Sure, you know how to bake the perfect baked potato, but do you know how to bake sweet potatoes, too?

If you haven’t guessed, I’m here to tell you how to make the perfect baked sweet potatoes! Fluffy inside, crispy skin outside … I love sweet potatoes prepared this way.

Three baked potatoes on a white platter with pats of butter, cilantro, and chives.

Table of Contents

The Story Behind the Recipe

This is one of those recipes that I’ve been meaning to share forever! It’s not even really a recipe as much as it is a method, but either way, I finally got this one photographed and am looking forward to sharing it with you.

A close-up of a baked sweet potato with a pat of butter and fresh herbs.

Around here, baked sweet potatoes are a staple. We often stuff them with leftover chili or black beans for a healthy, satisfying lunch or dinner.

I love that they’re full of vitamins and fiber – and they taste great, too!

Ingredients for baked sweet potatoes lined up on a marble background. Sweet potatoes, olive oil, and salt.

Ingredients

  • Sweet potatoes – Also known in the U.S. as yams, sweet potatoes come in a few different colors and sizes. I like to grab sweet potatoes that are orange inside and are smaller in size, for individual portions. But it’s easy to bake any color or size of sweet potato, so grab whatever you want! Note that while yams and sweet potatoes are considered the same thing in the U.S., outside of the U.S., a yam is an entirely different root veggie. So stick with those labeled “sweet potatoes.”
  • Olive oil – For rubbing on the outside of your sweet potato. This gives you a nice crispy skin!
  • Kosher salt – Just a little, also for the outside of your sweet potato. Give that crispy skin a bit of flavor!

How to Bake Sweet Potatoes

It takes just a few minutes prep and about 40 minutes in the oven to bake sweet potatoes. I love that it’s mostly hands-off – the oven does all the work!

Step 1: Wash the sweet potatoes

First, you’ll want to wash your sweet potatoes. Scrub with a vegetable scrubber, if you have one. Then dry them off with a clean towel.

Step 2: Rub them with olive oil & salt

Rub them all over with olive oil and a layer of kosher salt.

Step 3: Line them up on a baking sheet

Lay them on a baking sheet (I like to use a layer of aluminum foil or parchment paper to catch the inevitable drips). Make sure the potatoes have lots of room so that the skin gets crispy on all sides.

Step 4: Bake

Bake at 400°F for about 40 minutes, until easily fork-tender and the skin looks a bit shriveled.

Four baked sweet potatoes on a cookie sheet.

Step 5: Stuff and serve!

Let them cool for a few minutes, then slice them open and serve!

You can cut them open and fluff them up like a standard baked potato, or cut them in half.

Two sweet potatoes on a foil-lined cookie sheet, ready to stuff with butter and other goodies.

Tips for Success

  • Dry them well after washing. This is key to crisp skin.
  • No wrapping! Some recipes call for wrapping baked sweet potatoes in foil, but in my opinion, that’s a no-no. Wrapped sweet potatoes have a moist – not crispy – skin. Best to let them bake in the wide-open.
  • Poke those holes. It allows excess moisture to escape for the fluffiest interiors (no wateriness!)
  • Cook them hot. I like to bake sweet potatoes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit so that the natural sugars caramelize. Yum.
A top view of a baked sweet potato with a pat of butter on an organic shaped white and blue plate and with a silver fork.

Ideas for Serving Baked Sweet Potatoes

  • Top with a pat of butter, salt and pepper, and maybe some fresh herbs like cilantro or chives.
  • Stuff with beans or leftover chili.
  • Sour Cream & Chive Baked Sweet Potatoes: Drizzle sour cream or Greek yogurt over the top along with a generous sprinkle of chives, salt, and pepper.

More Sweet Potato Recipes

Three baked potatoes on a white platter with pats of butter, cilantro, and chives.
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Baked Sweet Potatoes

Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 40 minutes
Total: 44 minutes
Author: Kare
Yield: 4
For the fluffiest inside and crispy, delicious skin, here's my favorite method for how to bake sweet potatoes. Easy + just a few minutes prep!

Ingredients

  • 4 sweet potatoes
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205° C). Cover a small rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil (this is not a must, but helps with easy clean up).
  • Wash your sweet potatoes under water, scrubbing the skin so it's nice and clean. Dry them with a dish towel or paper towel.
  • Rub each sweet potato with some of the olive oil and rub on the salt as well.
  • Place on a baking sheet with at least a couple of inches between each sweet potato. Prick each potato 2-3 times with a fork.
  • Bake until soft inside (a fork will pierce the skin and flesh effortlessly) and the skin is crispy, about 40 minutes. If you have smaller sweet potatoes, you'll want to check them at the 30 minute mark. Larger sweet potatoes might take a bit longer to bake.
  • Let cool for about 5 minutes then serve as desired.

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1g, Calories: 225kcal, Carbohydrates: 45g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Sodium: 415mg, Potassium: 762mg, Fiber: 7g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 32063IU, Vitamin C: 5mg, Calcium: 68mg, Iron: 1mg

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