Baked sweet potato is one of the easiest meals you can make yourself! Simply wash and dry the root vegetables, massage some oil and light seasoning onto the skin and bake for an hour.
Serve your baked sweet potatoes with your favorite toppings - a pat of butter, shredded cheese, sour cream, or freshly chives! It’s a satisfying and wholesome main course or a perfect side dish.
In case you are looking for next recipe to make with sweet potatoes try these ultra-creamy whipped sweet potatoes.
Ingredients
- Sweet potatoes - I’ve used sweet potatoes in this recipe but you can use other kinds of potatoes too. When choosing which potatoes to buy from the grocery store, keep the texture of potatoes in mind. The most crispy, fluffy potatoes are those that are high in starch and low in moisture like Russet Potatoes. While I’ve used large sweet potatoes, you may need to adjust the cooking time for smaller potatoes.
- Oil - Extra virgin olive oil is a great choice for coating these sweet potatoes but you could also use vegetable oil, canola oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil.
- Toppings - Keep your oven-baked sweet potatoes plain with just a little butter and kosher salt or add some other delicious toppings such as freshly chopped chives, shredded cheese, sour cream, or even top the potatoes with marshmallows and pop back into the oven for a few minutes to toast the marshmallows.
📋 You can find the full ingredient list in the Recipe Card below the article.
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How To Make Baked Sweet Potatoes
Preheat the oven to 425F.
Wash the potatoes with cold water and scrub (necessary step as we leave the skins on) and dry the potatoes with a paper towel or clean kitchen towel.
Place the potatoes on a baking dish, baking tray, or sheet pan, lined with foil or parchment paper.
Pierce small holes with a large fork or a knife all around the potatoes. (4-5 places is enough).
Massage the potatoes with a little oil, and season with salt and pepper.
Bake for 30 minutes, then flip with kitchen tongs (carefully as the potatoes will be quite soft on one side) and bake for another 30 minutes.
Potatoes should be fork tender inside, which you can test with a knife.
Remove the whole sweet potatoes from the oven rack and let rest for 5 minutes.
Make a cut in the middle of potatoes with a pairing knife to open them, and top with butter, toppings and more salt and black pepper (I love to use sea salt flakes here).
Tips
- If you add shredded cheese as a topping to these baked sweet potatoes, ensure that you use freshly shredded cheese from a block instead of using pre-shredded cheese that often lacks fresh flavor and melting ability.
- Make sure that your potatoes are firm and free of blemishes or sprouts. If your potatoes start to sprout after purchase, trim them off before baking.
- Poke holes in the potatoes before baking. This helps with air circulation and so that the potatoes don’t burst while baking. You can use a fork to poke the holes.
- As all ovens differ, use the cooking time as a guide and check the potatoes which should be soft with a crispy skin. If you can’t insert a fork into the potatoes with ease then they are not yet cooked through and require a longer cook time.
- For ultra-soft baked sweet potatoes, wrap each sweet potato with aluminum foil before baking.
- Selecting sweet potatoes that are of similar size will ensure all potatoes bake evenly.
- If you don’t intend to eat the skins of your baked potatoes then it’s not absolutely necessary to oil and season the potatoes before baking. I do it because I enjoy eating the entire potato and the oil does a great job of adding some delicious crisp to the skin.
- It’s a good idea to line your baking sheet with parchment paper or foil when baking the potatoes since the potatoes release liquid while baking which caramelizes and can stick to the tray.
- An easy way to split the potatoes is to use a sharp knife for the initial cut and then carefully remove the skins with kitchen scissors.
- Leftover baked sweet potato can be used in other recipes such as sweet potato shepherd's pie, sweet potato casserole, or other favorite sweet potato recipes.
- While I love my baked potatoes as a savory dish, you could also enjoy these sweet potatoes with maple syrup and brown sugar since sweet potatoes already have a natural sweetness.
Freezing And Storing Instructions
Store the baked sweet potato in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days max.
Reheat in oven or air fryer at temperature - 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes.
I don’t recommend freezing these.
Baked Sweet Potato: FAQs
The faster cooking method is usually always the healthiest way to cook sweet potatoes as it means that the potatoes are able to retain more nutrients. Boiling sweet potatoes is the fastest method, requiring only 20 minutes. That said, you won’t achieve crispy outer skin using the boiling method!
Baking sweet potatoes between 400F - 425F will take about 60 minutes for them to be fork-tender.
No, sweet potatoes usually bake faster than regular potatoes such as Russet potatoes. Obviously, the size of the potato and the cooking method used will also affect the overall cooking time.
Baked potatoes should register an internal temperature of 205F-212F. If you don’t have a food thermometer, test the potato by inserting a fork in the thickest section. The fork should be able to penetrate the baked potato with ease.
Absolutely! The skin is a great source of fiber, antioxidants, and other nutrients, supporting your gut health and helping you to feel fuller for longer.
If your sweet potatoes start to discolor or you start to notice black blemishes or even mold.
Yes, you can! Prepare the sweet potatoes as directed in this recipe and then add them to the air fryer basket to cook at 370F for 35-45 minutes. Ensure the air fryer basket is sprayed lightly with oil and not overcrowded so that the potatoes get adequate air circulation.
Easy Side Dish Recipes
ALL SIDE DISH recipes.
Recipe Card
Easy Baked Sweet Potato
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INGREDIENTS
- 2 larger sweet potatoes
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, good quality olive oil
- sea salt to taste, season generously
- ½ teaspoon black pepper or to taste
- butter for serving
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 425F.
- Wash the potatoes with cold water and scrub (necessary step as we leave the skins on) and dry the potatoes with a paper towel or clean kitchen towel.
- Place the potatoes on a baking dish, baking tray, or sheet pan, lined with foil or parchment paper. Pierce small holes with a large fork or a knife all around the potatoes. (4-5 places is enough).
- Massage the potatoes with a little oil, season with salt and pepper.
- Bake for 30 minutes, then carefully flip the sweet potatoes (they will be soft) and bake for another 30 minutes. Potatoes should be fork tender inside, which you can test with a knife.
- Remove the whole sweet potatoes from the oven rack and let rest for 5 minutes. Make a cut in the middle of potatoes with a knife to open them, and top with butter, toppings. I love to use sea salt flakes and a little black pepper.
ADD YOUR OWN PRIVATE NOTES
Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on the products used.
Full Nutrition Disclaimer can be found here.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
What an easy and full of flavor potato side dish for almost any main course.