Sunday Stash: 1 Batch of Sweet Potatoes, 9 Family Meals

The Sunday Stash is a large batch of one simple, easy-to-make food that can be mix-and-matched with meat, vegetables, grains, and pasta to create meals throughout the week (or, if frozen, the month).

This month's Sunday Stash is one of our easiest yet: a big batch of halved, roasted sweet potatoes. Baked potatoes feel untenable on busy weeknights, because who has the time? But there's a trick with these sweet potatoes: you slice them in half before you rub them with oil and salt and roast, cut side down, on a sheet pan. The halved sweet potatoes cook in, well, about half the time—they should be done in about half an hour—and lends each sweet potato half a bit of smoky char.

Sunday Stash Sweet Potatoes

Throw a couple of sheet pans of halved sweet potatoes into the oven while you're puttering around the house on Sunday, and you'll be able to turn them into fast, family-friendly meals all week long. Below, a few of our favorites.

1. Add It to a Curry

Sweet potatoes are a welcome addition to any curry: Thai-inspired coconut chicken curry, beefy Japanese curry, light shrimp curry—you can't go wrong.

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2. Serve in a Salad

You can cube roasted sweet potatoes and add them to pretty much any salad, but we're particularly partial to this spin on a Cobb: chop little Gem lettuce or romaine and top with corn kernels, diced avocado, crumbled bacon, cubed sweet potato, and halved hard-boiled eggs. For kids averse to foods touching other foods, each salad component can be served in distinct, stand-alone piles instead of being tossed together.

3. Add to Chili

Toss cubes of roasted sweet potato into your favorite chili recipe, like this cross between chili verde and white chicken chili, or this traditional beef chili. Since the sweet potatoes are already cooked, add them to the chili about 10-15 minutes before serving so they have time to soak up some of the flavor, but don't turn to mush.

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4. Slice Into a Soup

Making chicken soup? Add sweet potatoes instead of—or in addition to—noodles. (Check out this lemony, dilly chicken-lentil soup for inspiration.) Throw some diced sweet potato into black bean soup and top with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt. Or just purée a couple of roasted sweet potatoes with a little water or broth for a super-easy, creamy vegetable soup that stands all on its own.

5. Serve on a Grain Bowl

Top rice, quinoa, or farro with roasted sweet potato cubes, leftover pork or shredded chicken, pickled red onions, and a drizzle of cilantro sauce for a simple but satisfying dinner that can be easily deconstructed for the kids.

6. Or Toss Into a Grain Salad

Mix leftover grains with cubed sweet potatoes, a handful of arugula, some dried cranberries, and a shallot vinaigrette for a filling grain salad that's great for lunch or dinner. Or use this no-fail method to make a grain salad with whatever other ingredients you have on hand.

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7. Skip the Grains and Make Sweet Potato Bowls

Warm up sweet potato halves, mash the flesh a bit, and top with leftover meat, crispy chickpeas, crumbled feta or queso fresco, seasoned black beans, guacamole, sautéed vegetables, or salad greens. Or turn it into a breakfast bowl by topping a sweet potato half with almond butter, granola, yogurt, and a drizzle of maple syrup.

8. Turn It Into a Special Side Dish

Mash the sweet potatoes with melted butter and orange juice, sprinkle with crushed nuts, marshmallow, or granola, and bake for an easy weeknight sweet potato casserole.

9. Add to a Breakfast Smoothie

A handful of roasted sweet potato will add thickness and creaminess and color to a breakfast smoothie (think kale, ginger, mango, yogurt) that maybe, just maybe, your kids will drink.