The Canned Substitute For A Quick Sweet Potato Soufflé

Sweet potato soufflé is a holiday staple, but it can be time-consuming to prepare. While managing endless lists and scrambling to get everything done in time, it can be tough to find the hours in the day or even the patience to go through the cooking process.

The undertaking of peeling, cooking, and mashing a sack of sweet potatoes before even really starting on the soufflé can be a real drag on your time spent in the kitchen. However, there's good news for home cooks looking to cut down on how long they spend prepping for this classic dish.

With one clever ingredient swap, you'll save time and effort while still serving up a delicious side dish that's totally indiscernible from what you'd end up with after the traditional, laborious process. And the best part? This ingredient is super affordable and very easy to find. We're talking about canned yams.

Though sweet potatoes and yams are very different vegetables, the canned yams you'll find on your grocery store shelves are actually sweet potatoes. Real yams don't have the orange flesh or sweet flavor that they're often associated with. These are, however, always attributes of a sweet potato. 

This means you can use canned yams as a substitute in your sweet potato soufflé recipe and several others, including sweet potato pie. This substitute will save you time cooking sweet potatoes, and some brands also offer pre-cut and mashed varieties, making for a dish that comes together in no time.

In the excitement of this time-saving switch, one detail must not get lost when using canned yams in syrup. The syrup adds extra sweetness to the potatoes, so you should reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe to avoid an overly sweet dish. This way, you can still enjoy the potatoes' natural sweetness without overwhelming your taste buds.

So next time you're craving a sweet potato soufflé but don't have the time or energy to make it from scratch, reach for a can of yams. Your taste buds and your schedule will thank you.