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Sweet Potato Croissants

November 19, 2018

These Sweet Potato Croissants are an excellent choice to add to a special holiday dinner menu.

basket of Sweet Potato Croissants

What is the best recipe for rolls for Thanksgiving?

This is a pressing question during the holidays.  What rolls should I make for Thanksgiving?  Should I just buy rolls?  Isn’t that easier?  Well, you could certainly buy dinner rolls if you’re stressed about the rest of your menu, and you don’t want to have to think about making rolls homemade.  Homemade rolls are SO MUCH BETTER though.  So keep that in mind.

This recipe for Sweet Potato Croissants is not difficult.  I like to make them early in the morning on the day I’m going to serve them.  Then I pop them in the oven (surrounded by foil) for a few minutes before I tuck them into a basket and add them to my table.  They’re one of my favorites.  And they’re a little bit sweet, which I enjoy in a roll.

I do have several recipes for rolls that I like to recommend you browse through before you decide which one to make.  Parker House Rolls are a classic favorite.  My Soft Yeast Rolls are totally soft and fluffy, and they’re made in round cake pans.  Regular Croissant Dinner Rolls are very good too.  Easy Dinner Rolls are an excellent choice as well.  And I love it when my son makes his Pumpkin Dinner Rolls.  They’re really good, and they happen to be nice rolls for little leftover turkey sandwiches too,

Sweet Potato Croissants on a cooling rack

How croissants are made:

These Sweet Potato Croissants are made with yeast, mashed sweet potato (I use canned because it’s just so easy), sugar, shortening, salt and flour.  The dough is kneaded (either by hand or with your stand mixer’s dough hook) for about 6 minutes.  Then the dough needs to rise in a warm place for one hour. That risen dough is punched down and divided into thirds.  Each third is rolled into a circle.  Each circle is cut like a pizza into 12 wedges.  Then each wedge is brushed with butter, rolled up, and placed on a baking sheet to rise again for 40 minutes.  Then they’re baked, and that’s it!

What’s the best place to let your yeast rolls rise?

The laundry room is usually a good place to let your yeast breads and rolls rise.  Any small room that is warm will do.  In a pinch, if you have a free oven, heat it for one minute at 300 degrees.  Then turn it off, and you can use your oven as a place for your rolls to rise.  Just make sure it’s turned off!

Can croissants be made gluten free?

I wouldn’t try any substituting on this Sweet Potato Croissants recipe since I haven’t experimented with using gluten-free flours on this one.  I did find a Gluten Free Croissants recipe that you may wish to try instead, if you need it to be gluten-free.  I have not personally tried them, but the website I’m recommending them from is a trustworthy one.

Sweet Potato Croissants on a cooling rack

Can Sweet Potato Croissants be made ahead?

Yes, these croissants can be made ahead.  I like to make them in the morning, and then heat them up later in the day when I’m ready to serve dinner. I just wrap them in foil and pop them in the oven for a few minutes to warm them up.  I suppose you could even make them the night before.  I’d recommend making sure they’re in a well-sealed container– or maybe in large ziploc bags overnight.

Can croissants be frozen?

Yes!  They’ll definitely taste better if you make them the same day, but you can also bake them and freeze them in large freezer zip baggies.  Defrost at room temperature and wrap in foil to heat them in the oven.

basket of Sweet Potato Croissants

If you’re looking for more holiday dinner inspiration, you might like to try some of my favorite holiday recipes.  These are recipes that my family makes every year for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas:

Sweet Potato Croissants

I make these Sweet Potato Croissants the morning of Thanksgiving, then heat them up again right before dinner. They are still soft and fresh even a couple of days later!

  • 2 .25-ounce packages active dry yeast
  • 1 cup warm water ((110 to 115° F))
  • 1 15-ounce can sweet potatoes, (drained and mashed)
  • 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
  • 1/2 cup (solid) shortening ((such as Crisco))
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 5 to 5 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, (melted)
  1. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in water; let stand for 5 minutes until foamy. Beat in the sweet potatoes, sugar, shortening, egg, salt and 3 cups of flour. Add enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover loosely with a clean dishtowel and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
  2. Punch the dough down; divide into thirds. Roll each portion into a 12-inch circle; cut each into 12 wedges. Brush with butter. Roll up from the wide end and place, pointed end down, 2-inches apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.
  3. Preheat oven to 375°F.

  4. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

  • *If you’re searching for a warm place to let your dough rise, turn on your oven to 400 degrees for 1 minute and turn the light on. Turn it OFF after one minute, keep the light on, and place your bowl of dough in the slightly warmed oven. The light will help keep it warm enough to rise. Make sure the oven is turned off!

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