This oven-baked sweet potato recipe will change how you bake sweet potatoes forever. With just sweet potatoes, salt, and a chef-tested technique, you'll get impossibly fluffy insides and a crisp, savory skin - no oil, no foil. A delicious side dish or main. Video.
Every winter, the same thing happens. I crave roots. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again, they feel grounding. Maybe it’s all the minerals, or that they come from the earth, but my body just craves them. And baked this way, my husband craves them too! They are truly a revelation. Trust me.
Now that the holidays are over, all I want is healthy comfort food, without the fuss. Even as a chef, I crave the simplest meals. For the past week, these baked sweet potatoes with broiled miso salmon or these braised lentils have been on steady rotation - warm, nourishing, and satisfying.
It's not the ingredients that make this recipe remarkable - it's the salt-baking technique, which transforms an ordinary sweet potato into something magical. And yes, you’ll want to eat the skins – full of fiber, minerals, and vitamins.
A Guide to Perfect Oven-Baked Sweet Potatoes
This salt-baking technique works beautifully with any variety of sweet potato or yam - Jewel, Red Garnet, Covington, purple sweet potatoes, and Japanese sweet potatoes (my personal favorite). No matter the type, opt for similarly sized ones for even baking.
Baked sweet potatoes may seem basic, but they're surprisingly easy to get wrong. Soggy skins, undercooked centers, or overly steamed flesh are all too common. Here, I'm sharing my tried-and-true chef method for making the very best baked sweet potato, along with a few pro tips to ensure perfect results every time. It's not a new recipe. It's a shift in mindset. And once you bake sweet potatoes this way, there's no going back.
If you're just beginning your cooking journey, you may also enjoy our Cooking Basics Category, where we break down foundational techniques that make everyday meals better.
Baked Sweet Potato Recipe Tips
- Skip the oil. Oil will make the sweet potato skins soggy! Wash with water, rub with salt. The water helps the salt stick.
- Use good-quality salt. Fine-ground Celtic sea salt, Himalayan pink salt, or a mineral-rich salt like Baha Gold.
- Don’t use foil. Foiling a sweet potato will steam it rather than roast it, and ruin the crispy skin. We also like to limit our exposure to aluminum, which can accumulate in the body over time.
- Promote good air flow. Use a wire rack over a baking sheet or place directly on the oven rack (with a baking sheet on the next rack below).
- How long to bake? Bake until the internal temperature reaches 205°F-212°F for a perfect, fluffy baked sweet potato. No thermometer? A knife or skewer will slide in with zero resistance, or the potato gently collapses, or weeps caramelized sugars, or the skin looks slightly wrinkled or blistered.
- Open immediately. Cut the sweet potato open within 5 minutes of removing it from the oven, releasing the steam. This prevents wet, soggy sweet potatoes. You can store them in the fridge after you slit them open.
- Best Baking Temperature. Bake medium sweet potatoes at 425°F. You can use convection, or not.
- For even baking, try to choose sweet potatoes that are roughly the same size and shape. This ensures they cook evenly and achieve that perfect fluffy interior. Baking extra-large sweet potatoes? A good rule of thumb is if they weigh over a pound, bake at 400°F, a little lower and slower.
- In a great big hurry? Split in half lengthwise, skin side down, on a parchment-lined sheet pan.
What you’ll need
- Sweet potatoes: Use any variety of sweet potato, but make sure they are similar in size for even baking. Look for potatoes with minimal to no blemishes.
- Salt: Use a fine sea salt like fine-ground Celtic sea salt, Himalayan pink salt, or a mineral-rich salt like Baha Gold.
- A note on salt: Not all salts are created equal. Some contain a broader spectrum of minerals beyond sodium, which can add subtle flavor and depth. Because salt is something you use every day, it's worth buying the best quality you can afford. Standard table salt is typically high in sodium and low in other naturally occurring minerals.
How to Make Salt-Baked Sweet Potatoes
1. Prep the potatoes. Arrange an oven rack directly in the middle. Preheat the oven to 425°F (small to medium potatoes). If each potato is over a pound, preheat to 400°F (cooking time will increase). Rinse the sweet potatoes and scrub them clean. There is no need to dry them; the damp skin will actually help the salt stick!
2. Season the potatoes with salt. As soon as the potatoes have been rinsed, coat them generously on all sides with salt. You do not need oil! Oil will turn the skin soggy, and the water will keep the salt intact.
