Spiced Sweetpotato Cauliflower Mash

When it comes to planning our Thanksgiving feast, or any holiday meal for that matter, I’ll be the first to admit I can get a little carried away. I mean, Pinterest. Need I say more?

With our little one due to arrive any minute now, this Thanksgiving already feels more special than ever. While the party planner in me wants to go all out creating eye-catching centerpieces, and specialty cocktails for our friends and family, deep down I know the hubs and I will have our hands full––with dirty diapers, burp cloths and of course, the baby. From what I’ve been told, I’ll be lucky if I can manage to take a shower and put a little bit of makeup on before the turkey is served.

Since our friends and family will likely end up doing the majority of the cooking and party prep this year, I’m trying to dial this back and keep things on the simple side this year.

Speaking of simple side…

Let us have a moment for this delicious Spiced Sweetpotato Cauliflower Mash, a lighter yet satisfyingly sweet alternative to the classic, marshmallow-covered sweetpotato casserole. Like it’s casserole cousin, this mash is packed with healthy nutrients like fiber, potassium and Vitamin  A but takes less time and absolutely zero room in the oven. It also contains a lot less sugar which basically means you’re entitled to eat more dessert.

Now, when the time comes to pick your potatoes, I highly recommend either the Jewell (the all-familiar orange-skinned one) or the reddish-skinned Garnet. Both are super sweet by nature but the Garnet might be my personal favorite for this dish. The deep orange flesh of the Garnet makes one beautiful mash, doesn’t it?

You know, we have it pretty good here in California. Besides having some of the most beautiful coastline in the country and wineries galore, our generous sunshine and warm, dry climate provide the perfect growing conditions for sweetpotoates.  California sweetpotatoes are unique in that they’re grown in the fertile sand (rather than dirt) of the San Joaquin Valley, and are cured in the ground before harvest rather than being picked first and then cured in sheds. Their beautiful shapes and skin texture are made possible by hand-planting, selecting, sorting, sizing and packing.

If you’re looking for a lighter sweetpotato side that’s both delicious and simple, this absolutely deserves a spot on your Thanksgiving table this year. I mean, with color like that there’s no chance this beautiful side dish will be overlooked.

A special thanks to my friends at California Sweetpotatoes for sponsoring this delicious recipe, and to you lovely readers for supporting the sponsors that allow me to create new and special dishes like this for the blog. As always, the thoughts and opinions expressed on According to Elle are my own.