Sweet Potato Dumplings
Similar to apple dumplings, sweet potato dumplings are simply heaven on a plate! With each bite, you get a mouthwatering taste of flaky biscuit, spiced sweet potato, and irresistible sugar syrup.
Today my Mama is sharing her sweet potato dumpling recipe with you and I want to strongly encourage you to make them A.S.A.P. because they are on my top 10 list of best things I’ve ever eaten. Seriously! Take it away, Mama!
I first had these sweet potato dumplings when my husband and I went to a gathering in Birmingham, Alabama. They had hired a caterer to cook steaks and chicken for everyone but had left the sides and desserts up to the ladies in the group.
I didn’t know anyone at the party except for one lady and her husband who had ridden there with us. As we looked the dessert table over, we spied a dish of what we thought were apple dumplings. Now there were only 10 dumplings in the dish. Yes, we counted them. We both said we had to get one before they were all gone. I took the first bite. My mouth told me that was not an apple dumpling but I couldn’t quite place the flavor. I just knew I had fallen in love with whatever it was. My friend and I discussed it and after savoring the dish decided it was a sweet potato and they melted in your mouth.
Recipe Ingredients
- Canned flaky biscuits
- Sugar
- Light corn syrup
- Water
- Butter
- Yam (sweet potato) patties
- Cinnamon or spices of your choice
How To Make Sweet Potato Dumplings
Melt a stick of butter in a 9×13 ovenproof dish. I place the dish into my preheated oven and let the butter melt. Just watch it so that the butter doesn’t brown.
Cut sweet potato (or yam) patties in half to the size of your liking. 1/4-inch, 1/2-inch… whatever you like will work. Sprinkle with spices of your choice.
Peel biscuits into two pieces. You will end up with 16 biscuit pieces.
Press biscuit pieces to flatten and place one sweet potato piece to the side.
Fold biscuit over and press edges to seal. See there, a cute little dumpling right before your eyes!
Line your cute little dumplings all up in two rows. Sprinkle with additional spices.
Stir water, sugar, and corn syrup together in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
Reduce heat and allow to simmer until sugar is completely dissolved, still stirring occasionally.
Pour the hot syrup mixture over your cute little sweet potato dumplings.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 35 minutes or until dumplings are golden brown.
The syrup will thicken some as the dumplings cool.
Can’t wait to bite into these!
Storage
I strongly recommend gobbling these up while they’re freshly hot and straight out of the oven. However, if you do have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat them in a low oven so they crisp up once more.
Recipe Notes
- When I say whatever spices I like, I mean you can use one or a combination. My recommendations: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and a hint of cloves.
- For additional flavor, add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the sugar syrup once you remove it from the heat.
- For a more caramelized sauce, use 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of brown sugar.
Recipe FAQs
Do I need yam patties or sweet potatoes?
Umm… yes :). These are called yam patties but they are really sweet potatoes. They are sold in the freezer section at the grocery store. You can also use canned sweet potatoes (also called yams on the can most of the time) or peel raw fresh sweet potatoes, slice them in slices, and boil for a few minutes just until tender. That’s what I did today.
How do you serve sweet potato dumplings?
For breakfast, I love to serve them as a side with bacon and eggs. For dessert, they taste simply magnificent with some whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Check out these other sweet potato recipes:
Vegan Sweet Potato Cake With Maple Cashew Icing
Loaded Sweet Potatoes With Marshmallows
Sweet Potato Bread With Cinnamon Swirl
Sweet Potato Pie, Southern Plate Style
Ingredients
- 1 can Grands Flaky Biscuits
- 8 slices frozen sweet potato rounds thawed
- 1 stick butter
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- cinnamon,nutmeg, or ginger whichever you like best
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a 9x13-inch baking pan in a 350-degree oven.1 stick butter
- Divide each biscuit in half by pulling layers apart and pat each side out flat.1 can Grands Flaky Biscuits
- Slice the sweet potato rounds in half and sprinkle with the spices of your choice. I use cinnamon since that is my favorite spice with sweet potatoes.8 slices frozen sweet potato rounds, cinnamon,nutmeg, or ginger
- Place half of 1 sweet potato round (thawed) on the biscuit half.
- Fold the biscuit over and seal the edge like a fried pie or turnover.
- Place biscuits in the melted butter in the pan.
- Stir the water, sugar, and corn syrup together in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and allow to simmer until sugar is completely dissolved, still stirring occasionally.2 cups sugar, 2 tablespoons light corn syrup, 2 1/2 cups water
- Pour the hot syrup around the biscuits.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown. The sauce with thicken as the dumplings cool.
Notes
Nutrition
“You don’t drown by falling in water; You drown by staying there.”
~Edwin Cole
Just made these dumplings for Thanksgiving. I like sweet potatoes with butter. Not any other way. I don’t love them. BUT these are the most amazing thing I have ever ate! I had two for lunch and another with leftovers for dinner. I am definitely not waiting until Thanksgiving next year to make these again! They are now going to be a staple around here! We LOVED them!!! Thanks for sharing!
I’m fixing to put these in the oven. I’ve made them many times. Sweet Potato Dumplings are stuff that dreams are made of. Do y’all remember the story ‘The Night Before Christmas” when those little kids had visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads….well I have sweet potato dumplings instead. LOL , really, I think about them way too much. But that is ok cause I could be doing worse things. Love ya, Ma
I’m gonna make these lovely little darlings again in the morning for breakfast to have with my morning coffee. I have made them many times following your Mama’s recipe exactly and they are perfect every time. TY Janice for sharing these with us.
I should come have breakfast with you Barbara!!!
That would be so nice. I had plenty left over. Some went into the fridge and the rest went into the freezer. I had 2 extra biscuits so I pulled them apart and added a tsp of my homemade strawberry-fig preserves on the flattened biscuits, closed them up and tossed them in with the sweet potato ones. That made us a delish, kinda healthy breakfast (way healthier than fast food drive thru.)
Do you think this dish could be frozen between Step 8 and 9? I would like to prep this for a friend, but for her to bake at a later time. Any advice?
I am a sweet potato lover, too. Because I have diabetes, I would prefer to make a sauce that doesn’t have sugar and corn syrup. Can you suggest something or should I just give it a go on my own? If I knew what measurements to use, that would really help me out. Thanks for your help.
Hey Joann, I’m afraid this is the only way I have ever made them. You could experiment with making a syrup with splenda or such if you like but I really don’t have a starting point to offer. If you do try something please report back 🙂
I will give it a try soon, and let you know for the future. Thanks!
Can you make these ahead? If so, how do recommend doing these? Cooking all the way first or prepping up to the cooking part and refrigerating them until you can cook them?
I wouldn’t make them ahead of time because the canned biscuit dough is a bit iffy once you open it and wait a while. You could get everything together ahead of time and maybe that prep will make preparing them go by faster. If you have to make them ahead, I’d make them fully and then cover in foil and refrigerate, reheating in the microwave just before serving. Now that I think about it, I’ve had them reheated and they are still wonderful 🙂
I am making the dumplings today using crescent rolls. This is the only thing I was asked to bring for our family cook-out today. 🙂 Big hit in my family Would it be ok if I prepared them (up to the point of putting them in the oven), covered with aluminum foil and did not refrigerate for about 30 minutes?
Hey! This is probably too late, I’m sorry. I was away from the computer with family. Please let me know how they turned out!
Can you use gluten free pie crust