How to Make Meal-Prep Sweet Potato Cubes That Keep Their Shape

Grains bowls or Salads with sweet potatoes and other healthy vegetables can look as good as they taste. Even if you don’t want to style your lunch for Instagram, sweet potatoes should keep their shape and not become mushy with each bite.

The flesh of a whole sweet potato will become too soft to cut or slice if cooked in the microwave or oven. This is true for whole sweet potatoes as well as sliced sweet potatoes. The result is a soft, fluffy potato that can be mashed but is too fragile to stand on its feet.

Perfectly roasted or air-fried sweet potatoes for Grain Bowls and Salads

1. Prep the sweet potatoes in the oven. While the oven heats up, you can peel or not the sweet potatoes and then cut them. Add just enough olive oil to coat the pieces.
2. Season sweet potatoes: This is the fun part. Before you cook your sweet potatoes, you can add any seasonings to enhance the flavour of the salad or grain bowl. You can use a rub or sprinkle the sweet potatoes with some salt and pepper.
3. Roast the sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes will be slightly crispy around the edges but not dry. Keep warm at room temperature, or refrigerate for up to five business days.

Blanching sweet potatoes are another option.

1. You can blanch cubed, peeled sweet potatoes to make a fast alternative to roasting. While you won’t have the same crispy, tender edges as a high-and-dry roast, your salad will cook faster. This method will not work for large sweet potatoes, such as wedges and rounds. The edges of the potato cook faster than the rest, which can lead to undercooked or mushy middles.
   1. Cook the sweet potatoes. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the chopped sweet potatoes. Cook for 8-10 minutes until the sweet potatoes are tender but not too soft.
   2. Place the sweet potatoes in an ice bath. Once they are done cooking, add ice water to a bowl. To transfer the potatoes to the ice, use a spider and strainer.
   3. Let the sweet potatoes cool in the ice water for a few minutes until they are completely cool. You can use them immediately or keep them in an airtight container for up to five days.