Baked Sweet Potato Recipes

Some baked sweet potatoes are better than others, and these are downright perfect. These baked sweet potatoes are silky-smooth all the way through. They’re sweet, creamy and delicious.

Baked sweet potatoes are always a nice side dish. They also make a great weeknight meal if you top them well. You’ll find several of my favorite flavor variations below.

In my baked sweet potato recipe testing, I was surprised to find so many parallels to baked potatoes. It’s easy to lump sweet potatoes (commonly called yams) and potatoes together, but they come from different plant families. They’re only distantly related, but I’ve realized that they do bake up similarly.

Both are best baked in the oven without foil, directly on the rack, at high heat. You’ll learn why and find the full recipe below!

Before baking, use a fork to prick each sweet potato several times. You don’t need to jab the fork in deep. We’re creating steam vents. Otherwise the pressure in the sweet potato could build up so high in the oven that it explodes—an unlikely possibility but one best avoided!

Sweet potatoes don’t bake evenly when placed on a baking sheet. They turn out much better when baked directly on the rack. To avoid any drips landing at the bottom of the oven, line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and place it on the rack directly below the sweet potato. (To reiterate: don’t place a parchment-lined baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven as the paper might burn.)

Note that we are not wrapping the sweet potatoes in aluminum foil. Foil traps moisture, and we want the excess moisture to escape from the sweet potato during baking. That way, we’ll get delicious condensed flavor inside and avoid soggy skin on the outside.

The perfect temperature for baking sweet potatoes is 450 degrees Fahrenheit. I can’t explain the science, but my sweet potatoes baked at 450 turned out far better than at 400. They’re silky smooth and creamy on the inside, plus they bake more quickly. Even the largest sweet potato (around 12 ounces) was done within an hour.

1. Step 1Preheat oven to 425º. On a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil, prick sweet potatoes all over with a fork. …
2. Step 2Bake until tender, 45 to 50 minutes.
3. Step 3Let cool, then split the tops open with a knife and top with a pat of butter.
4. Step 4 Season with salt and pepper before serving.

Baked Sweet Potato

Learn how to bake sweet potatoes with this simple recipe! Serve them as a side dish or stuff them to make them a meal on their own.

Prep: 5min

Total: 45min

Ingredients:

• Sweet Potatoes
• butter
• sea salt
• chives
• dollop of greek yogurt
• a scoop of guacamole
• a drizzle of creamy avocado cilantro lime dressing
• any of these stuffing ideas!

Instruction:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F and place a piece of foil on a baking sheet. Use a fork to poke holes into the sweet potatoes, set them on the baking sheet, and roast for 40 to 50 minutes, or until puffed up and soft inside when pierced with a fork.

Perfect Baked Sweet Potato

Make the perfect baked sweet potato with this simple recipe! These baked sweet potatoes are perfectly tender throughout and silky smooth. Bake up just one sweet potato or several in the oven at once, then top as desired.

Prep: 5min

Total: 50min

Yield: 1

Nutrition Facts: servingSize None, calories 195 calories, Sugar 9.5 g, Sodium 124.9 mg, Fat 0.1 g, Saturated Fat 0 g, Trans Fat 0 g, Carbohydrate 45.7 g, Fiber 6.8 g, Protein 3.6 g, Cholesterol 0 mg

Ingredients:

• 1 to 4 medium sweet potatoes (about 8 to 12 ounces each)

Instruction:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit with a rack in the middle and another rack directly below it. Line the interior of a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper to catch any sweet potato drippings.
2. To prepare the sweet potatoes, scrub them clean with a vegetable brush under running water. Using a fork, prick the sweet potatoes about 6 to 8 times each, about ¼ inch deep.
3. Place the sweet potatoes directly on the middle rack, and place the prepared baking sheet on the rack below to catch any drippings.
4. Bake for 45 to 65 minutes, until the sweet potatoes yield to a gentle squeeze (if the potatoes are starting to drip from their pierced holes, that’s a good sign to start checking them for doneness). Serve as desired.

The Perfect Baked Sweet Potatoes

Learn how to make the perfect baked sweet potatoes every time! Sweet potatoes are a great canvas to build so many meals around.

Prep: 5min

Total: 85min

Yield: 4

Serving Size: 1 serving

Nutrition Facts: calories 142 kcal, Carbohydrate 26 g, Protein 2 g, Fat 3 g, Sodium 71 mg, Fiber 3 g, Sugar 5 g, servingSize 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 4 sweet potatoes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• sea salt (to taste)

Instruction:

1. Preheat oven to 400º F.
2. Wash sweet potatoes, and brush lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, to taste.
3. Baked sweet potatoes for 40 minutes – 90 minutes, or until the flesh has reduced and is very soft. The skin will very easily pull off the potatoes when they are ready. Smaller potatoes (less than 3 inches in diameter) will take closer to 40 minutes. Very large potatoes will take 90 minutes.

Best Ever Roasted Sweet Potatoes Recipe – How to Bake Sweet Potatoes

FAQ

What is the best temperature to bake a sweet potato?

Should you wrap sweet potatoes in aluminum foil when baking?

Which is the best way to cook sweet potato?

1. Fastest: Microwave – hands down, if you’re in a hurry, the microwave will cook your sweet potato in 7 minutes, whereas the air fryer will take 30 minutes and the oven will take at least 40 minutes.
2. Best texture: it’s a tie, between the air fryer and oven.

What can you put on a baked sweet potato?

1. Brown sugar, cinnamon, butter and salt.
2. Maple syrup, butter and toasted pecans.
3. Sour cream, chives, salt and pepper.
4. Blue cheese, walnuts and honey.
5. Mini marshmallows, brown sugar and cinnamon (pop it under the broiler to toast the marshmallows a bit)
6. Beef, Turkey or Veggie Chili.
7. Sloppy Joe meat.