size of the food processor, I'd say the video was at least a double batch.
Brian
Little grease required; the potatoes mash easily.
Race To The Bottom
Coulda saved themselves and kept that marshmallow part out. Anyway, I loathe tossing butter into a meal so I'll repeal and redo with fake butter and something zesty
Allison
I have made these quite a few times and they are fabulous. The food processor makes the texture so smooth…. No strings or lumps. I buy Trader Joe’s organic sweet potatoes because they are small to medium in size and practically perfect on their own. This recipe needs no tweaking…. I could stand in a corner with a spoon and eat the whole thing. Once I added grand marnier instead of bourbon and powdered ginger and WOW! I could eat some right now. I don’t just make these during holidays.
britt
Delicious, don’t skip the lemon zest(was 1 medium lemon for me). At Thanksgiving some family was missing the “normal” type so next time I’ll double it and top half of them with the pecan, brown sugar, and marshmallow to keep everyone happy.
Diane F.
Loved this! I cut the recipe in half and used dark rum (George Bowman) instead of bourbon and a little maple syrup instead of brown sugar. Well, okay, I cut everything else in half but used all the rum! Yum!! It was perfect for Thanksgiving dinner for two.
Nick
I agree an hour at 350 still hard
EAGarcia
Made this twice this weekend! Smash hit both times. Round 1: dairy free adaptation, a combo of coconut oil and vegan butter worked as the fat Round 2: regular butter, just tossed in the whole stick this time, and subbed orange zest for the lemon zest Both Rounds: I am confident that the texture is out of this world if you use the food processor, but I didn’t bother. Still fluffy and gorgeous both times. Truly roast the sweet potatoes within an inch of their lives. Double the bourbon!
Suz
Made for Thanksgiving 2023. Followed recipe but only about 3 lbs, 4 potatoes, so adjusted other ingredients down a bit. 4 Tbsp butter. Same amount of bourbon. Did not use cloves. Mashed the potatoes with a masher. Very good.
Laura
Delicious, easy, and won’t take up room in the oven.
Kirsten
Can you reheat in the oven? like in a casserole dish?
Kristi
Could this be made with honeynut squash?
Cathy G.
Delicious! The family loved them.
Gaby
So good. I did substitute the bourbon for brandy since I'm not a fan of bourbon.
Jane Rice
I made these at Thanksgiving, and they are our Sweet Potato recipe going forward -- delicious!!!
gregs notes
Achieved a BAL of 0.05 by indulging in seconds of fantastic side. Almost dessert….which leads me to ask: has anyone tried this as a pie filling?
Susan J.
I cut back on the cloves and added 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 4 tablespoons of bourbon. Loved it and will make it again.
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