Let’s get one thing straight: sweet potatoes are a perfect food. Naturally sweet and loaded with vitamins and minerals, we can’t get enough of this wonderfully versatile veggie. But did you know that compound butters for sweet potatoes could help you absorb more of their nutrients?

Naturally, we were thrilled to see a cookbook come across our desks that’s dedicated entirely to our favorite tuber. The book, Sweet Potatoes: Roasted, Loaded, Fried, and Made into Pie, is just the right amount of simple and therefore actually usable.

These three simple recipes for compound butter from the book quickly elevate a simple dish to divine complexity. According to the book, butter helps our bodies absorb the nutrients in sweet potatoes. The extra pat of healthy fat also help to smooth out any blood sugar spikes and keep us feeling fuller for longer.

3 Compound Butters For Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes and butter are a match made in heaven. Here’s why: The fat from the butter helps your body absorb the nutrients found in sweet potatoes while the added ingredients offer an extra hit of flavor. Each of the below makes enough to dress one pound of boiled, roasted or mashed sweet potatoes.

MISO BUTTER | Mash 2 Tbsp unsalted butter and 1 Tbsp red or white miso with a fork to form a paste.

MAPLE-WALNUT BUTTER | Mash 2 Tbsp chopped walnuts, 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, 1 Tbsp maple syrup and a pinch of salt with a fork to form a chunky mixture.

OLD BAY BUTTER | Mash 2 Tbsp unsalted butter with 2 tsp Old Bay or Cajun seasoning with a fork until smooth.

Recipes and photographs reprinted from Sweet Potatoes: Roasted, Loaded, Fried, and Made Into Pie. Copyright © 2017 by Mary-Frances Heck. Photographs copyright © 2017 by Kristin Teig. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.