Baked sweet potatoes are no-fuss, easy, highly nutritious, and super delicious. In this post, I'll show you how to bake sweet potatoes plus 4 easy stuffed sweet potato recipes that turn an ordinary baked sweet potato into a filling and satisfying meal. Plus, these baked sweet potato recipes are perfect for meal prep during the week.
Aren’t sweet potatoes the best?
They are great mashed, hashed, and in casseroles. They’re also great when turned into fries. So many delicious sweet potato recipes. Yummy!
Oh, and they’re super duper yummy when topped with chipotle black beans, buffalo chicken, spinach & artichoke or Greek quinoa salad. Which are our baked sweet potato toppings for today, BTW. Squee!
I especially love how easy it is to learn how to cook sweet potatoes. Like so easy. But if you have your doubts, let me give you a quick spoiler - all you have to do is pop them in the oven and wait until they’re all good and squishy.
Easy, right?
Also, learning how to cook sweet potatoes in the oven will lead you to numerous healthy sweet potato recipes. So baking is definitely the best way to cook sweet potatoes
However, we will discuss how to bake sweet potatoes, how long to bake sweet potatoes, and how to store sweet potatoes so I’m sure you have all the necessary info to make these baked sweet potatoes happen. Because, trust me, they need to happen!
SWEET POTATO VS. YAM: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
Sweet potato and yams confuse people. Like a lot. When it comes to sweet potato vs. yam, there is a big difference. Sweet potato is what you’ve probably eaten so far. Even though you might have called it a "yam."
Sweet potatoes are root vegetables and they come in many varieties. Most people believe that sweet potatoes with red skin are yams. But nope, they are just one of the many sweet potato varieties.
Yams are starchy roots that are very rough and scaly. And very low in beta-carotene so definitely not orange. Yams are white inside and have yellow-ish skin. Sweet potatoes, on the other hand, can be white, orange, and even purple.
ARE SWEET POTATOES HEALTHY?
Of course sweet potatoes are healthy. Seriously, you don’t have to ask yourself is sweet potato healthy before cooking with sweet potatoes because they are one of the healthiest ingredients you can use for sides. Or mains. Or desserts.
A medium sweet potato contains high amounts of minerals, fiber, and vitamins. The same medium-sized sweet potato contains approximately 400% of the recommended daily dose of vitamin A. Wooot! Sweet potato also contains a bit more sugar than regular potato but, overall, they are better since they have more nutrients and fewer calories.
HOW TO BAKE SWEET POTATOES
It’s time to learn the basics for how to bake sweet potatoes. Once you learn them, you can make a delicious sweet potato side dish. Or make a full meal with one of the different baked sweet potato toppings I have for you below.
So let’s go through the process for how to cook sweet potatoes in the oven step by step:
- start by preheating the oven to 425 degrees F;
- line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper;
- wash sweet potatoes (detailed tips for how to wash sweet potatoes below);
- pat potatoes dry;
- with a fork or a sharp knife, poke several holes into sweet potatoes (make sure you really pierce all the way through the skin);
- lay sweet potatoes onto the rimmed baking sheet (make sure there is little space between them);
- bake for approximately 1 hour (it might take less or longer depending on the size of the sweet potato and your oven. If you’re wondering how do you know when a baked potato is done, keep reading);
- remove baked sweet potatoes from the oven and allow them to cool slightly;
- in the meantime, prep the baked sweet potato toppings following the recipe steps for each recipe;
- when you’re done, slice a line down the center of the baked sweet potato but not all the way to the bottom;
- with your hands, squeeze the sweet potato to make the baked sweet potato open up more;
- with a fork, mash the inside of the baked sweet potato to make room for baked sweet potato toppings;
- add baked sweet potato toppings.
Now, this baked sweet potato is ready to enjoy so repeat the process for all baked sweet potatoes.
HOW TO WASH AND PREPARE SWEET POTATOES
The process for how to wash sweet potatoes is very easy. But I wanted to discuss it in a separate section because many people don’t know how to do it. Some recommend washing sweet potatoes with vinegar. Other say running water is enough. What I like to do is to…
- wash the sweet potatoes under warm running water;
- and use a scrubbing brush or my fingers to remove dirt from the skin.
- then I pat them dry and prep them for baking.
It’s important not to skip the second step when you’re not removing the sweet potato skin. I don’t recommend removing sweet potato skin when baking sweet potatoes because the skin is super delicious and filled with nutrients. Plus sweet potatoes bake better when you don’t remove the skin.
