These are all the tips needed to make the best baked sweet potatoes for a healthy, easy side dish that rounds out any meal.
Becoming ever more popular over the years, sweet potatoes have progressed from a stereotypical once-a-year Thanksgiving side dish to a low-maintenance standby year-round. More sweet and flavorful than the ever-faithful white potato, nutrient-filled sweet potatoes are what I turn to whenever I need an easy side dish to round out a weeknight dinner, or good-for-me-carbo lunch.
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With go-to recipes like my fry-like maple butter sweet potato wedges, or my smoky chipotle mashed sweet potatoes, this tuber has become a staple ingredient in my every day healthy cooking and eating. But the way I probably make sweet potatoes the most is roasting them right in their skin, which makes for easy prep.
The best baked sweet potatoes are totally simple to make, and undeniably the most flavorful of cooking methods thanks to these simple tips.
Are Sweet Potatoes Better Boiled or Baked?
While boiling is fine, I prefer baking my sweet potatoes for the best flavor and texture. Baking them at a high temperature allows the natural sugars in the sweet potatoes to caramelize and add more earthy flavor. Their texture also becomes more creamy and smooth.
Sweet Potatoes Healthy Benefits
Sweet potatoes are high in fiber, vitamins and minerals (providing over 700% of the RDA of Vitamin A) and supply a boost of beta carotene and Vitamin C to any diet. Not to mention they promote gut health and may have cancer-fighting properties, in addition to several other health benefits.
How to Make the BEST Baked Sweet Potatoes
Baking sweet potatoes couldn’t be easier—just plan ahead, since they do take a little time.
Place the potatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet, whole with the skin on. There’s no need to peel, poke, or individually wrap with foil (though I highly recommend lining your baking sheet with foil for easy clean up later). These potatoes are so unfussy.
How Long to Bake Sweet Potatoes
400°F is the sweet spot for cooking these potatoes. High heat yields perfectly tender sweet potatoes in about 50 minutes to 1 hour—unless you’re working with some unusually large taters.
How to know when the potatoes are done. The peels should be papery and pulling away from the flesh. A cake tester or toothpick inserted into the potato should glide easily through the soft flesh. Let them rest until they’re cool enough to handle, then take a knife to slice them down the middle. Peel the papery jacket to the sides, give them a little mash, and season. Easy peasy, right?
How to Season These Taters
Depending on what you’re serving your potatoes with, there are tons of ways to top your taters:
- Butter, salt and pepper (if you want to keep it simple)
- Olive oil, salt, and a drizzle of hot honey
- Butter, a drizzle of honey or maple syrup, and fresh grated nutmeg or a sprinkling of cinnamon
- Load it up with salt and pepper, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, pieces of cooked bacon, and chives
- Miso butter or a miso mixture with a kick
- Butter, brown sugar, and smoked paprika
- Chipotle crema (mix in a bit of the sauce from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo with some sour cream) and avocado slices
What to Serve with Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- The Best Juicy Grilled Pork Chops
- 40 Cloves of Garlic Roast Chicken
- Red Wine Braised Short Ribs
- Juicy Turkey Breast
- Crispy Parmesan Buttermilk Chicken Tenders (Baked or Air Fryer)
- Stuffed Chicken Thighs with Spinach and Goat Cheese
- My Grandma’s Meatloaf Recipe
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
How to Make the BEST Baked Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 sweet potatoes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Place the potatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet, whole with the skin on, and roast for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until soft and the peels are papery and pulling away from the flesh. Let them rest until they're cool enough to handle. Then take a knife to slice them down the middle, peel the jacket to the sides, give them a little mash, and season.
Nutrition
More Sweet Potato Recipes to Try
- Sweet Potato Soufflé
- Maple Butter Sweet Potato Wedges
- Yummy Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
- Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal with Sweet Potato
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