The 10 Best Japanese Sweet Potato Desserts To Try

I've rounded up our favorite recipes for these versatile root vegetables. Whether you're looking for a side dish or want to make your own mashed potatoes, there are plenty of options here.

From creamy baked dishes to savory stir-fries, these recipes will have you eating sweet potatoes like never before!

Sweet potatoes are native to Central America and Mexico. They are also known as yams or taro roots. The sweet potato is a starchy vegetable that is high in vitamin C, potassium, fiber, and other nutrients.

Sweet potatoes are delicious, baked, boiled, mashed, fried, roasted, steamed, or even added to salads. There are many ways to enjoy these versatile vegetables.

In Japan, they often add sweetness to savory dishes such as tempura, ramen, and udon noodles.

Sweet potatoes also make excellent dessert dishes.

But did you know that there's a special kind of sweet potato called a Japanese sweet potato? Named after their native region, Japanese sweet potato and normal sweet potatoes have their differences.

For example, the skin on the Japanese sweet potato is much thinner than the skin on regular sweet potatoes. This makes it easier to peel off. Also, Japanese sweet potatoes tend to be smaller than regular sweet potatoes, and they’re a bit sweeter, too.

These three factors make them perfect for baking.

Japanese sweet potatoes can be found in Asian markets and some supermarkets. If you cannot find them, regular sweet potatoes will work just fine. Just remember, when cooking with sweet potatoes, use less water than usual.

In Japan, having sweet potato in your dessert is considered the norm. It adds a natural sweetness to the dish. Here are some of Japan's favorite desserts made with sweet potatoes.

Japanese Sweet Potato Manju (Set Potato Cake)

This sweet potato Manju recipe is one of the most popular desserts in Japan. It’s an easy-to-make sweet potato pastry. You can use any type of sweet potato for this simple dessert.

It has been around since ancient times and there are different versions of Manju throughout cultures.

In Japan, it was traditionally served on New Year's Day. Today, it is still eaten during festivals and celebrations. This sweet potato cake is an ideal dessert when it comes to autumn. It has a light texture and a delicate flavor.

Cinnamon Roasted Japanese Sweet Potatoes

Japanese sweet potatoes make great desserts because the potato provides a base that easily adopts a sweet flavor. Cinnamon Roasted Japanese Sweet Potatoes are a perfect example of this.

This recipe combines sweet potatoes with cinnamon, which gives it an authentic taste. This dessert is not only delicious but also healthy. You can use it as a snack or dessert. Enjoy!

Here is one that I had!

Japanese Sweet Potato Fries

When you think of fries, dessert isn't necessarily the best category for it. They're more of a savory main. But sweet potato fries are different.

These sweet potato fries make an excellent dessert dish or palate cleanser. They're crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

Whipped Japanese Sweet Potato

Whipped Japanese Sweet Potato is another way to enjoy sweet potatoes. You don't have to use the whole potato; you can simply use the flesh from the center of the potato.

This makes a wonderful dessert topping for cakes, pies, pancakes, waffles, and bread.

Baked Japanese Sweet Potato Cake

Baked Japanese Sweet Potato Cake is one of the most popular desserts in Japan. It's usually served during New Year celebrations.

The sweet potato is used as a base for the cake. Then, it gets covered with red bean paste and sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Sweet Potato Ice Cream

Sweet Potato Ice Cream is a classic Japanese dessert. It has a smooth texture and is very rich. It's similar to sorbet but has a sweeter taste.

Sweet potato ice cream is a great dessert for those hot summer days.

Deep Fried Japanese Sweet Potato

Deep-Fried Japanese Sweet Potato is a popular snack food in Japan. The sweet potato is sliced and deep-fried.

Then, it's seasoned with salt, pepper, and sugar. The mix of sweet and salty is what makes this an interesting dessert.

Mashed Japanese Sweet Potato

Mashed Japanese Sweet Potato is traditional comfort food in Japan. It's a simple dish that uses sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes.

It's typically eaten on cold winter days. What hot porridge is to the West, mashed sweet potatoes are to the East.

