Easy Baked Sweet Potatoes recipe made with potatoes, butter, salt and pepper are the PERFECT addition to any dinner and ready in under 60 minutes!
We’re always searching for easy side dish recipes around here, and some of our absolute favorites are Baked Mac and Cheese, Easy Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Green Beans.
Easy Baked Sweet Potatoes are a healthier alternative to my Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes recipe. They still pack a ton of sweetness and flavor without all the sugar. We like to serve these during the holidays because sweet potatoes are a really traditional flavor, but they’re perfect to serve all year.
Usually, baked potatoes are made with russets, but if you’re looking for a change, sweet potatoes are naturally more nutritious and work just as well. Sweet potatoes also have tough skin, like russets, so they are ideal for this kind of recipe.
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO BAKE A SWEET POTATO?
I bake the potatoes on the middle rack of the oven most of the time. If you’re in a rush, you can pierce the outside of the potato skin and put the potato in the microwave for 5 minutes at a time until it’s cooked through, usually about 10 minutes for a large potato. You can also wrap the potatoes in foil and grill them for 35-40 minutes or until they’re soft.
Another option is to bake the potatoes in the slow cooker if you need the oven for other things. Just clean and salt the potatoes, pierce the skin, and wrap them in foil before placing them in the pot. Then cook on low for 9-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours until the potatoes are soft.
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN A POTATO IS BAKED?
The potatoes are done baking when a fork can easily and with little resistance penetrate the center of the sweet potato. If you can’t get the fork through, that means it is undercooked; let it go for longer.
DO YOU HAVE TO WRAP POTATOES IN FOIL TO BAKE THEM?
Wrapping potatoes in foil before baking them has benefits, but you don’t have to. The foil helps them stay warm once they come out of the oven and keeps the skin softer by trapping moisture to steam them. If you want the skin roasted and crispy, avoid using foil in the oven and wrap them afterward to keep them warm. When I make sweet potatoes in the oven, we eat them right away, so I don’t worry about using foil.
If you grill the sweet potatoes, foil keeps the flame from burning the outside. It can also slightly increase the cooking time.
MORE SWEET POTATO SIDE DISHES
- Mashed Sweet Potatoes
- Candied Sweet Potatoes With Pecan Oat Crust
- Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes
- Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole
- Crispy Sweet Potato Fries
- Candied Yams
CAN YOU MEAL PREP BAKED POTATOES AHEAD OF TIME?
You can prep a baked potato side dish ahead of time by washing them the night before, but wait to cook them until the day you’re serving them. To keep the potatoes fresh, don’t wash them more than a day or two in advance.
I recommend prepping the toppings the night before and refrigerating them, then setting the slow cooker in the morning so the potatoes will be ready just as you set the dinner table.
Baked sweet potatoes can be stored refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4-5 days.
TRY THESE BAKED SWEET POTATO TOPPINGS
- Browned Butter or Olive Oil
- Cinnamon or Paprika
- Sour Cream and Chives
- Brown Sugar and Pecans (did you see yesterday’s Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes?)
- Mini Marshmallows
- Honey or Maple Syrup
- Black Beans and Salsa or Chopped Onion

Create a free account to Save Recipes

TIPS FOR MAKING BAKED SWEET POTATOES
- Make sure your potatoes are all about the same size. Otherwise, they’ll finish baking at different times, and you’ll end up with over- or undercooked potatoes.
- Rubbing wet potatoes with coarse salt helps make the skins crispy while also adding flavor when baking.
- To make the skin of baked sweet potatoes extra crispy, add a drizzle of olive oil when salting.
- Add the butter while the potatoes are still warm so it has a chance to melt. While the butter is melting, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and an optional dash of cinnamon for extra flavor.
- I like to line my baking sheet with tinfoil because sweet potatoes leak some juice when baking. Don’t add these directly to your oven rack or you will have to clean up sticky potato juice on the bottom of your oven.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees, or you may need to add more cook time.


Ingredients
- 4 medium sweet potatoes washed
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and wash the sweet potatoes before piercing the sweet potatoes with a fork all over.
- Place on baking sheet lined with foil and cook for 45-50 minutes until tender and serve sliced open with butter, salt and pepper.
I need these sweet potatoes in my life. They look so amazing!!!
Enjoy!
These sound delicious! Dangerously good…
Oh yes, self control around them might be a challenge! Enjoy!!
Mmmm, sweet potato perfection! Such a nice change from regular potatoes and I love those crispy peels!
Thanks, Kimberly!
Such a fantastic idea! Perfect for the holidays!
Definitely!
These are perfect. I love sweet potatoes and I love making these as a replacement for the traditional regular potato! So GOOD!
I hope you enjoy them, Alli!