A perfectly Baked Sweet Potato is easier than you think! Learn how to bake sweet potatoes quickly and easily with my foolproof method! Sweet and fluffy on the inside with a delightfully crispy skin, these baked sweet potatoes make the perfect side dish for every occasion. Go sweet OR savory – your choice! Looking for more tasty side dishes? Make sure to try my famous Cranberry Sauce and  Twice Baked Potato Casserole!
Baked Sweet Potato
If there ever was a perfect side dish to any and every meal, the baked sweet potato would have to be it. Unlike a traditional baked potato, the sweet potato has the option of going sweet or savory (more on that below), packs a ton of vitamins and nutrition, and is arguably the most kid-friendly vegetable on the planet.
Whether you’re serving this up with your Thanksgiving feast, or simply tonight’s ordinary dinner, you’ve just got to love a baked sweet potato.
How To Bake Sweet Potatoes
This easy baked sweet potato recipe is my very favorite way to enjoy this kid-friendly vegetable. Whether you take them the savory route with a sprinkle of salt and pepper and a slice of butter OR go the sweet route and top them with a little brown sugar and cinnamon AND of course a little butter, you really can’t go wrong.
Baking sweet potatoes is incredibly easy but each step is important, so don’t skip!
- Wash AND dry the sweet potatoes. Drying is super important because we want the skin to crisp up nicely during baking. Can you eat sweet potato skin? YES! And it’s super good for you. Can dogs eat sweet potato skin? YES! So even if you don’t finish your potato, you can give the leftovers to your pup, if that’s your kind of thing.
- Poke holes all over the sweet potato. I do 4 fork pricks up one side, flip the sweet potato over, and do it again. So 8 pricks total.
- Drizzle the sweet potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt or kosher salt.
- Give the potatoes a good rub making sure the entire surface is covered with oil and seasoned properly. (I don’t use pepper on the outside of my potato because if my sweet tooth kicks in and I decided to cover and smother the sweet potatoes with brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon, I’m in a pickle.)
- Bake the potatoes on a baking sheet. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper or foil to avoid the clean up. Sweet potatoes make a MESS. No joke. See the pictures below if you doubt me.
- Serve and enjoy!
How Can You Tell When a Sweet Potato Is Done?
Sweet potatoes cannot keep a secret. When they’re done, the whole world will know it.
They start to ooze out their sweet caramelized juice, wrinkle up a bit, and if you want to for sure make sure, just stab one with a fork or knife. The knife should slide in easily when a sweet potato is fully cooked.
How Long To Bake Sweet Potatoes?
How long do you bake sweet potatoes? It depends on two factors:
- the size of your sweet potato
- and oven temperature
I like to bake my sweet potatoes at 400F for about 45 minutes.
The range tends to be between 40 minutes and 1 hour depending on the size of the sweet potato.
I really do try to make sure all of my potatoes are roughly the same size and shape when making oven baked sweet potatoes. This means they will all get done at the same time and we can eat dinner together – winning!
How To Bake Sweet Potatoes In Foil
There is only one distinct difference between this baked sweet potato recipe with and without foil – the skin.
The skin tends to not crisp up when it’s wrapped in foil. The rest of the process remains the same though. Just wrap the sweet potatoes in foil before placing in the oven. You will still want to use a baking sheet because the juices tend to find their way out of the foil.
A baked sweet potato microwave style?
- Yes, this too can be done.
- Wash and dry the sweet potatoes
- Pierce several times with a fork
- Wrap in a damp paper towel
- Microwave on high for 5 to 10 minutes on a microwave safe plate (flip potatoes halfway through)
Tips and Trick for the Best Sweet Potatoes
- Choose sweet potatoes that are roughly the same size and shape so cooking time will be the same.
- Line your baking sheet with parchment paper or foil for easy clean up.
- Let potatoes cool for about 5 minutes before serving.
- Baked sweet potato calories? 143. So feel free to load these babies UP!
- Top with butter, salt and pepper or sour cream and chives for a savory sweet potato.
- Top with butter, brown sugar, and a sprinkle of cinnamon for a lovely sweet version.
What To Serve with Baked Sweet Potatoes
- Delicious Turkey Meatballs
- Crockpot Turkey Breast
- Stuffing Recipe with Sausage Cranberries and Apples
- The BEST Dinner Rolls
- Nana’s Famous Green Bean Recipe
How To Make Baked Sweet Potatoes
Baked Sweet Potato (How To Bake Sweet Potatoes)
Ingredients
- 4 sweet potatoes medium size, long and thin
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp sea salt or kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Set aside.
- Wash and thoroughly dry sweet potatoes. Poke several holes in each potato with a fork - I do 8 pokes.
- Drizzle sweet potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle on salt. Gently rub the olive oil and salt onto the sweet potato skin making sure to cover the entire potato.
- Place sweet potatoes on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes or until the potatoes easily yield to an inserted fork or knife.
