Ham and Sweet Potato Biscuits
Homemade sweet potato biscuits filled with sliced ham are commonly served for showers, tea parties, or brunch. They’re the ideal combination of sweet and savory, with a taste of the South! Make them ahead for easy entertaining.
Sweet potato biscuits are a treasure of southern cuisine, and using them to make ham biscuit appetizers for parties and celebrations adds comfort and charm to the table.
I’ve struggled with so many recipes trying to recreate the taste of my grandmother’s sweet potato biscuits and they all fell short. I FINALLY figured out a method that actually tastes like my childhood! It uses fresh baked sweet potatoes, a good dose of sugar, and a hint of cinnamon.
Taste and Texture
The biscuits are moist with a texture that’s similar to soft cake-like cookies. Don’t expect them to rise like traditional biscuits.
They taste lightly sweet and have a balanced sweet potato flavor. Other recipes I’ve tried are a little too subtle or bland by comparison.
Ham and sweet potato biscuits are a true Southern delight. Serve them at baby showers, bridal showers, a Southern dinner party, or Kentucky Derby party.
And they travel well so you can take them for tailgate picnics or church socials.
Ingredient Notes
- Flour. Use all-purpose flour so you control the amount of baking powder and salt.
- Sweet potatoes. Follow my easy cooking method for recipe-ready sweet potatoes. I’ve learned through trial and error that you can’t cheat on the fresh sweet potatoes. I tried using canned sweet potatoes once, and it was an epic fail! They just tasted too much like a can. Make them ahead so they’re ready to use when you are, or at least make sure you let them cool completely before adding them to the other ingredients.
- Ham. Salty ham is a delicious complement to the biscuits. I used a small (4 pound) boneless spiral ham, cut the slices, and cooked it in a skillet to heat through. The ham is already cooked so it’s easy to heat and serve. Use what you need and freeze the rest for another time, or use leftover spiral ham when you have it.
How To Make It
Full instructions are in the recipe card at bottom. Start by baking fresh sweet potatoes, and then pull the skin off and mash them.
- Combine the potatoes with sugar and butter in a large bowl. It’s fine to have little bits of butter visible in the mixture. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
- Stir to combine and mold it into a dough ball. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out to about ½-inch thick. Cut out 2-inch circles using a biscuit cutter or the rim of a glass. Once all the circles are cut out, refold the dough, roll it, and press out more circles. Repeat until you’ve used all the dough.
- Place the rounds on a sheet pan and bake as directed.
- While the biscuits are baking, melt 2-3 tablespoons of butter and use a basting brush to brush it over each biscuit as soon as they come out of the oven.
- Cut each biscuit in half and insert a couple of small slices of ham, and serve warm or at room temperature.
Storage
Make them the night before so they’re ready to go in the morning. Wrap in foil or store in an airtight container, at room temperature for up to 3 days.
To freeze, prepare and cool the biscuits. Wrap in foil or an airtight container for up to 6 months. Reheat at 350º F for about 10 minutes or until heated through, and serve.
Helpful Tips
- Measure out the flour by giving the container of flour a quick stir to fluff, and use a large spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup to a large mound. Then use a straight edge spatula to drag across the top and level it off.
- Try not to overwork the dough or they will turn out dense and tough.
- If you don’t have cookie or biscuit cutters, use the rim of a glass. Dip the rim in flour before pressing it into the dough, and make sure you lift the cutter/glass straight up rather than twisting it (twisting will seal the edge and keep it from rising).
- I make them in 2-inch rounds which is the perfect size for parties and appetizers.
When I was little, my grandmother made the BEST sweet potato biscuits, bar none. She was a Southern farm woman who didn’t follow recipes, but cooked everything with love. I’m happy to say that after much trial and error I’ve finally landed on a recipe that brings back the taste of my childhood. I hope you love these just as much.
More Southern Recipes
Ham and sweet potato biscuits are a quintessential Southern food. Other favorites include pimento cheese dip, sausage balls, and cheddar cheese coins.
To wash it all down, serve bourbon iced tea cocktails or Kentucky mules.
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Ham and Sweet Potato Biscuits recipe
These delicious ham and sweet potato biscuits are a classic southern dish served at showers, brunch parties, or appetizers. The sweet biscuits are balanced by savory sliced ham.
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ cups mashed sweet potatoes (from 2 medium potatoes)
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup butter, softened at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 pounds spiral sliced ham, or sliced country ham
Instructions
- Clean the sweet potatoes and pierce them with a fork 3 times each. Place them on a sheet of aluminum foil (no need to wrap them) directly on the middle oven rack.
- Turn the oven on 375º F and begin cooking for 45 minutes. At the end of the 45 minutes, turn off the oven but DO NOT open the oven door. Let potatoes continue to sit inside for 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool completely, then remove peel and mash potatoes. Measure out 1 ⅔ cups of mashed potatoes into a mixing bowl; add sugar, softened butter, and salt, and mix together. Set aside.
- Sift flour, baking powder, and cinnamon together (shake it through a wire mesh strainer or use a whisk). Add to potato mixture and knead into a dough. It will be wet and sticky but DO NOT OVER-HANDLE the dough.
- Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350º F; spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
- Roll dough onto a lightly floured surface, about ½-inch thick. Using a 2-inch biscuit cutter or rim of a glass, cut out rounds (dip the cutter in flour first so it doesn’t stick). DO NOT TWIST THE BISCUIT CUTTER when cutting through the dough.
- When you can't cut out anymore circles, fold the dough on itself again and roll out so you can start cutting more rounds. Keep doing this until all the dough is used.
- Place rounds onto a baking sheet and cook for 15 to 17 minutes. Meanwhile, cook slices of ham in a large skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes; enough to heat through and get some browning on the surface. Remove to a plate when done.
- Remove biscuits from oven and cool slightly, cut open, and insert slices of cooked ham.
Dreaming about biscuits now.
Such a delicious recipe using sweet potatoes! Great for a Mother’s Day brunch!