Sweet Potato Halwa

A healthy, delicious sweet potato halwa recipe! This makes a perfect dessert for Hindu fasting (vrat or upvas). This halwa/sheera is made from boiled, mashed sweet potatoes, milk, and sugar. It is flavored with cardamom and nutmeg powder.

Sweet potatoes are known as Shakarkand in Hindi hence It is called shakarkandi ka halwa. 

sweet potato halwa in a black bowl with a steel spoon rested on the bowl.

❤️ You’ll Love This Sweet Potato Halwa

It is a healthier version compared to other halwa recipes. How? Sweet potatoes are naturally sweet in taste, so we are adding very less amount of sugar here.

So whenever you crave something sweet but you want to go on a healthier route, make this halwa and enjoy.

The procedure is very easy. The only tough part is stirring constantly. Yes, you’ll have to stir continuously from start to finish. You’ll get good arm exercise.

🧾 Ingredients

Here is the pic of the ingredients used in making this delicious easy sweet potato halwa. You’ll need only 7 ingredients (Sweet potato, ghee, milk and sugar are main). Nutmeg and cardamom are added for flavor and aroma. Almonds are used for garnishing.

Sweet potatoes: I always prefer to use Indian sweet potato which has white flesh. You can use orange sweet potato which is widely available in American stores. I prefer the white one because it is sweeter than the orange one. If using orange, increase the sugar amount. 

ingredients used in sweet potato halwa includes sweet potato, ghee, sugar, milk, almonds, cardamom, nutmeg

👩‍🍳 How To Make Sweet Potato Halwa? 

1) Boil the sweet potato in a pressure cooker (5-6 whistles) or Instant pot (manual 15 minutes). When cool to touch, peel and mash using a potato masher.

2) Heat the ghee in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add mashed sweet potatoes.

3) Mix and cook with stirring constantly until it becomes thick and leaves the sides of the pan.

4) Now add milk.

5) Mix and cook with stirring constantly.

6) Cook until all the moisture evaporates and leaves the sides of the pan.

Collage of 6 steps showing mashed sweet potato, added to the ghee, cooked, added milk, stirring and cooked.

7) Then add sugar, cardamom and nutmeg.

8) Mix, as sugar melts, it becomes loose and runny again.

9) Cook until it becomes thick again.

10) Lastly, add sliced almonds.

Collage of 4 steps showing adding sugar, mixing, cooked halwa, garnished with almonds,

💭Expert Tips

  • To make it for babies or kids, you can use jaggery (or brown sugar) instead of sugar. This makes this dessert super healthy.
  • You can add a pinch of saffron along with milk.
  • You can add some grated coconut which adds some texture and bite to this halwa.
sweet potato halwa in a bowl garnished with almonds with napkin on side

Check Out Other Halwa Recipes For Vrat

PS Tried this shakarkandi ka halwa recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comment section. I always appreciate your feedback! Plus, Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook for all the latest updates.  

Sweet Potato Halwa Recipe

4.67 from 3 votes
sweet potato halwa in a black bowl with a steel spoon rested on the bowl.
A healthy, delicious sweet potato halwa recipe! This makes a perfect dessert for Hindu fasting (vrat or upvas).
Kanan
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Serving Size 2

US measuring cups are used (1 cup = 240 ml)

Ingredients

  • 1 large or 1 cup Sweet potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed
  • 2 tablespoon Ghee (clarified butter)
  • ½ cup Milk
  • 2-3 tablespoons Sugar, depends on the sweetness of sweet potato
  • ¼ teaspoon Green cardamom seeds powder
  • a pinch Freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1-2 tablespoons Almonds, or cashews, chopped

Instructions

  • Boil the sweet potato in a pressure cooker (5-6 whistles) or Instant pot (manual 15 minutes). When cool to touch, peel and mash using a potato masher.
  • Heat the ghee in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add mashed sweet potatoes.
  • Mix and cook with stirring constantly until it becomes thick and leaves the sides of the pan.
  • Now add milk. Mix and cook until all the moisture evaporates and leaves the sides of the pan.
  • Then add sugar, cardamom and nutmeg. Mix, as sugar melts, it becomes loose and runny again. Cook until it becomes thick again.
  • Lastly, add sliced almonds.

Notes

Sweet potatoes: I always prefer to use Indian sweet potato which has white flesh. You can use orange sweet potato which is widely available in American stores. I prefer the white one because it is sweeter than the orange one. If using orange, increase the sugar amount.

Nutrition

Calories: 334kcal (17%) | Carbohydrates: 41g (14%) | Protein: 4.3g (9%) | Fat: 18.3g (28%) | Saturated Fat: 9.7g (49%) | Cholesterol: 43mg (14%) | Sodium: 34mg (1%) | Potassium: 534mg (15%) | Fiber: 3.4g (14%) | Sugar: 21.3g (24%)
4.67 from 3 votes (1 rating without comment)

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6 Comments

  1. I love your recipesand simple instructions. All the recipes that I reied have turned out very well. Thank you and keep up the good work!4 stars

  2. Lovely and easy recipe with clear instructions. I’m sure this website will inspire many more kitchen haters to love cooking just like it inspired me :)!5 stars