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As a coconut-free, nut-free, dairy-free AIP milk alternative, sweet potato milk is an easy-to-make, creamy, and tasty beverage that works well for many things.
The internet can definitely be an interesting place. Sometimes you'll find useless information that'll just take up needed space in your brain but sometimes you learn important or useful things!
That happened to me recently when I happened upon an article talking about potato milk. I'd never heard of such a thing, but after reading how to make it I thought to myself “Well, if it worked with sweet potatoes then that would be a PERFECT coconut-free AIP milk alternative!”
So I set about trying it out.
You can see how I did this, plus my reaction to how it tastes in this video, or just skip below to see the screen shots with explanations of each step.
So what DOES this taste like?
Well, if you didn't watch the video, here's the spoiler – it tastes quite sweet potato-y, which I guess is to be expected. I actually thought the taste was a lot better than I anticipated and quite liked it.
I'm not sure if it's one of those things I'd drink just to drink milk, and I don't necessarily think it'd go well with some sweeter dishes, like any of my Tigernut Granolas, for instance. The sweet potato taste I think would just overpower them. For those, I'd rather have Banana Milk.
But to make a soup creamy, to make a savory sauce, use in something like this AIP Bacon Mac and Cheese, or even to add to an AIP “coffee” to make it creamy, I think this would work well.
How to make sweet potato milk
For this you'll just need a sweet potato, some water, and optional maple syrup (if you want it a bit sweeter and you're not on Whole30).
I don't think the size of the potato matters too much – the bigger the potato the creamier and thicker the milk will be.
First you'll peel and chop the potato into 1-inch cubes. Here I'm using a white sweet potato, but a regular orange-fleshed one would work as well (I think a purple-fleshed one would be so much fun!)
Add the sweet potato chunks to a pot and add about 4 cups of water.
Put the pot on the stove and bring to a boil. Boil for approximately 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft and easily pierced with a fork.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the potatoes to a blender, reserving the cooking water.
Pour the reserved cooking water into a measuring cup.
If you do not have 4 cups, add more water to make 4 cups.
Pour the water into the blender.
Add a teaspoon of maple syrup if desired (and not on Whole30).
Blend for 1-3 minutes, or until completely blended and creamy.
Enjoy!
Do you need to strain this milk?
If you watch the video you'll see that I went through the process of straining it, but I really don't think it did anything other than add more time to the process. There wasn't much at all left in the nut milk bag I used, so I don't think it's necessary. However if you want to, go for it!
How long does it last?
This milk stays in the fridge well for up to 5 days (it may separate a bit, so shake it before using) or you can freeze it for up to 3 months.
I recommend freezing either in ice cube trays or 1-cup servings in a freezer-safe container or bag. If using the ice cube trays (great for if you need just a small amount for a coffee-like drink), freeze until frozen and then pop out and store in a freezer-safe container or bag. I love these silicone ice cube trays but any will do.
Other Paleo and AIP milk recipes:
How to make Coconut Milk from shredded coconut: Buying cans of coconut milk is definitely easiest for the convenience factor, but if you're on a diet like Autoimmune Paleo (AIP) and/or are avoiding additives like guar gum or carrageenan, finding coconut milk you can have is a bit harder. Luckily, making your own homemade coconut milk is really quite simple.
How to make Tigernut Milk: Making your own tigernut milk is actually extremely easy to do and you get a creamy, slightly sweet, delicious beverage that can be used in place of coconut milk.
How to make Banana Milk: If you need an AIP coconut milk substitute, this alternative works well in many situations. This banana milk takes a minute to make and tastes great!
Sweet Potato Milk Recipe
If you make this sweet potato milk, I'd love to hear how it turned out! Either comment below or share a pic on Instagram and tag me @thrivingautoimmune!
Sweet Potato Milk
Ingredients
- 1 Sweet Potato (use a bigger potato for thicker, creamier milk and a smaller one for less creamy milk)
- 4 cups Water (plus more after cooking if needed to make 4 cups)
- 1 tsp Maple Syrup (optional, omit for Whole30)
Instructions
- Peel and chop the potato into 1-inch cubes. Add to a pot and add 4 cups of water.
- Bring the pot to a boil over medium high heat and boil for approx 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft and easily pierced with a fork.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the potatoes to a blender, reserving the cooking water.
- Pour the cooking water into a measuring cup. You'll need 4 cups so if some of the water was absorbed into the potatoes or evaporated during the cooking process, add fresh water to make 4 cups. Add this water to the blender as well.
- This step is optional (and don't do it if you're on Whole30), but you can also add 1 tsp of maple syrup at this time.
- Blend the mixture on high for 1-3 minutes, or until completely blended and creamy. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days or the freezer for up to 3 months.
Fun! Makes sense with the popularity of sweet potato cheese, etc. Which has me wondering about zucchini milk!
Or what about beet milk…cinnamon carob latte! Pumpkin milk PSL! Have to find out if squash do as well as roots for this… Is it the starch that makes it milky? Probably. Maybe not zucchini, then. Haha. Thanks!
I really don’t know whether it’s the starch or not – but I LOVE the way you think!! Many great ideas there!!
I haven’t tried this yet so cannot rate but sweet potatoes vary so greatly in size…can I get am approximate measurement of how much sweet potato?
I used a gigantic one – not sure how much it weighed, but it was probably one of the biggest ones you can buy and it was fine. But I also think a smaller one would be fine. If you read my notes in the post I say that it will just make it more or less creamy – a bigger one will have a lot more “meat” and therefore be creamier and a smaller one will be a little less creamy. So I really don’t think you can go wrong no matter what size you use.