Sweet Potato Dumplings are a Southern dessert that looks fancy and takes 10 minutes of work: halves of frozen sweet potato patties rolled up in crescent roll dough, lined up in a baking dish and drowned in a buttery cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla sauce. In the oven, the dough puffs up golden and the sauce cooks down into a sticky syrup around every dumpling. It serves 8.
How to make it: Cut 8 frozen sweet potato patties in half, wrap each half in a crescent roll triangle and set them in a 9×13-inch glass dish. Melt butter with sugar, spices and vanilla, stir in cornstarch whisked into cold water, pour it over the dumplings and bake at 350°F for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden.
Why You’ll Love It
- 10 minutes of prep: frozen patties and canned dough do all the heavy lifting.
- Warm, sticky and cozy: soft sweet potato, buttery dough and a cinnamon syrup.
- Dessert or side: serve it with ice cream, or put it on the holiday table next to the dressing.
- Travels well: it goes to a potluck right in its baking dish.
Ingredient Notes
Frozen sweet potato patties: Eight, kept frozen until you cut them. They’re often labeled yam patties and sit in the freezer section near the frozen vegetables and side dishes, usually in packs of 8 or 16.
Crescent roll dough: Two tubes, 16 triangles in all. Buy the kind with perforated triangles, not the seamless crescent sheets; the pre-cut triangles are what make this quick. Store brands are fine.
Butter: A stick and a half (12 tablespoons), salted or unsalted. With unsalted butter, a pinch of salt in the sauce helps the cinnamon show.
Sugar and spices: A cup and a half of granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon and nutmeg, and 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla.
Water and cornstarch: A cup and a half of cold water with a tablespoon of cornstarch whisked in thickens the sauce as it bakes.
Ingredients
- 8 frozen sweet potato patties (also sold as yam patties), kept frozen
- 2 tubes refrigerated crescent roll dough (16 triangles)
- 12 tablespoons butter (1 1/2 sticks)
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups cold water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
How to Make Sweet Potato Dumplings
1. Heat the oven. Heat the oven to 350°F and set out a 9×13-inch glass baking dish.
2. Cut the patties. Cut each frozen sweet potato patty in half with a sharp knife, straight from the freezer. Frozen patties cut cleanly; thawed ones smear and fall apart. You need 16 halves.
3. Wrap the dumplings. Unroll the crescent dough from both tubes and separate it along the perforations into 16 triangles. Set a sweet potato half at the wide end of each triangle, roll toward the point and tuck the sides in. Place each dumpling seam side down in the dish. They don’t need to be sealed perfectly.
4. Make the butter sauce. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter until it bubbles. Add the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla and stir until the sugar is mostly dissolved.
5. Thicken the sauce. In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch into the cold water until no lumps are left. Stir it into the butter mixture until smooth.
6. Pour on the sauce. Pour the sauce evenly over the dumplings. It will look like far too much liquid; it reduces and soaks in as the dumplings bake.
7. Bake. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the dumplings are golden brown and some of the liquid has been absorbed. Start checking at 35 minutes, because the sugar can go from golden to too dark in about 4 minutes.
8. Rest and serve. If the sauce still looks thin, let the dish rest on the counter for 10 to 15 minutes; it thickens as it cools. Serve warm from the dish with the sauce spooned over, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream if you like.
The Patties and the Sauce: Getting Both Right
Two things make or break this dish: how you handle the sweet potato patties and how the sauce thickens.
| Step | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Cutting the patties | Slice them straight from the freezer | Thawed patties smear; if the knife fights you, let the bag sit out 3 to 4 minutes, no longer |
| Arranging the dish | Leave a little room between dumplings | Packed too tight, the sides steam instead of browning |
| Making the slurry | Whisk the cornstarch into cold water first | Dry cornstarch dumped into hot butter clumps and won’t thicken |
| Baking | Check at 35 minutes | The sugar darkens fast at the end |
| Serving | Rest 10 to 15 minutes if the sauce is thin | The sauce thickens as it cools |
Don’t panic about the liquid. When you pour the sauce over, it looks like the dumplings are swimming. That’s right: the dough soaks up a lot of it as it bakes, and the rest thickens into syrup.
Pull it rather than overbake it. If the tops are deep golden and the sauce has thickened around the edges, take it out even if the middle looks loose. Resting it beats baking longer and drying out the dough.
A glass dish helps. It heats evenly, and you can see the sauce reducing at the edges.
Tips for Success
No frozen patties?
