Perfectly Baked Sweet Potatoes have a deliciously soft, sweet, and fluffy inside with a crispy flavorful outside. Impossible to resist, learn how to bake sweet potatoes using my foolproof method and serve them sweet or savory, as an easy dinner, side dish, or as a light lunch – they’re perfect for every occasion!
Regular Potatoes Are Good, But Sweet Potatoes Are Better
You can cook sweet potatoes in many different ways, but baking them in the oven is the best. A form of dry-heat cooking, baking brings out their 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.
Like this easy recipe!
Perfect for anyone learning the basics or just brushing up, the mealtime opportunities thanks to a simple baked sweet potato are endless.
How Long to Bake Sweet Potatoes?
How long do you bake sweet potatoes? It depends on two factors:
- oven temperature
- and the size of your potatoes
The potatoes shown in these images took approximately 40-45 minutes in a 425 degrees F oven. Larger potatoes or a lower oven temperature would take a much longer amount of time. Use this as a rough guide,
- 75+ minutes at 375 degrees F
- 60-75 minutes at 400 degrees F
- 45-60 minutes at 425 degrees F
How Bake Sweet Potatoes
1. Preheat oven.
Preheat your oven and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil for easy cleanup. Spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Wash and dry the sweet potatoes.
The most important thing here is that you dry your potatoes as thoroughly as possible. Please, don’t skip the drying part! Placing potatoes in the oven with dry skin allows the skin to get nice and crispy, rather than steamed, soggy, and sad.
Because, yes. You can eat sweet potato skin.
3. Poke some holes.
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.
3. Bake.
Transfer your baking sheet to the oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes. After 30 minutes has passed, Rotate the pan (not the potatoes) 180 degrees to ensure even cooking. Bake for an additional 15-30 minutes, or until you see some of the natural sugars have started to caramelize, ooze out from the fork punctures, and a fork or sharp knife is easily inserted into the thickest part of the potato.
4. Serve.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow your baked potato to rest for 5 minutes before slicing open and seasoning with salt, pepper, butter, or maple syrup if desired.
Can You Bake Sweet Potatoes in Foil?
Yes. You’re going to do the same thing as you would without foil, except here you’ll wrap each individual potato in foil before baking. You may bake on a baking sheet or directly on the oven rack. Cooking time remains the same.
With Foil or Without – Which is Better?
Personally, I prefer potatoes that have not been baked in foil. This is all about personal preference, however, as those that are not wrapped in foil have crispy skin whereas those that are cooked in aluminum foil have softer skin.
Is it a Sweet Potato or is it a Yam?
Let’s chat about the sweet potato first.
Sweet potatoes come from the morning glory family. It has large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots that are packed with vitamins and minerals. Considered a root vegetable, it is only distantly related to the potato.
Sweet potatoes have an elongated shape with a tapered end and smooth skin that may range in color from red, brown, purple, yellow, orange, and beige. Its interior flesh, on the other hand, may range in color from beige to white, purple, orange, yellow, violet, pink, and red.
There are two main types grown in the U.S. (and the Yam is not one of them).
That’s right, the yam is NOT a sweet potato (but more on that in a second).
- Firm sweet potatoes – These guys have tan skin and pale, off-white flesh. It is said that firm sweet potatoes still remain firm and somewhat waxy, even after cooking.
- Soft sweet potatoes – Copper skin and deep orange flesh, these are sweeter and moister.
So, what about yams?
Yam and sweet potatoes are not the same.
The two are completely different tuberous root vegetables that each come from a flowering plant.
The trouble is that all those “yams” you see in the market probably aren’t yams at all.
Common U.S. Grocery Store Labeling-
- Yam. This is probably a soft sweet potato with copper skin and deep orange flesh.
- Sweet potato. This is probably a firm sweet potato with tan skin and pale, off-white flesh.
The truth is that it’s pretty tough to find real deal yams in the U.S. But, you never know, so keep those eyes peeled!
Native to Africa and Asia, yams have a cylindrical shape with blackish, brown, bark-like skin. The flesh of a yam ranges from white to purple, or red.
Read more here: Yams vs. Sweet Potatoes: What’s the Difference?
Are Sweet Potatoes Healthy?
One cup (200g) baked sweet potato with skin (no additional toppings) contains (source).
- Calories: 180
- Carbs: 41.4 grams
- Protein: 4 grams
- Fat: 0.3 grams
- Fiber: 6.6 grams
- Vitamin A: 769% of the Daily Value (DV)
- Vitamin C: 65% of the DV
- Manganese: 50% of the DV
- Vitamin B6: 29% of the DV
- Potassium: 27% of the DV
- Pantothenic acid: 18% of the DV
- Copper: 16% of the DV
- Niacin: 15% of the DV
As you can see, sweet potatoes are incredibly good for you.
Here’s the nutritional takeaway.
Just one cup provides more than half of your daily vitamin C and nearly 800% of the recommended Daily Value (DV) of vitamin A. Each plays a vital role in the immune system, while vitamin A also helps support healthy skin, vision, and organ function.
Rich in antioxidants – especially the orange and purple varieties – which help protect your body against cancer and disease-causing free radicals (source) (source).
Manganese. One cup delivers one-third of your daily intake of manganese, a mineral needed to produce the amino acid proline which is essential for the production of collagen and wound-healing (source).
High in fiber. Yes, sweet potatoes are a starchy vegetable, BUT, they are also loaded with fiber. They contain two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble fiber (source). Your body cannot digest either type, making them slower to digest, and preventing a spike in blood sugar levels.
They help regulate blood pressure. One cup (with skin) provides 950 mg of potassium. Potassium helps eliminate excess sodium and fluid from our body, which, as a result, lowers blood pressure and reduces strain on the heart (source).
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 – Seriously, guys. 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 these sweet spuds 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.
How to Serve
The wonderful thing about baking sweet potatoes is that they can be enjoyed in so many different ways!
Some of my favorite toppings include,
- Butter
- Maple syrup
- Sour cream
- Chives or green onions
- Marshmallows
- Pecans
- Brown sugar
Serve them as a side with all your favorite beef, chicken, pork, seafood, or veggie dishes.
Leftovers? Mash them up and turn them into mashed sweet potatoes or blend them into soups or muffins!
Of course, you can always stuff them with all your favorite shredded meats (like this apple cider pulled pork), sauces, and leftovers.
Or, keep it simple (my favorite way to enjoy simple oven-baked sweet potatoes) and serve with a pat of butter, dash of sea salt, and cracked black pepper.
More Sweet Potato Recipes,
Easy Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Sweet Potatoes with Tahini Sauce
Easy Herb and Brown Sugar Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Shepherd’s Pie
Perfect Baked Sweet Potato Fries Recipe
If you try making this Baked Sweet Potato, please leave me a comment and let me know how it turned out! I always love to hear your thoughts.
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Perfectly Baked Sweet Potato (How to Bake Sweet Potatoes)
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.Â
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.)
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 !!!