Perfectly Baked Sweet Potatoes have a soft, sweet, and fluffy inside with a crispy flavorful outside. One of my favorite easy side dish recipes, they’re packed with essential vitamins and minerals. Perfect for meal prep and delicious served with a pat of butter and a sprinkle of salt.
Baked Sweet Potato Recipe
Sweet potatoes can be cooked in many different ways, but baking them in the oven is my favorite. A form of dry-heat cooking, baking brings out its natural flavors and sweetness without the need for any added syrups, sweeteners, marshmallows, or oils.
Should a craving call, however, this starchy root vegetable will happily conform to make your favorite sweet potato casserole or savory main dish, like this steak and sweet potato skillet.
But mostly, sweet potatoes are just really really good and super easy to cook. And with right around 180 calories per medium-sized baked sweet potato, you can enjoy them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!
The mealtime opportunities thanks to a simple baked sweet potato are endless. This recipe is perfect for anyone learning the basics or just brushing up.
Love sweet potatoes? Try our healthy mashed sweet potatoes and crispy sweet potato fries.
How Long to Bake Sweet Potatoes?
- How long to bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit? 75+ minutes
- How long to bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit? 60-75 minutes
- How long to bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit? 45-60 minutes
The total baking time will vary due to several factors such as the oven temperature, size, and thickness of each potato.
How to Bake Sweet Potatoes
- Preheat your oven and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil for easy cleanup. Spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
- Wash and gently scrub the potatoes under cold running water. Dry the potatoes as thoroughly as possible. Baking sweet potatoes in the oven with dry skin will allow the skin to get crispy (yum!) rather than steamed and soggy.
- Transfer your sparkly clean (and dry!) potatoes to your prepared baking sheet. Use a fork to poke holes all over the surface (no need to go too deep here). I usually poke my potatoes a few times on each side.
- Bake for approximately 30 minutes. After 30 minutes have passed, rotate the pan (not the potatoes) 180 degrees. This ensures even cooking. Bake for an additional 15-30 minutes, or until you see some of the natural sugars have started to caramelize, ooze from the fork punctures, and a fork or sharp knife is easily inserted into the thickest part of the potato.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow your baked potato to rest for 5 minutes before slicing open (they will still be hot!) and seasoning with salt, black pepper, butter, brown sugar, or maple syrup if desired.
How to Bake Sweet Potatoes in Foil
To bake sweet potatoes in foil, do the same thing as you would without foil, except here you’ll wrap each potato in foil before baking. You may bake them on a baking sheet or directly on the oven rack. Cooking time remains the same.
With Foil or Without – Which is Better? I prefer potatoes that have not been baked in foil. Those that are not wrapped in foil have crispy skin whereas those that are cooked in aluminum foil have softer skin.
How to Bake a Sweet Potato in the Microwave
Prepare, wash, and dry the sweet potatoes the same way you would if you bake them in the oven and pierce them 3-4 times with a fork.
Place the potato on a microwave-safe plate and microwave for 5 minutes, turning halfway through. Check for doneness by poking with a fork. If it isn’t fork-tender, continue to microwave at 30-second increments until cooked through.
Tips and Tricks
- Bigger isn’t better– The bigger and rounder your sweet potatoes are, the longer they will take to bake and the more likely you will end up with potatoes that are not baked evenly. Instead, look for long, uniform, skinny(ish) sweet potatoes.
- Thoroughly dry before baking – Yes, dry your potatoes. This prevents them from steaming and allows for nice crispy skin.
- Line your baking sheet with foil or parchment paper and lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray. As sweet potatoes bake, they’ll start to ooze out their natural sweet caramelized sugars. Sugars like to solidify and stick to things…like baking sheets.
- Along the same lines, unless you plan to wrap them in aluminum foil, always bake them on a rimmed baking sheet.
Freezing Baked Sweet Potatoes
One reader (thanks, Laura!) gave the tip that you can freeze leftover baked sweet potatoes by mashing them (with or without the skin) after they’ve been baked and then transferring the mashed-up leftovers to a jumbo-sized muffin pan sprayed with non-stick spray. Cover with foil and place in the freezer. Once frozen, transfer portions to a zip-lock bag or large plastic box.
If you prefer not to freeze your baked sweet potatoes, they will last for up to 4-5 days when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
How to Serve
My favorite way to serve sweet potatoes is the same way I like to serve regular baked potatoes – filled with all of my favorite toppings! This includes,
- Butter
- Maple syrup
- Sour cream
- Chives or green onions
- Marshmallows
- Pecans
- Brown sugar
Serve them as a side with beef, chicken, pork, or veggie dishes, or stuff them with your favorite shredded meats, sauces, and random leftovers.
Try mashing leftovers into mashed sweet potatoes or blending them into soups or muffins!
Have you tried making Baked Sweet Potatoes?
Tell me about it in the comments below! I always love to hear your thoughts. And tag me #theforkedspoon on Instagram if you’ve made any of my recipes, I always love to see what you’re cooking in the kitchen.
Perfect Baked Sweet Potato
Ingredients
- 1 medium sweet potato
- salt + pepper - for serving
- butter - for serving
Instructions
How to Bake Sweet Potatoes in the Oven
- Preheat oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper (for easy cleanup).
