I’m working on feeding my family healthier foods, and we’ve all heard the warnings to stay away from “white” foods like white bread, white rice, and white potatoes.  But do you have a potato lover that won’t even try the healthier sweet potato? I do!  Every Thanksgiving, my lovingly prepared sweet potato dish goes unloved except by me while the mashed white potatoes get gobbled up. (Confession: I’m equally guilty of gobbling up mashed potatoes too.)

At my local market, I’ve been buying white sweet potatoes.  Never heard of them? Me neither.  Here’s what they look like.  The regular potato is on the left, the white sweet potato is on the right.  The flesh and skin are paler than your normal orange sweet potato, and they taste closer to white potatoes than sweet potatoes.

For this dish, I made simple roasted white and sweet (white) potatoes.  This classic recipe only uses 3 ingredients…potatoes, onion soup mix, and olive oil.   First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Cube the potatoes, and try to make the pieces the same size so they cook evenly. It’s already hard to tell the difference between the white and sweet potato, isn’t it?

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Take 2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil and coat the raw potatoes in a large bowl.

Then just sprinkle on the onion soup mix and stir again. You can add other herbs if you like.  I added extra dried onion and Italian seasonings.  But watch your salt since most mixes already have plenty of salt.

Spread the potatoes on a shallow-lipped pan.  I like to line mine with parchment paper first so clean-up is easy.  I’m all about easy! Roast for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. After about 40 minutes, I taste-tested for doneness but I had a hard time telling which was the white potato and which was the white sweet potato.  That’s the point, right?

I bet your family will have a hard time telling the difference too, and they’ll be all the healthier for it.  Once they get used to the flavor, you can stop buying the white potatoes altogether.  You can also substitute the white sweet potatoes in your mashed or scalloped potato recipe.  It’s just as delicious.

  • 1 large white baking potato
  • 1 large white sweet potato
  • 2-3 T olive oil
  • 1 packet of onion soup mix

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cube potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes. Place in large bowl, and pour oil on top. Mix to coat. Sprinkle one packet of onion soup mix and mix again. Spread on shallow lipped pan (use parchment paper if desired).  Roast for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 min.  Test for doneness after 40 minutes.  Enjoy!