HOW LONG TO BAKE SWEET POTATOES
So here’s the deal. I said it will take you approximately 60 minutes to make baked sweet potatoes. But, sometimes, it takes only 45 minutes. And if you use large sweet potatoes, it takes longer.
So the best way to tell if sweet potatoes are done is to squeeze them. If you can squeeze them easily, they are done and you can remove them from the oven.
You can also use a sharp knife to pierce them – if they pierce easily, they are ready to be taken out of the oven.
Another thing – you can increase the temperature of the oven to 450 degrees F if you want to make baked sweet potato faster or decrease it if you want to keep them in the oven a little longer.
But, generally speaking, 55-65 minutes are more than enough.
HEALTHY BAKED SWEET POTATO TOPPINGS
You can enjoy baked sweet potato as a side without adding additional baked sweet potato toppings. But why would you when you can add delicious flavors and turn baked sweet potato into a full meal that everybody will love. Am I right?
CHIPOTLE BLACK BEAN STUFFED BAKED SWEET POTATO
A perfect mix of spicy, salty, and sweet, this chipotle black bean stuffed baked sweet potato is so yummy. Plus that cashew crema is perfection over the top.
Chipotle Black Bean Stuffed Baked Sweet Potato
Equipment
*This post may contain affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.
Ingredients
- 4 medium sweet potatoes
For Chipotle Black Beans
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 15-oz can low sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ medium red onion, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
For Cashew Crema
- ¾ cup raw cashews
- 2 cups boiling water
- ½ cup fresh cilantro
- ½ cup milk of choice, plus more as needed
- 3 tablespoon fresh lime juice (approx. 2 limes)
- ¼ large avocado
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
For serving:
- diced avocado
- cilantro
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Place the sweet potatoes on a lightly greased baking tray and bake for 55-65 minutes or until a fork can easily be inserted into the flesh of the potatoes.
- When the sweet potatoes have about 10 minutes left, heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and then add in onion. Saute for 5 minutes until the onion begins to become translucent. Add in the spices stir and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
- Add the black beans to the skillet and toss to combine. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the black beans are fully heated through. About 5 minutes. Take off of heat and set aside.
- Once the sweet potatoes are done baking, let cool slightly. Once cool, cut the sweet potatoes open and shred the flesh from the skin so that the inside is mashed and easy to scoop out.
- Evenly spread the black bean mixture, avocado, cilantro, and cashew crema sauce on top of the 4 sweet potatoes.
- Top with avocado and cilantro.
Video
Nutrition
BUFFALO CHICKEN STUFFED BAKED SWEET POTATO
Baked sweet potato + spicy buffalo chicken + awesome ranch dressing and sliced green onion = amazing color and flavor combo. So much yum!
Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Baked Sweet Potato
Equipment
*This post may contain affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.
Ingredients
- 4 medium sweet potatoes
For Buffalo Chicken:
- 1 lb (approx. 3 medium) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
For Homemade Buffalo Sauce:
- ¼ cup hot sauce (I like Franks hot sauce)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
For Greek Yogurt Ranch:
- ½ cup plain full fat greek yogurt
- ¼ cup milk of choice
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon dill weed
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon coconut sugar
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
For serving:
- sliced green onion
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Place the sweet potatoes on a lightly greased baking tray and bake for 55-65 minutes or until a fork can easily be inserted into the flesh of the potatoes.
- When the sweet potatoes have about 10 minutes left, combine 1 chicken breast (6 oz) chicken with 3-4 tablespoon Frank’s Red Hot sauce, seasoned with sea salt and black pepper in 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cook through.
- Now, to make our homemade buffalo sauce, in a mixing bowl, combine ingredients and whisk together.
- Now, drizzle the buffalo sauce over the diced chicken, and toss to coat.
- In a mixing bowl, add ingredients for Greek yogurt ranch and whisk to combine.
- Once the sweet potatoes are done baking, let cool slightly. Once cool, cut the sweet potatoes open and shred the flesh from the skin so that the inside is mashed and easy to scoop out.
- Evenly spread the buffalo chicken mixture on top of the 4 sweet potatoes.
- Top with Green onions and Greek yogurt ranch drizzle.
Video
Nutrition
SPINACH & ARTICHOKE STUFFED BAKED SWEET POTATO
Before my clean eating days, one of my favorite appetizers was a spinach and artichoke dip. I miss it sometimes. The good thing is this Spinach And Artichoke Stuffed Baked Sweet Potato satisfies my cravings perfectly!