- Prepare the sweet potatoes. Wash and scrub each sweet potato and dry thoroughly. Use a fork to poke each sweet potato at least 7-8 times (this will vary depending on the size of your potato). Transfer the potatoes to your prepared baking sheet.
- Bake. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, rotate the pan 180 degrees to ensure even cooking and bake for an additional 15-30 minutes, or until its natural sugars start to caramelize and a fork or knife is easily inserted into the thickest part of the potato.
- Serve. Remove from the oven and allow potatoes to rest for 5 minutes before seasoning with salt, pepper, butter, or maple syrup if desired.
How to Bake Sweet Potatoes in Foil
- Preheat oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or foil (optional) or you may place potatoes directly on the oven racks.
- Prepare the sweet potatoes. Wash and scrub each sweet potato and dry thoroughly (this prevents the sweet potatoes from steaming rather than baking). Use a fork to poke each sweet potato at least 7-8 times (this will vary depending on the size of your potato).
- Wrap in foil. Wrap each sweet potato individually in aluminum foil.
- Bake. Transfer potatoes to the oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes. Rotate the sweet potatoes 180 degrees to ensure even cooking and bake for an additional 15-30 minutes, or until a fork or knife is easily inserted into the thickest part of the potato.
- Serve. Remove from the oven and allow potatoes to rest for 5 minutes before seasoning with salt, pepper, butter, or maple syrup if desired.
Jessica’s Notes
- Naturally vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free.
- Nutrition information is an estimate for 1 medium potato. See full post for a more detailed calculation of calories and nutrition.
- The best sweet potatoes for baking are the longer, thinner sweet potatoes. They cook faster and more evenly than the big, fat round ones.
- Store leftovers in a sealed container or wrap tightly with foil and transfer to the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. You may also freeze for up to 3 months.
- Wash and scrub each sweet potato and dry thoroughly. Use a knife or a fork to stab each sweet potato at least 6-7 times (this will vary depending on the size of your potato).
- Transfer potato or potatoes to a microwave-safe plate. Microwave for 5 minutes (for 1 sweet potato) plus an additional 2 minutes for each additional sweet potato (for example, 3 sweet potatoes will take approx. 9 minutes depending on size and shape). Rotate halfway through cooking.
- Your potatoes are cooked when easily pierced with a fork.
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
I’ve been baking sweet potatoes with normal potatoes for awhile in my toaster oven.
I love the skins of the sweet potatoes but they often burn before the sweet potato is fully cooked/totally soft inside.
Any thoughts on how to keep these precious skins from burning, while maintaining their chewiness/crispiness?
To prevent the skins from burning, you can try tenting the baking sheet with foil 🙂
You didn’t tell the temperature to preheat to?
Please ee the recipe card instructions at the bottom of the post – step 1 shows 425F 🙂
Great directions, it turned out really well.
What you are displaying are yams although labelled sweet potatoes in US grocery stores to make it easier for consumers who’re not very familiar with the tubers. True sweet potatoes are most often pale in colour such as ecru ( much like unbleached linen) but also can have a light orange hued skin. True Sweet potatoes are much more fibrous inside when baked, steamed or cooked in what ever way the cook or chef had desired so would have to be worked on a bit more to smooth it down more for pie making.
I’m able to buy Yams as well as the ecru coloured sweet potatoes as well as purple Sweet potatoes ( again labeled purple yams in US stores ) which are quite tasty but not as tasty we’d want to eat it that often. Purple sweet potatoes just like regular sweet potatoes are grown underground while yams (with the exception of their offset mini tubers that form underground) , are grown above ground.
We’ve only just started experimenting with trying to make “ube” or purple yam coloured pasta with ube powder that I must say is very overpriced but need to do more work on the ratio’s first.
That said..
Happy yam or sweet potato eating!
Made them last night. Everyone loved them! Thanks for sharing!
My store has them wrapped in plastic u put in microwave very good but baking in oven is prob. Better.
Is the skin good to eat also I put brown sugar,cinnamon,marshmallows! The bomb!
PERFECT 😋😋😋
I made myself 1 yam tonight.
Thanks Eva, I am glad it worked out well for you!
I’m the only one in my household who likes sweet potatoes, so I bake 5 or 6 at a time, skin and mash them, and put the results in jumbo cupcake holders in a muffin tin, top each with a square of aluminum foil, and when they are cool, put them in the freezer.
When frozen, I transfer them to a large plastic box, and I’m set for 3- 4 weeks. I found your recipe helpful in being sure of my timing. Thank you.
If you were to use a meat thermometer, at what temperature would you take the potatoes out of the oven?
Hi Laura,
Good question. A quick google search gave me an internal cooking temperature of 210F for a sweet potato, but not to go over that temperature.
Thanks for the tutorial, the sweet potatoes came out perfecto!
I never did see the explanation of the difference between a yam and a sweet potato.
Hi Mary,
See section halfway through named: “What is the Difference Between a Sweet Potato and a Yam?” 🙂
Great explanation and recipe for a perfect sweet potato… now I just need to procure some real yams!!
Jessica,
Thank you for your candid recipe of baking sweet potatoes. Yes yes YES sweet potatoes are great in muffins making them more moist and flavorful. I highly recommend Martha White’s Honey Bran muffin mix that yields to blueberries, chopped apples and of course sweet potatoes. Keep up the good work gal!
Sweet potato was wonderful thanks a lot
Nice to meet you too !!!