Loaded Baked Sweet Potatoes Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is it better to wrap sweet potatoes in foil when baking? ›

Wrapping sweet potatoes in foil helps in a few ways. It prevents the exterior of the tuber from drying out and overheating too quickly, which would minimize enzymatic activity; it also results in a more evenly cooked texture.

The cold water bath helps rinse the starch off the sweet potatoes so they're a bit more crispy. That said, if you do not have the time, you can still get crispy baked sweet potato fries by using high heat and a little drizzle of olive oil.

The potatoes themselves get a rich, almost toffee-like complexity due to the slow roasting. Adding butter that's been cooked down until its milk solids just begin to turn brown and nutty accentuates that flavor even more. Some folks like to add cinnamon, nutmeg, or other spices to their sweet potatoes.

Do you have to poke holes in sweet potatoes before baking? Typically holes are poked into a sweet potato to prevent a potato exploding in your oven. However, the chance of that happening is low, and according to Lifehacker, sweet potatoes will retain more flavor if you don't poke them.

Poke the potatoes with a fork just enough to pierce the skin so the potato won't burst when baking, especially in the microwave. Four or five times should be plenty. A potato is composed mainly of water, so poking them helps release steam as it cooks.

Some say wrapping baked potatoes in aluminum foil helps them cook faster (aluminum conducts heat, then traps it), and it does keep them hot for longer once they come out of the oven, which is why we think restaurants use this method. Wrapping potatoes will also give you a softer, steamed skin, if that's what you like.

The Squeze Test - When you are wondering if your baked sweet potato recipe is done, give the sweet potato a little squeeze (with an oven mitt on!). If your baked sweet potato feels tender, it is likely ready. If it still feels firm, I'd put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes.

Boiling sweet potatoes retains more beta-carotene and makes the nutrient more absorbable than other cooking methods such as baking or frying. Up to 92% of the nutrient can be retained by limiting the cook time, such as boiling in a pot with a tightly covered lid for 20 minutes.

Salt, Pepper, and Butter – the OG classic way of serving your sweet potatoes. Greek Yogurt and Green Onion – one of my personal favorites! you can do sour cream instead of Greek Yogurt if you prefer. Maple Syrup, Cinnamon, and Butter – ok, I'm a big fan of savory but this combo is also a favorite!

How do you dress up sweet potatoes? ›

Of the thousands of vegetables available today, sweet potatoes are considered one of the most nutritious. The orange- (or sometimes purple) fleshed vegetables are loaded with minerals and A, B, and C vitamins. This has led to sweet potatoes being called a superfood by many.

If you enjoy sweet potatoes, you can absolutely enjoy them daily. However, eating multiple sweet potatoes every day could cause a harmless condition called carotenodermia, where your skin turns yellow-orange. You may also want to be cautious about your sweet potato intake if you have a history of kidney stones.

A good yogurt sauce can make a sweet potato complete, but of course you can always pile on other toppings, too. Drizzle your potato with yogurt sauce, then top with crumbled cooked sausage, especially spicy merguez or chorizo. Or, if you have any leftover roasted or braised meat, shred or chop it and crisp in a pan.

Editor's Tip: Additional favorite baked potato toppers include roasted red peppers, blanched broccoli, diced onions, diced ham, shredded cheese, sour cream, fresh herbs, sliced hot peppers, sliced olives and crushed tortilla chips.

Though they can both be part of a healthy diet, sweet potatoes are generally healthier than regular potatoes, partly because of their incredibly high vitamin A content. Sweet potatoes are also lower on the glycemic index, meaning that they are less likely than regular potatoes to make your blood sugar spike.