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This oven baked sweet potato recipe comes out perfectly! Here’s how long to bake sweet potatoes until they’re moist and tender.

Baked Sweet Potato
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When it comes to dinnertime, there’s no root vegetable we love more than the sweet potato. It’s easy, deliciously tender, and easy to load with savory toppings to make into a meal. Of course, if you prefer sweet toppings that works too…or just a pat of butter! This baked sweet potato recipe makes spuds that are perfectly tender with delicious moist orange flesh, ideal as a side dish or stuffed with black beans as a healthy meal!

How long to bake sweet potatoes?

First, how long to bake sweet potatoes? There are two methods for the job: baking them whole, or baking them cut in half. Here is how long it takes for each method:

  • It takes 40 to 60 minutes to bake whole sweet potatoes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Small potatoes take 40 minutes and large potatoes take 60 minutes or more.
  • It takes 25 to 35 minutes to bake halved sweet potatoes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Small potatoes take 25 minutes and larger potatoes take about 35 minutes.

Most of the time, we use the quick method! The only difference is that the resulting potato looks a little more flat: but it’s just as delicious in almost half the time.

Baked Sweet Potato

How to bake sweet potatoes in the oven (whole)

Here’s our master method for how to make a whole baked sweet potato in the oven! This is the method for whole potatoes (keep reading for our quick method). The tricks? Using very high heat gets the potatoes perfectly moist inside, and rubbing them with oil makes a crispy skin. Here’s what to do:

  • Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Using high heat makes a tender interior and a crispy skin.
  • Prick them and rub with olive oil. Scrub the sweet potatoes and pierce them all over with a fork. Rub each potato with olive oil.
  • Bake 40 minutes to 1 hour (or more), flipping once. Bake the potatoes for 20 minutes and flip with tongs. Bake additional 20 minutes and check for tenderness with a fork. The fork should easily pierce the potato to the center. If it’s not tender, continue cooking up to 20 minutes more, depending on size of the potato.

Avoid using very large potatoes

This recipe is best with medium to large sweet potatoes. The ideal size is around 1 pound per potato. Some sweet potatoes are very, very large and take a very long time to roast. We recommend using medium to large potatoes because they are quickest and easiest to eat. If you have a very large potato, you can use it but keep in mind it could take over 1 hour to bake.

How to bake sweet potatoes

Baked sweet potatoes: the quick method (halved)!

Don’t have 1 hour? Here’s a shortcut! To make a quick baked sweet potato, simply cut it in half before baking! Halving it makes it thinner, drastically reducing the cook time. Here’s how to make halved potatoes in half the time:

  • Use high heat: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Slice the potatoes in half and season: Wash the potatoes and slice them in half, then place them on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Rub them with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Turn the potatoes cut side down and prick the tops several times with fork.
  • Bake 25 to 35 minutes: Bake until tender and lightly browned on the edges, about 25 to 35 minutes.
  • Mash with a fork: For serving, mash down the top of each half with a fork.
Baked Sweet Potato

Ways to serve a baked sweet potato

There are so many ways to serve these delicious spuds! Oven baked sweet potatoes are great as a side dish topped with a pat of butter. However, we prefer them loaded up as a tasty main dish! Here are a few ideas on how to serve a baked sweet potato:

More sweet potato recipes

The sweet potato is one of our favorite vegetables to incorporate into meals and side dishes! Here are a few of our top recipes:

This recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.

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Baked Sweet Potato

Baked Sweet Potato
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  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 55 minutes
  • Yield: 4 sweet potatoes 1x
  • Category: Side dish
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 medium sweet potatoes
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Place foil or parchment paper on a baking sheet. Wash and dry the sweet potatoes and prick them all over with a fork. Rub each potato with oil and place it on the lined baking sheet.
  3. Bake 20 minutes and flip with tongs. Bake additional 20 minutes and check for tenderness with a fork. The fork should easily pierce the sweet potato to the center. If it is not tender, continue baking, up to 20 minutes more depending on size of the sweet potato.
  4. Alternative quick baked potato: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
    Wash the sweet potatoes and slice them in half. Place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and rub them with olive oil, just enough to coat. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake until tender and lightly browned on the edges, about 25 to 35 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes. (Prick with a fork to assess doneness!)

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About the authors

Alex & Sonja

Hi! We’re Alex & Sonja Overhiser, authors of the acclaimed cookbooks A Couple Cooks and Pretty Simple Cooking—and a real life couple who cooks together. We founded the A Couple Cooks website in 2010 to share seasonal recipes and the joy of home cooking. Now, we’ve got over 3,000 well-tested recipes, including Mediterranean diet, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, smoothies, cocktails, and more!

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  1. Sonja Overhiser says:

    Let us know if you have any questions!