How to Bake the Perfect Sweet Potato
Preheat oven to 450º
Put a foil* lined baking sheet into the oven on the lowest rack.
*parchment works well, too
Place sweet potatoes onto the rack above the baking sheet.
Don't poke any holes into the potatoes, just place on the rack.
Set timer for 20 minutes.
When the timer goes off, decrease baking temperature to 350º
Bake for an additional 60 minutes. Set your timer again.
Depending on the size of your sweet potaotes you may want to increase or decrease this time, but I've found that an hour is just about right for two large sweet potatoes.
When the sweet potatoes are done a knife will easily slip through the potato. The skin may be tough to get through, the potato itself will be soft.
The exterior of the potato will look like this
Put a foil* lined baking sheet into the oven on the lowest rack.
*parchment works well, too
Place sweet potatoes onto the rack above the baking sheet.
Don't poke any holes into the potatoes, just place on the rack.
Set timer for 20 minutes.
When the timer goes off, decrease baking temperature to 350º
Bake for an additional 60 minutes. Set your timer again.
Depending on the size of your sweet potaotes you may want to increase or decrease this time, but I've found that an hour is just about right for two large sweet potatoes.
When the sweet potatoes are done a knife will easily slip through the potato. The skin may be tough to get through, the potato itself will be soft.
The exterior of the potato will look like this
You can poke at the skin and it feels puffy. I poked at it several times!
That pocket forms because of the high temperature at the beginning of the baking cycle.
I bake these two at a time, eat part of one potato for my meal and save the rest in the fridge. These microwave real easy after baking, too - just scoop out your portion, nuke for 30 seconds to one minute and eat!
Thanks Mom! They turned out great!
40 comments:
wow! am sure gonna try that one!
Thanks for helping me bake the BEST sweet potatoes. They were perfect!!
I've tried this about four times now and they're perfect every time! This is a real winner. Thanks!
Worked like a charm.
Anonymous - you are so very welcome! :) It's amazing how well this works, I'm so glad you tried it again and again.
I liked your method so much that I blogged about it on my weekly DIY baby food blog citybaby.posterous.com! Thanks!
Thank you!!! This was delish! I just tried it today!
This is excellent advice! Thank you! I plan to use your method next time :)
This is the best recipe for baked sweet potatoes that I have ever found. Thank you so much for sharing it!
Absolutely perfect!! Thanks for the tips!
Seriously Amazing!
My husband even declared that he didn't need to have sex tonight because the sweet potatoes were so good! Haha!
Wow - That sounds great! I love sweet potatoes too. I'm going to try your method. Thanks! Glad I found your post on Facebook tonight.
Just found your blog thanks to Arlene's link - thanks for the info - will try it. Looks yummy.
Thank you! A random google brought me here and the potatoes look perfect.
Hi Kristin! Thank you! It seems so easy, yet I have never been able to bake a sweet potatoe properly.
These were perfect!!
Val
I baked 5 potatoes at a time and followed the instructions exactly without changing the baking time at all. Each potato came out absolutely perfect. Cut them open and added a dollop of butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. So yummy! Will definitely be using this method again. Thanks for posting!
Turned out wonderful! Thanks!
Came out amazing!!! Can u do this with a regular baked potato?
Just wondering, when I bake for 60 minutes, then set the timer again, am I setting it for another 60 minutes?
My husband likes to eat the potato skins. It doesn't look like he would enjoy eating them cooked this way. How do they taste? They look charred and so, not tasty. As the skin is the most nutritious part of the potato, I hate to make in inedible but would like to try this method.
Anon - You first bake for 20 minutes then reset the timer for 60 min.
Lori - I like potato skins, too, but I've never ever liked sweet potato skins. They seem very tough. This method doesn't char the skins, but the caramelization from the sugars stick to the inside of the potato skins - that's what you see here.
I did this last night for my boyfriend because he likes to bring them to work! He said they were the best ones i've made yet. I thought maybe he was just being nice but I just tried one, they came out perfect!!!! Thanks! Do you care if I pin this on Pinterest?
Thank you for this recipe! We've tried it once and they were perfect. We're doing it again this way tonight. Thank you for helping us make sweet potatoes a regular at the table.
Hows it work on regular baked pots??
Regular potatoes have a different type of skin and water content. I don't believe this method would work exactly the same on them.
Are we placing the potatoes on the rack above the pan or on the pan itself? I have the oven preheating as we speak!
Darn! I didn't see this last comment in my moderation folder until just now. I hope you placed the potatoes on the rack and put the pan below. The pan is just to catch the drips.
Just used your method to cook my sweet potatoes for my Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole! Should be ever so much tastier than using canned sweet potatoes. Thanks!
Yummy! I love sweet potatoes!
I just followed your recipe exactly. The only thing I forgot was to turn my oven vent on! The potatoes turned out great though! Thank you for teaching this.
Kristen:
I am 47 years old, and consider myself a great cook. Tonight, however, I decided to treat myself to a nice supper at home. My hubby was working late and couldn't be here, so I decided to bake me a sweet potato, as those are not his favorite.
I don't know why, but I decided that I would peruse the internet to see if there was some secret technique I had missed all these years for baking the perfect sweet potato. To summarize, I found your "recipe" and I have just two words ...
Oh, MY!
I have a convection oven and my potato was small, so I did adjust the cooking time (15 minutes and 50 minutes respectively), but I have never had a potato of ANY KIND taste so heavenly. It was also the most perfect tecture. Thanks for your blog and for sharing.
(This is also the first time I have ever "blogged", for whatever that might be worth!) Keep up the good work.
Best baked sweet potato I've ever eaten! Who would think the extra high temperature as the beginning would make such a difference? We also had our first ever Japanese Sweet Potato when we did this. Wow, they are awesome, and so is this method for baking them! Ty.
I guess I'll go ahead and be another person to tell you that these were PERFECT! Out of laziness I have microwaved my sweet potato the last few times but I will never do that again (unless in a pinch!). The texture was silky awesomeness. Thanks! :)
I love this recipe, i first stumbled upon it a year ago while googling perfect baked seet potatoes. . I need to write it down, but enjoy revisiting your blog and seeing new comments from other sweet potato lovers every time i find it again. Thank you
Hi,
I've been meaning to ask how do you keep the potatoes from spattering in the oven? I found residue from the potatoes on the glass. Thanks.
Wes
Indian Land, SC
They're in the oven, right now! Thank you, in advance! :)
I've done this four times now and it has worked perfectly every time! Everyone has nothing but nice things to say when I prepare this for them.
thanks for the quick and easy reminder as to how I make sweet potatoes! love mom
This was absolutely the best I've ever had. I'm so glad I found this recipe.
I'm definitely sharing this with my friends. Thank you!!
Thank you so much! This is my go to for baked sweet potatoes. They come out perfect every time!! Love them!!!
Post a Comment