- Let cool for five minutes before splitting open and topping with your favorite toppings.
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Angela says
Sweet Potatoes are super healthy & SO delicious! I scrub mine clean, dry them well with paper towels & let then air dry. I then ‘lightly’ spray them w/butter flavored cooking spray & sprikle ’em ‘lightly’ all over w/Kosher Salt. The skin comes out nice & crispy, just the way we like. YES, DO eat the skin, since a huge amount of vitamins are contained in the skin of ALL vegetables (& also in the skin of fruits). Any way you choose to top your Sweet Potatoes, they’ll be delicious!
K Ann Guinn says
So simple and so good! I love the idea of using either sweet or savory toppings. I tried the sour cream and chives topping and it was great (even better because I used fresh chives from my herb garden and plain Greek yogurt for the sour cream; next time I’ll use my homemade yogurt, too). Thanks for sharing this great cooking technique.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I have chives in my garden too! They are so delicious with sweet potatoes for sure!
Bonnie says
Talk about perfect! Instructions very easy to follow, too. I have always wanted to know how to get one baked like the steak houses do it and now I know how! I used olive oil, sea salt, and pepper and rubbed them down good. I also did the 8 pris and then decided since mine ws so large, I pricked mine a few more times. 400 degrees for 45 minutes was spot on. I also was abe to eat the skin which was yummy. I always eat the skin on a white potato but now I know how to bake a sweet potato so I can eat the skin on it.
Thanks so much!
Bonnie
Sydney says
Perfectly baked sweet potatoes! I use this method with russets and sweet potatoes alike, it’s hard to mess it up! I’m baking some sweet potatoes for my boyfriend as I type this, I’ll be putting some brown sugar, butter and cinnamon on them and we’ll have them for dinner. Feels a bit like having dessert for dinner but I love that sweet potatoes are so good for you!
Tresonia Young says
This is my first time baking Sweet potatoes. So I hope they turn out good. But I use this Recipe. I just hope they get done.
PJ says
So very good!! I do sweet potatoes this way all the time now! they are wonderful without any thing at all on them when they are done! no butter, no brown sugar, just great low cal sweet potatoes!
Alix Tobin says
Great recipe, just the way my Mom used to make them! Instead of olive oil, we use coconut oil to rub down the potato skin after scrubbing. It adds a much better flavor for eating skin and all. We also use coconut oil mixed with butter, cinnamon and/or ginger and honey for seasoning the hot sweet potato at the table. Double yum!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Love the idea of using coconut oil. Definitely going to give that a try!
Trish T says
This was my first time making baked sweet potatoes and your recipe was perfect & easy details! I didn’t feel intimidated at all. The foil lined tray is genius…best clean up! It tasted like the baked sweet potatoes I have a Outback :).
Had to call my family out of state to brag that I now know how to make perfect baked sweet potatoes.
Thanks Trish!
Melanie says
Hi Trish,
Even though I haven’t made these yet I know they will be awesome..
.
I love sweet potatoes but I usually make them in the microwave
.
Can’t wait to try them and pair them with another of your recipes.
Nicole N. says
So delicious!!! I loved. My daughter is a picky eater esp with fruits and veggies and she loved too. She’s 6 and she ate it all including the skin. I did too. The olive oil and I used sea salt for the skin made it so good. Turned out better than my favorite restaurant baked sweet potato. I added grass fed butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon to ours.
Pam says
I just put 35 sweet potatoes in oven. I followed your coating them with olive oil.and kosher salt.They will be for our church baked potato bar. I’m a bit nervous with so many baking together .
I’m so grateful I found your simple easy recipe.
Thanks so much!!!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I love this idea! Would be great for a party too!
Ferryal says
This is the BEST ever sweet potato recipe ever. After trying this not sure if I even like the baked potatoes no more!! Thank you for this recipe and many others on your blog.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thank you for that! Sweet potatoes are SO good and SO good for you. I treat them just like I would baked potatoes except that I can treat them like a dessert if I want to. A little brown sugar and cinnamon is amazing on them! Have a great week!
Zaakii says
Wow..the way you explained the recipes are very clear…I like it very much.I love this sweet potato recipe too thanks for sharing this recipe Trish….
Ann says
This is truly the perfect baked sweet potato recipe. So simple and delicious! And besides, this dish does not require much time to prepare. And there are not so many calories in it … In general, I recommend this recipe to everyone, I really liked it, everyone will appreciate your dinner. Thank you for the recipe!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thanks so much Ann!
Marsha says
Thank you for answering a question that I have been longing to know.
Can you eat the skin of a sweet potato?
I have only started serving sweet potato maybe the last 7 years in my house. But it is either just baked, and then the skin is thrown away, or I will peel and cut up and roast along with other vegetables in the oven. Never have we eaten the skin.
So thank you, the next time I prepare sweet potato, we shall be eating the peel as well.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You’re so welcome Marsha! Have a great week!
Lynn says
Your Recipes are fabulous,
Thank you ,,,