Spinach And Artichoke Stuffed Baked Sweet Potato
Equipment
*This post may contain affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.
Ingredients
- 4 medium sweet potatoes
For Spinach And Artichoke Stuffing:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup chopped artichoke hearts
- 1 lb baby spinach
- ¼ cup full fat cottage cheese
- ½ cup full fat plain greek yogurt
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 cup cooked chicken breast, diced (optional)
For serving:
- grated parmesan
- chopped parsley
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Place the sweet potatoes on a lightly greased baking tray and bake for 55-65 minutes or until a fork can easily be inserted into the flesh of the potatoes.
- When the sweet potatoes have about 10 minutes left, make the spinach and artichoke stuffing.
For Spinach And Artichoke Stuffing:
- Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a skillet, and then add minced garlic, and stir for 30-60 seconds, until fragrant.
- Then, add ½ cup chopped artichoke hearts, and heat through. Next, add in the baby spinach and toss until mostly wilted. Covering with a lid can help make this process move faster.
- Now, push the spinach and artichoke mixture to the side of the skillet, and then add in some plain greek yogurt and grated parmesan cheese. Stir this together until the mixture becomes smooth and the cheese has melted.
- Then, incorporate this into the spinach and artichoke mixture, until well mixed. Remove from heat.
- I like to add chicken to this mixture as well for a little additional protein and texture. So I’m going to add in some diced cooked chicken breast, but this is an optional step if you’d prefer to keep it out.*
- Transfer the spinach and artichoke mixture into the prepared sweet potato.
- Top with parmesan and parsley
Video
Nutrition
GREEK QUINOA SALAD STUFFED BAKED SWEET POTATO
Step 1 for this Greek Quinoa Salad Stuffed Baked Potato – make a delicious quinoa salad. Step 2 – stuff baked sweet potatoes with the salad. Step 3 – top with the absolutely perfect, creamy and cool topping aka tzatziki sauce. Such a delicious great lunch option! And it doesn’t need to be reheated.
Greek Quinoa Salad Stuffed Baked Potatoes
Equipment
*This post may contain affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.
Ingredients
- 4 medium sweet potatoes
For Quinoa Salad:
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- ½ cup crumbled feta
- 1 cup sliced grape tomatoes
- 1 cup diced cucumber, quartered
- ½ cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced
- ⅓ cup thinly sliced red onion
For Quinoa Salad Dressing:
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
For Tzatzaki Sauce:
- 1 cup plain full fat greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp. tahini
- 1 whole garlic clove
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 2 tbsp. hemp seed hearts
- ¼ cup milk of choice
- 1 tbsp. fresh dill, plus more for garnish
- 4 tbsp. lemon juice
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Place the sweet potatoes on a lightly greased baking tray and bake for 55-65 minutes or until a fork can easily be inserted into the flesh of the potatoes.
- When the sweet potatoes have about 20 minutes left, cook quinoa with broth for 20 minutes.
- Once the sweet potatoes are done baking, let cool slightly. Once cool, cut the sweet potatoes open and shred the flesh from the skin so that the inside is mashed and easy to scoop out.
For Greek Quinoa Stuffing:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine cooked quinoa and the rest of the ingredients for quinoa salad. Set aside.
- In a separate small mixing bowl, make the quinoa salad dressing by adding the ingredients for the dressing and whisking them together.
- Drizzle the dressing over the salad and then toss everything to combine evenly. Set aside.
For Tzatzaki Sauce:
- Combine ingredients for tzatziki sauce in a food processor.
- Blend and taste. You may need to add a little more milk to make it loose enough to drizzle.
- Stuff the baked sweet potato with the greek quinoa salad and then drizzle with tzatzaki and some chopped fresh dill.
Video
Nutrition
4 Easy Stuffed Baked Sweet Potato Recipes
TIPS FOR MAKING PERFECT BAKED SWEET POTATOES
Do you think you can master the making of the amazeballs baked sweet potato now or do you feel like you need more tips? Either way, I have those tips for you just in case you need them.
- First – if you plan to make more than 1 baked sweet potato, make sure you pick sweet potatoes that have roughly the same size so they can be fully cooked at the same time. And you want them to be medium-sized because those are, generally speaking, creamy and sweet. Larger sweet potatoes are starchier, usually.