Bake or boil fresh sweet potatoes until fork-tender, cool, peel and cut them into pieces about the size of a patty half. It adds close to an hour and gives a softer, more custardy filling. Drained canned sweet potatoes work in a pinch: pat them dry and handle them gently, since they’re softer and wetter.
Are sweet potato dumplings the same as yam dumplings?
Yes. In the US, most of what’s sold as yams is a variety of sweet potato, so the names mean the same dish. You may also see them called country dumplings.
Make them ahead
Wrap the dumplings and arrange them in the dish up to 4 hours ahead, then cover and refrigerate. Keep the sauce off until baking time, or the dough goes soggy. Pour it over the cold dumplings and add about 5 minutes to the bake.
Variations
- Brown sugar syrup: use brown sugar instead of granulated for a deeper, caramel-like sauce.
- Soda syrup: replace some of the water with lemon-lime soda for a lighter, slightly tangy syrup.
- Creamy sauce: replace part of the water with evaporated milk for a creamy, almost bread-pudding-like sauce.
- With pecans: scatter chopped pecans over the dish before baking.
- Extra spice: sprinkle more cinnamon and nutmeg over the tops before baking.
Storage & Reheating
Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in a covered container, and eat them within 3 to 4 days, as USDA FSIS advises. They’re even good the next day, once the sauce has soaked into the dough. You can freeze baked dumplings in a freezer-safe container for up to 1 month for best quality; thaw them overnight in the refrigerator.
Reheat them covered, in a low oven or in the microwave, until they reach 165°F. Don’t reheat them in a slow cooker.
What to Serve With It
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream for dessert, or as a sweet side on the holiday table with sweet potatoes with marshmallows or a Ruth’s Chris sweet potato casserole. If you like this wrap-and-bake method, make crescent roll apple dumplings, the apple version, or apple dumplings the classic way. For more syrupy Southern desserts, try Depression era caramel dumplings or a pecan pie cobbler.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I find frozen sweet potato patties?
In the freezer section, usually near the frozen vegetables and side dishes, often labeled yam patties. They come in packs of 8 or 16.
Why is my sauce thin or watery?
Either the cornstarch wasn’t fully dissolved in cold water first, or the sauce just needs time: it thickens as it cools, so give the dish 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
Do I need to seal the dough completely?
No. Roll each patty half up from the wide end of the triangle, tuck in the sides and set the dumpling seam side down in the dish. It doesn’t need a perfect seal to hold together in the oven.
Can I use fresh sweet potatoes?
Yes. Cook them until fork-tender, cool, peel and cut them into patty-size pieces. The filling will be softer.
Can I make sweet potato dumplings ahead?
Yes. Assemble the dumplings in the dish up to 4 hours ahead and refrigerate them, then add the sauce right before baking and bake about 5 minutes longer.
Can I freeze them?
Yes. Freeze baked dumplings for up to a month, thaw them in the refrigerator, and reheat them covered to 165°F.
Final Notes
Leave the patties in the freezer until the second you cut them, and the rest of this dessert is easy. If you make it, tell me in the comments whether you served it for dessert or as a side.
Sweet Potato Dumplings
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Ingredients
- 8 frozen sweet potato patties also sold as yam patties; keep frozen; 16 halves once cut
- 2 tubes refrigerated crescent roll dough 16 triangles in all; pre-cut perforated triangles, not crescent sheet dough
- 12 tablespoons butter 1 1/2 sticks; salted or unsalted
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract pure, not imitation
- 1 1/2 cups water cold
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F and set out a 9x13-inch glass baking dish.
- Cut each frozen sweet potato patty in half with a sharp knife, straight from the freezer. Frozen patties cut cleanly; thawed ones smear and fall apart. You need 16 halves.
- Unroll the crescent dough from both tubes and separate it along the perforations into 16 triangles. Set a sweet potato half at the wide end of each triangle, roll toward the point and tuck the sides in. Place each dumpling seam side down in the dish. They don't need to be sealed perfectly.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter until it bubbles. Add the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla and stir until the sugar is mostly dissolved.
- In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch into the cold water until no lumps are left. Stir it into the butter mixture until smooth.
- Pour the sauce evenly over the dumplings. It will look like far too much liquid; it reduces and soaks in as the dumplings bake.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the dumplings are golden brown and some of the liquid has been absorbed. Start checking at 35 minutes, because the sugar can go from golden to too dark in about 4 minutes.
- If the sauce still looks thin, let the dish rest on the counter for 10 to 15 minutes; it thickens as it cools. Serve warm from the dish with the sauce spooned over, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream if you like.