Japanese Sweet Potato Rounds With Sour Cream

Sour cream and sweet potatoes go together like peanut butter and jelly. That's why this recipe calls for sour cream. When you combine them, the result is a creamy, tangy, and flavorful dessert.

Japanese Sweet Potato Muffins And Avocado Tartare

Avocados are a healthy fruit that goes well with sweet potatoes. So, when you pair them together, the result is a tasty treat. This recipe uses sweet potatoes to create a moist, savory muffin.

Then, it tops the muffin with an avocado tartare. The tartare is flavored with green onions, sesame seeds, and smoked paprika. It's not your typical dessert but in Japanese culture, this is a flavorful end dish to serve!

Other Popular Japanese Sweet Potato Desserts

The 10 desserts above are a fantastic way to serve sweet potatoes but not the only way. There are many other delicious ways to eat sweet potatoes.

Here are some of my favorite recipes that deserve a special shout-out!

Baked Sweet Potato Custard

Baking sweet potatoes makes them soft and fluffy, making them easy to incorporate into a custard. This is one of the easiest sweet potato desserts to make.

All you need to do is mix sweet potatoes, milk, egg, and sugar. Then pour the mixture into a baking dish and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes. Served hot, this dessert is very rich and creamy.

Mango Sweet Potato Pie

Mango is a popular fruit in Japan. When combined with sweet potatoes, mango becomes sweeter. The filling of this ingenious pie includes coconut milk, condensed milk, eggs, and flour.

Once baked, it turns into a flaky crust. The top layer of the pie is made from meringue.

Japanese Sweet Potato Pancakes

These pancakes are light and airy. They're also gluten-free. For best results, use white sweet potatoes. If you can't find white ones, just add more spices.

You'll notice that these pancakes have a lot of flavors. They're perfect for breakfast or brunch.

Sweet Potato Brownies

This brownie is super easy to make. Just combine sweet potatoes, chocolate chips, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Bake the batter for 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

When done, let the brownies cool completely before cutting them into squares.

Sweet Potato Bread Pudding

This bread pudding has all the flavors of sweet potatoes. It's filled with chunks of sweet potatoes, cinnamon, nutmeg, and raisins.

It's served warm so the bread gets nice and crispy.

Final Thoughts

When I say the word yam, I instantly think of a vegetable. And no one associates vegetables with desserts. But yams are also known as sweet potatoes.

Add in the 'sweet' and suddenly it's not so objectionable to use sweet potatoes in desserts. This is great because yams can actually make excellent desserts.

Sweet potatoes can make a great addition to any meal. Whether you want to enjoy them as a side dish or as a main course, there are plenty of options. Most surprisingly of all, as I hope I've proven with this article, they make exceedingly great desserts too.

There are multiple reasons for this. They can be cooked in a number of ways, they have a lovely texture, and they’re as sweet as can be!

Japanese sweet potatoes are a much better ingredient in desserts than normal sweet potatoes because of how much sweeter they are and how much softer their texture is, but that’s not to say you can’t give these desserts a try with regular yams.

Japanese sweet potatoes have a nutty flavor that is evocative of roasted chestnuts. In Japan, sweet potatoes are often eaten during meals. But, they can be enjoyed on their own too. In fact, they're quite versatile.

From savory dishes to sweets, sweet potatoes can be used in many different ways. Sweet potatoes are also very popular to use because of how inexpensive and available they are.

The best part is that Japanese sweet potato desserts tend to be a lot sweeter than sweet potato varieties from the US. This means there's a lot less added sugar and sweeteners in the desserts because they benefit from Japanese sweet potatoes' natural candied flavor.

This also makes Japanese sweet potato desserts a much healthier alternative compared to other desserts.

So if you're looking for a dessert that's easy to make, full of flavor and culture, and isn't going to have too much of a negative impact on your health, then try a Japanese sweet potato dessert.

Any of the ones from my list are sure to make an after-meal treat that's delicious for you and your family!

For even more Japanese sweet potato content, checkout the video below from Japan's own Chef Akino!