Taste and Texture

• When cooking and baking, a 15-ounce can of sweet potatoes is equal to approximately two medium-sized sweet potatoes cooked fresh. Canned sweet potato can also be used as a substitute for canned pumpkin puree for recipes such as pumpkin bread or muffins. While the taste is not exactly the same, the texture is very similar, and with enough spices the difference in taste is subtle. Since canned sweet potatoes are already cooked, there is no need to cook them further before adding them to any recipe calling for cooked sweet potatoes or pumpkin.

Sweet Breads

• "Saveur" magazine features a variety of pumpkin bread recipes. According to these recipes, a cup of canned pumpkin puree can be substituted by an equal amount of canned sweet potatoes. According to "Bon Appetit," 8 ounces of canned sweet potatoes can be substituted for every cup of mashed cooked sweet potatoes in a recipe for sweet potato, apple and sage spoon bread.

Luscious Cakes

• While sweet potato pies are more well-known, a variety of sweet potato cake recipes are also available. "Bon Appetit" has a sweet potato layer cake which is made by roasting fresh potatoes and then mashing them. However, this step can be skipped by using canned sweet potatoes. The taste will be slightly different because they aren't roasted, but the texture and overall flavor of the cake remains the same. "Bon Appetit" also has a recipe for sweet potato cheesecake in which fresh sweet potatoes are boiled and then pureed. You can skip these steps by substituting canned sweet potatoes.

Other Delights

• Flan is a custard-like dessert that can be flavored using sweet potatoes. "Bon Appetit" offers a recipe for sweet potato flan in which canned sweet potatoes can be substituted for freshly roasted ones in a similar fashion. Bread puddings can be made using canned sweet potatoes as well, as there are many recipes that call for canned squash, yams, sweet potatoes or pumpkin.