Learn how to bake sweet potatoes with these tips & tricks! Enjoy them with butter, salt & pepper, or in one of my favorite baked sweet potato recipes.
When the air starts to get crisp in the fall, I start craving two things: a bowl of soup and a big, puffy baked sweet potato. Both are warming, cozy, and healthy. But while making butternut squash soup might be one of my favorite Sunday activities, a baked sweet potato is my weeknight standby. They’re incredibly easy to make, as your oven does 95% of the work. While they bake, you’re free to do as you please! Prep the remaining components of your meal, finish up with the day’s work, or catch up with family or friends. Then, take them out of the oven, top them to your liking, and dig in to a yummy baked sweet potato dinner!
How to Bake Sweet Potatoes
For a long time, I thought I didn’t like sweet potatoes. When I was growing up, I only ever had them in casserole form, smothered in marshmallows and brown sugar. Turns out, I love sweet potatoes, but I have to prepare them the right way! I like mine puffy, with caramelized edges and a crispy skin. Here’s how I make them:
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
- Use a fork to poke holes into the sweet potatoes, and set them on the baking sheet.
- Roast for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the skin has puffed up and you can easily pierce them with a fork.
The most important thing to note here is that I DON’T wrap them in foil. If you do, the sweet potato flesh will still cook, but the skin will be very moist and almost slimy. In order to get delectable, puffed up crispy skin and caramelization on the outside of each baked potato, place them onto the baking sheet bare!
If you’re in a hurry, you can also roast sweet potato halves for 30 minutes. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise, rub them with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook cut-side up until lightly browned and tender.
Oven Baked Sweet Potato Recipes
Of course, a perfect baked sweet potato with butter, salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of chives is great, but your options for baked sweet potato recipes don’t end there. To make one into a full meal, I like to stuff it with a flavorful veggie filling and a yummy sauce. Find my 4 favorite fillings for stuffed sweet potatoes here, or click the picture below.
If you’re serving your oven baked sweet potatoes as a side dish, pair them with your favorite protein or vegetarian chili. For a topping, stick to butter, Greek yogurt, or sour cream, or try adding a dollop of cilantro lime dressing, tzatziki, chipotle sauce, pesto, guacamole, or a drizzle of tahini sauce.
If you have leftover baked sweet potatoes, save the soft flesh for another recipe. I blend it into the frosting of my vegan chocolate cake, transform it into a luscious Alfredo sauce, use it to bind quesadillas, or mix it into hummus!
Do you have any favorite baked sweet potato recipes? Let me know in the comments!
If you love this baked sweet potato recipe…
Try these 4 stuffed sweet potato variations (pictured above), baked sweet potato fries, sweet potato tacos, twice baked sweet potatoes, or this sweet potato casserole next!
Baked Sweet Potato
Equipment
- Baking Sheets (I use these nonstick ones from USA Pan Bakeware)
Ingredients
- Sweet Potatoes
Topping ideas:
- Butter or vegan butter,
- Sea salt
- Chives
- Greek yogurt or tzatziki,
- Guacamole
- Creamy avocado cilantro lime dressing
- Any of these stuffing ideas!
Instructions
- 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.
- Serve with desired toppings.
My favorite thing to do with sweet potatoes, very simple: bake your sweet potatoes, let cool about 10-15 minutes, peel skin off, mash the potatoes and set into a casserole dish, add 3 to 4 Tbsp butter and 3 to 4 Tbsp pure maple syrup, over all the sweet potatoes. Bake about 10 minutes longer, & serve!! This is the most delicious way to eat sweet potatoes. Try it!!
Yummy!! Going to this tonight!! Thank you! 😎❤️
So yummy sweet potatoes 🍠! 😋
Hi can you just put them on oven rack I do my bake potatos that way
These were simple and delicious. I did what you suggested and rubbed them with oil to help the crisping process. Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed!
I love plain baked sweet potatoes, twice baked and a favorite of mine, topped with homemade chili. We had a baked potato bar and I did 1/2 russet and 1/2 sweet and I barely had enough of the sweet! Of course I love sweet potato fries as well. I can’t really think of a way that I don’t like them 😉
I will try today will let you know results tomorrow
Had to play with the time a little bit too adapt to possibly larger potatoes. The no foil advice worked wonderfully! Never knew that trick and will never go back.
Hi Carey, I’m so glad you enjoyed the sweet potatoes!
Washed, dried and placed in oven! We shall see results in 50 minutes 🤔❣️
Because is very simple and easy
So glad you enjoyed!
Love this recipe. Makes me miss Asia so much.
Quick question – my skin wasn’t that crispy. Any insider tips besides no foil?
Martin // https://eduase.de
Hi Martin, so glad you love the recipe! Sweet potato skin won’t get as crispy as russet potato skin will, but to crisp it up more, you could rub the sweet potatoes with oil. If your oven has a convection bake setting, you could also try using that for some or all of the bake time. Hope this helps!
How come mine are barely cooked after nearly 2 hours, and I slice them in pieces? 🙁
Hi, it sounds like an issue with your oven temperature not being high enough.
I set my oven to 425
yeah thats bad i agree with you
Check your ovens temp.
Shouldn’t the potatoes be washed before baking?
Hi Kassie, with the exception of a few specific cases, we don’t include washing produce as a step in our recipes. You can assume that you should wash all produce before using!
I mean… that’s basic knowledge
We bake them, cut them open and put British style baked beans in them to be like a “jacket potato “
Sounds delicious!
Perfect!!!!
Hey I have a question, do I have to open up the potatoes in some way? The picture you’ve shown shows a potato opened in the centre. Do I have to cut it in some way to make it look like that?
Hi Ainara, you don’t have to cut the sweet potatoes open before baking them—just pierce them several times with a fork. The way they’re cut open in the picture is how we like to serve them after baking. To do this, just slice the top of the baked sweet potato open lengthwise, fluff up the insides a bit, and top with butter and chives!
Once done, open the skin length wise, fluff the innards & add Butter, brown sugar and top with a marshmallow. Put back in the oven for 2-3 more minutes.
This is a southern variety.
This is my absolute favorite way of making sweet potatoes!
A few questions:
– Where do you place them – mid oven, higher or lower?
– Do you still fork-poke them even if baking them half cut?
– What over settings do we need to have – heated top and bottom, or only top?
Hi Valentin, I use the middle rack with just the normal oven setting (heated top and bottom). If you’re baking halves, there’s no need to poke. Hope that helps!
I’ve been hesitant to make baked sweet potatoes because mine have always been flops. I followed the recipe and I can’t begin to tell you how absolutely delicious they were. Sweet, creamy. We enjoyed them immensely. Thank you for a winning recipe!
Hi Dee, Great to hear! I’m so glad you loved the recipe.
Simple and tasty!
New recipe unlocked!
Hi Alex, so glad you loved it!
so much tastier to keep them unwrapped – you’re right!
Hi Liz, so glad you enjoyed them!