Looking for a way to use up those sad looking sweet potatoes? I wanted to enjoy my boiled sweet potatoes in a new, more exciting way so I made these sweet potato and vegan ham balls. The vegan ham adds a nice saltines and extra meaty bite to the velvety sweet potatoes to make a really satisfying bite and delicious finger food that you can enjoy with your dipping sauce of choice.

Sweet Potato and Ham Balls on a white plate
These sweet potatoes balls make a really satisfying bite and delicious finger food that you can enjoy with your dipping sauce of choice.
Cross-section bite of sweet potato balls
A velvety bite and delicious snack!

A GREAT WAY TO USE UP BOILED OR BAKED SWEET POTATOES

I had a lot of boiled sweet potatoes left in my fridge that I wanted to turn into something more exciting to eat so I made these balls. Because let's be real, sometimes I just get sick of eating sweet potatoes as-is and want something with a little more flavour and texture.

THESE SWEET POTATO AND HAM BALLS ARE:

  • Made with very simple ingredients
  • Can be made gluten-free
  • Great as a snack to munch on
  • Baked, air-fried, or pan-fried

? INGREDIENTS YOU'LL NEED

Sweet Potato and Ham Balls

  • 1 lb cooked sweet potatoes (I used 2 small yellow sweet potatoes), peeled
  • 4.2 oz vegan ham diced
  • 2 tbsp all purpose flour or other flour of choice
  • 1 tbsp corn starch
  • 1/2 tsp salt or more to taste
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • Handful fresh cilantro or herbs of choice, finely chopped
  • Ground pepper
  • Vegan cheese shreds for extra cheesiness and saltiness (see recipe notes in the card below)

For Cooking

  • Neutral oil for cooking

To Serve

  • Dipping sauce of choice

??‍? HOW TO MAKE THESE SWEET POTATO BALLS

  • Peel and mash the sweet potatoes in a large bowl.
  • Add in the diced vegan ham, flour of choice, corn starch, salt, garlic, cilantro or herb of choice.
  • Mix together well until well incorporated.
  • Shape the mixture into small balls or other shape of choice.
Peel the sweet potatoes. I like to use a spoon to carve out the skin.
Dice your vegan ham. I use these Taiwanese vegan ham or soy roll slices.
The vegan ham I used is very thick and is easy to dice.
Chop up herbs of your choice.
Mix the ingredients (mashed sweet potato, ham, herbs, salt, flour, pepper) in a large bowl.
Shaping the sweet potato balls
Shape the mixture into small balls or any other shape of your choice.

AIR-FRYING (OR BAKING) THE BALLS

  • Place these on a lined baking tray or an air-fryer basket. Spray or brush with some oil on both sides.
  • Leave to air-fry for 20-25 minutes at 190C/375F or until golden brown.
  • For baking, you will need to cook these longer, around 30-40 minutes. Flip the sweet potato balls halfway through cooking.
  • Can I cook these on a pan? Yes you can! You can pan-fry these in some oil until golden brown on all sides.
Round sweet potato balls on an air-fryer basket lined with parchment paper
Place these on a lined baking tray or an air-fryer basket. Spray or brush with some oil on both sides.
Leave to air-fry for 20-25 minutes at 190C/375F or until golden brown. For baking, you will need to cook these longer, around 30-40 minutes.
Flip the sweet potato balls halfway through cooking.

SERVE AND ENJOY YOUR SWEET POTATO AND HAM BALLS

Sweet Potato and Ham Balls on a white plate
These sweet potatoes balls make a really satisfying bite and delicious finger food that you can enjoy with your dipping sauce of choice.
Cross-section bite of sweet potato balls
A velvety bite and delicious snack!

MORE VEGAN RECIPES YOU MIGHT LOVE:

Sweet Potato and Ham Balls on a plate

Sweet Potato and Ham Balls (Vegan)

5 from 1 vote
I wanted to enjoy my boiled sweet potatoes in a new, more exciting way so I made these sweet potato and vegan ham balls. The vegan ham adds a nice saltines and extra meaty bite to the velvety sweet potatoes to make a really satisfying bite and delicious finger food that you can enjoy with your dipping sauce of choice.
Print Recipe Pin this Recipe Rate this Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Appetizer, Finger Food, Snack, Starters
Cuisine American, Fusion
Servings 18 balls
Calories 44 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

Sweet Potato and Ham Balls

  • 1 lb cooked sweet potatoes (I used 2 small yellow sweet potatoes), peeled
  • 4.2 oz vegan ham diced (see notes)
  • 2 tbsp all purpose flour or other flour of choice
  • 1 tbsp corn starch
  • 1/2 tsp salt or more to taste
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • Handful fresh cilantro or herbs of choice, finely chopped
  • Ground pepper
  • Vegan cheese shreds for extra cheesiness and saltiness (see notes)

For Cooking

  • Neutral oil for cooking

To Serve

  • Dipping sauce of choice

Instructions
 

  • Peel and mash the sweet potatoes in a large bowl.
  • Add in the diced vegan ham, flour of choice, corn starch, salt, garlic, cilantro or herb of choice.
  • Mix together well until well incorporated.
  • Shape the mixture into small balls or other shape of choice.
  • Place these on a lined baking tray or an air-fryer basket. Spray or brush with some oil on both sides.
  • Leave to air-fry for 20-25 minutes at 190C/375F or until golden brown. For baking, you will need to cook these longer, around 30-40 minutes. Flip the sweet potato balls halfway through cooking.
  • Can I cook these on a pan? Yes you can! You can pan-fry these in some oil until golden brown on all sides.
  • Serve and enjoy while hot with your favourite dipping sauce.
  • To reheat, you can simple place these in an air-fryer or oven again for 5-7 minutes at 180C/350F and cook until hot and crisp on the outside.

Notes

WANT SOME EXTRA CHEESINES AND SALTINESS?

  • You can also add some vegan cheese shreds! If adding cheese, I recommend to leave out the salt.
 

VEGAN HAM

  • For this recipe I used vegan ham slices from a Taiwanese brand that were very thick. I also made these with thin vegan ham slices from Tofurkey that also turned out really good and had a smokey flavour. 
  • You can use any other vegan ham of your choice since any will go well with the sweet potatoes.

NUTRITIONAL INFO

Serving: 1ball | Calories: 44kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 79mg | Potassium: 86mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 3575IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg
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Jeeca

Hello there!

Welcome to The Foodie Takes Flight! Hi, I'm Jeeca, a food content creator and recipe developer passionate about creating easy yet tasty and flavour-packed vegan recipes. I share a lot of Asian recipes inspired by my travels and those I grew up enjoying.

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5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

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