- Speaking of picking sweet potatoes – aside from size, pay attention to sweet potato skin. You want the skin to be smooth, firm, and even-toned. The deeper the color, the more beta-carotene sweet potatoes contain.
- Don’t skip the poking step while prepping sweet potatoes for baking. If you skip this step, sweet potatoes can burst. And no one wants a messy oven. And a failed baked sweet potato experiment. Poking holes will allow the potato to release steam and to bake evenly.
- You don’t have to brush sweet potatoes with oil to make perfect baked sweet potatoes. Also, you don’t have to use foil. Sweet potato bakes perfectly without any of that. I do, however, recommend lining the baking sheet with parchment paper since sweet potatoes release juices while they cook and cleaning the baking sheet is easier when using the parchment paper.
- When you don’t add the foil wrapping, sweet potato skin is a little crispier. Texture perfection if you ask me. So I find it best to leave them free.
- But, if you don’t like the crispiness, you can definitely use foil. How to bake sweet potatoes in foil? Have the sweet potatoes wrapped up all nice and cozy-like and bake following the steps you already know.
HOW TO STORE BAKED SWEET POTATOES
Since now you know how to bake sweet potatoes and you have 4 delicious toppings for baked sweet potatoes, I think you should know how to store baked potatoes too. Because these stuffed baked sweet potatoes are great for meal prep and they last in the fridge for 4-5 days if kept in airtight containers.
How awesome, right?
Oh, and when ready to eat, all you have to do is to reheat the baked sweet potatoes in the microwave for 2-3 minutes or until heated through.
3 MORE HEALTHY SWEET POTATO RECIPES
If you’re in need of more sweet potato recipes, I think you’ll be happy to hear that I have them! They are easy to make, delicious, healthy, and they are able to make you fall in love with sweet potatoes even more.
SWEET POTATO NACHOS
First stop - Sweet Potato Nachos. Healthy nachos, peeps! How exciting is that? And oh, so delicious!
These Sweet Potato Nachos are versatile – you can easily make them vegan or paleo if you want, crunchy, rich in protein and fiber, and totes amazing. Get the recipe.
CRISPY BAKED SWEET POTATO TOTS WITH MAPLE GREEK YOGURT DIP
Second stop - Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Tots with Maple Greek Yogurt Dip. Soft on the inside, crunchy on the outside, these healthy tots are perfect for your fry cravings.
They are, of course, healthy, flavorful, and delicious. Freezer-friendly, too. Get the recipe.
EASY SWEET POTATO MEAL PREP – BAKED SWEET POTATO FRIES 4 WAYS
Third stop - Easy Sweet Potato Meal Prep – Baked Sweet Potato Fries 4 Ways. The sweet potato fries are baked in the oven and they are tasty, healthy, and great for meal prep.
And the Baked Sweet Potato Fries 4 Ways come in 4 different and amazing flavors: garlic herb, Cajun, spicy chile, and cinnamon sugar. Get the recipe.
This post contains affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.
Sunil Dogra
I like your baked sweet potatoes. Thanks for sharing your dish. I will try and share my feedback with you.
Dustin
These were great!
Julie
Sweet potatoes are a really nutrient food and a medium one baked is around 100 calories. However, the whipped butter and honey adds about 300 empty calories! The 1/8 cup nuts adds around 100 calories of healthy fat. So this one item adds up o 500 calories.
A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil with some fresh cracked pepper would work better for my body's health.......along with a large salad of greens and veggies for a easy meal. A single sweet potato will cook up in 5-6 minutes in the microwave instead of the much longer time in the oven.
Lacey Baier
Yea, it's not the healthiest, but it is quite tasty. I have a healthy roasted sweet potatoes recipe in the works, too.
June Burns
Wow those look amazing! I love love love sweet potato, this preparation sounds delicious 🙂
Lacey Baier
Thanks, June! Yes, these are super delicious 🙂
Megan
Dear Lacey and family,
I am so sorry for your sudden loss. Embrace your family and friends during the upcoming holidays. I lost my sister in July after a short battle with cancer and know, first hand, that the road will be a bit bumpy until it gets smooth again. May you have peace during this challenging time.
Keep cooking,
Megan
lacey - a sweet pea chef
Thank you, Megan. I'm sorry about your sister as well. Thank you for the advice. I really appreciate it.
Miss Becky
I'm sorry to learn of Mr. Baier's passing. You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers. He lives on in your hearts.
lacey - a sweet pea chef
Thank you, Miss Becky, for your kind words.