Baked Sweet Potato

Baking a sweet potato doesn't have to be boring. This is the good quick snack or side dish that is healthyand you can always customize it with your favorite toppings.

Sweet potatoes have become a MUST in our kitchen. From taco bowlssweet potato fries or even healthy and good brownieswe've created so many recipes with the same simple ingredient. It might feel intimidating at first, but once you learn how to make the good baked sweet potato, you won't be able to stop.

What Makes The Baked Sweet Potatoes So Good?

There are a lot of ways to bake sweet potatoes. What makes this recipe different is the way you serve it. This is the good snack if you want to keep things simple but still enjoy something filling and full of flavor. Or even if you want to get creative and transform this into a main dish, you can do it.

Ready in 30 minutes, you can make it in the air fryer or in the oven; both ways will give you the same result. It's an easy clean up and even easier to make.

This is not a regular baked potato: with Parmesan on top, melted with homemade garlic butter, you have the opportunity to improve your weeknight dinners in all your favorite ways. It's all about your toppings. We like to add a little pico de gallo on top with sour cream or greek yogurt. But even with nothing on top, the way the sweet potato is seasoned makes it so enjoyable from the moment it comes out of the oven (or air fryer!).

Ingredients

• Sweet Potatoes. When baked, they turn soft, slightly sweet, and super easy to work with. Try to go for medium-sized ones so they cook faster and more evenly.

• Homemade Garlic Butter. Melted butter with fresh garlic just soaks into the sweet potato and adds so much flavor. We always make it fresh; it only takes a couple of minutes, and it's worth it. Using freshly minced garlic here makes a difference.

• Parmesan Cheese. Parmesan holds up well when baked. It melts, but still stays a little firm, so it's easier to eat. We tried it with mozzarella, and it tends to turn harder as it bakes, which makes it more difficult to bite into. Parmesan is not overly salty, which works better with the natural sweetness of the sweet potato.

Note: Please see recipe card at the bottom for a full list of ingredients with measurements

How To Bake A Sweet Potato

1. Cut the potatoes in half (long) and season the skin with olive oil spray, salt, pepper, and sprinkle with rosemary.

1. To make the garlic butter, mix creamy butter with paprika, onion powder, black pepper, garlic, and salt.

1. Spread a little butter (1/2tsp – 2.5g) on the flesh of each sweet potato.

1. In a baking tray put parchment paper. Spread mounds of Parmesan cheese the size of the sweet potatoes.

Note: The cheese mounds have to be not too close to each other. Be careful not to touch the sweet potatoes to each other once in the oven.

1. Place the flesh side of the sweet potato on top of the parmesan cheese (skin side up). So the potato is sitting upside down with the skin facing up.

1. Bake the sweet Potatoes. For the Air Fryer: Cook at 170°C for 22–30 min Heat oven to 180°C and bake for 35–40 minutes. The inside should be soft and tender, not firm.

Times depend on the size of your potato!

Air Fryer vs Oven:

Both work well here; it just depends on what you're looking for.

The air fryer is a little bit faster and gives you slightly crispier edges, which we personally love when we want something quick and a bit more textured. Also, it's good if you just want to cook 2 sweet potatoes, and for easy cleaning.

The oven takes a little longer, but it cooks more evenly and is good if you're making a bigger batch.

At the end of the day, both give you a soft, flavorful sweet potato, so you can't go wrong.

Kitchen tip

• We like to poke a few holes in the sweet potatoes before baking. It helps them cook more evenly and prevents them from bursting. Also, it kept all the flavor of the seasoning.

• Don't skip the garlic butter step. Spreading it while the sweet potato is hot makes it melt right into it and adds way more flavor. Normal butter is okay, but it won't give you that same depth. The garlic soaks into the sweet potato and makes it taste way richer without needing extra toppings.

• If you want crispier edges don't wrap them in foil. Let them bake directly so the outside can get a little texture.

• Try to use medium-sized sweet potatoes. Bigger ones take longer and sometimes cook unevenly inside.

• Add the parmesan last and press the sweet potato into it. This helps it stick better and gives you that crispy layer once baked.

BEST Toppings For Baked Sweet Potatoes

This is the fun part.

As we mentioned before, sweet potatoes are GOOD on their own, but if you're like us and want to take this snack to the next level, you can always try different toppings. We tried this for Thanksgiving last year. Here are our favorites:

Avocado: Avocado is so versatile in this recipe. Some people like to turn it into a bit of guacamole and pair it with some poached eggs on top, turning this into a healthy breakfast.

Salsas: This is KEY. Depending on what you're in the mood for, you can add a tablespoon of salsa verde or mexican salsa. It completely changes the flavor and makes it feel like a little Latin-style snack.

Cheddar and bacon: If you want this recipe to have an American twist, adding melted cheddar and crispy bacon on top makes it feel more indulgent and satisfying, almost like a loaded baked potato but with that sweet potato base.

If you want to take it in a sweeter direction, you can add toppings like marshmallows, pecans, or even fresh berries. It starts to feel a little closer to a sweet potato casserole, just simpler. We don't use brown sugar here. This one is meant to stay more savory, and the parmesan already brings enough flavor on its own.

Leftover sweet potatoes reheat well in the oven or air fryer and keep their texture better than in the microwave.

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To reheat, you can use the microwave or place them back in the oven.

Cook notes

It depends on the size, but usually around 35–40 minutes in the oven at 180°C, or 22–30 minutes in the air fryer at 170°C. You'll know it's ready when it's soft all the way through.

You should be able to easily pierce it with a fork or knife. If it slides in without resistance, it's ready.

No. If you want a bit of texture on the outside, it's better to bake them without foil.

This usually comes down to the size of your potato. Larger ones take longer, so always check the thickest part of the potato before serving.

What you need

• 2 sweet potato cut half long
• 1 cup parmesan shredded
• olive oil spray
• dry rosemary
• salt
• pepper
• 1 tbsp butter smooth like pomade
• 1/8 tsp paprika smoked
• 1/8 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1 garlic clove finely minced (1 tsp / ~3 g)
• 1/8 tsp salt

Method

1. Cut the sweet Potato in half (long). Season on the skin with olive oil spray, salt, pepper and sprinkle with dry rosemary.
2. Make garlic Butter mixing butter creamy and combine with paprika, onion powder, black pepper, garlic and salt.
3. Spread 1/2 tsp Butter on each sweet potato (bottom skin).
4. Take a baking tray with parchment paper and spread 4 sweet potato side mounds of parmesan, not too close from each other.
5. Place the cut side (exposed flesh) half of sweet potato on top of each parmesan mound, skin on top. So the skin side is facing up.
6. This step is on you.