3. Place the sweet potatoes on a wire rack and prick. Place the seasoned sweet potatoes on a wire rack on top of a rimmed baking sheet. You can also place the potatoes directly on the oven rack, but make sure to place a sheet pan on the rack below to catch juices. Use a fork to prick the top of each potato 2-3 times, about a 1/2-inch deep.
4. Bake. Place the pan on the middle rack and bake until the internal temperature reaches 205°F-212°F, about 40-60 minutes for medium potatoes.
5. Slice open the baked sweet potatoes. Within 5 minutes of removing the potatoes from the oven, slice the tops open with a sharp paring knife to release steam. Use both hands, one on each end, to squeeze the potatoes open (use a kitchen towel, as they are hot hot hot!). Fluff with a fork and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and chili flakes.
6. Serve. Serve the baked sweet potatoes with desired toppings!
What temperature is best for baking sweet potatoes?
This depends on the size of your potato. Medium potatoes (under 16 ounces) will bake best at 425°F. Large potatoes (over 16 ounces) should bake at 400°F. If your potatoes are small (under 8 ounces), bake at 450°F. Keep in mind, larger potatoes will cook low and slow, and smaller potatoes will take less time.
Why We Don’t Use Foil
Aluminum foil can build up in the body over time, so we try to limit our exposure to aluminum directly on our food. Wrapping the potatoes also traps moisture, causing them to steam and resulting in a gummy texture and soggy skin.
Serving Baked Sweet Potatoes
Loaded up with toppings, baked sweet potatoes can easily be a meal all on their own! This is especially true when they are stuffed with recipes like bean chili, lentil curry, tofu scramble (or scrambled eggs), sauteed greens, or tofu sofritas (or chorizo or vegan chorizo). You can also serve a simple baked sweet potato as a side dish with fish, roast chicken, pork, or beef.
Baked Sweet Potato Toppings
The options are truly endless when it comes to toppings for a baked sweet potato! Here are some of our favorites:
- Butter, olive oil, or ghee
- Sea salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes
- Green onions or other herbs
- Chili crisp or salsa macha
- Sour cream or Greek yogurt
- Cheddar cheese, goat cheese, or feta
- Guacamole and salsa
- Black bean salsa
- Mole black beans and pickled onions
- Tahini yogurt sauce
- Bacon bits or coconut bacon
- Vegan queso and broccoli
- Greek relish
- Butter, brown sugar or maple syrup, and maple pecans
How to Store Oven Baked Sweet Potatoes
Let the baked potato cool completely before storing it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in a 350°F oven on a wire rack, uncovered, until internal temp is 145°F (or microwave).
You can freeze baked sweet potatoes, too! Wrap them individually and store in the freezer for up to 6 months. Let them thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
How to Make a Baked Potato Bar for a Crowd
Back in my catering days, clients often requested a Baked Potato Bar loaded with all the fixings. It’s fun to present a mixture of regular baked potatoes and baked sweet potatoes!
Fun fact: most home ovens can fit up to 50 medium-sized potatoes directly on two oven racks. However, it is much easier to make a large batch of baked sweet potatoes using parchment-lined sheet pans.
It’s also important to note that the fuller the oven, the longer the cooking time. Plan on extra baking time, and remember that the top rack will cook faster, so it is a good idea to rotate the pans halfway through. Prep the potatoes and allow 1 1/2 hours of baking time until they reach an internal temperature of 205°F-212°F.
FAQs
Most medium-sized sweet potatoes require 40-60 minutes of baking time at 425°F. When ready, their internal temp should be 205°F-212°F.
No. While we do this in our best baked potato recipe, with sweet potatoes, it’s best to skip the oil rub to avoid a soggy skin texture.
If you’re in a hurry, split the sweet potatoes in half and place them face down on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until tender.
Enjoy this Baked Sweet Potato recipe! Let us know your favorite toppings in the comments. If you like this recipe, be sure to make our Best Baked Potato Recipe, too!
More Favorite Sweet Potato Recipes
Watch How to Bake Sweet Potatoes
After you try this Baked Sweet Potato recipe, let us know how it turns out in the comments below. Your review will help other readers, too! Sign up here to join our community and receive our latest recipes and weekly newsletter! xoxo Sylvia
Salt-Baked Sweet Potatoes: The Ultimate Recipe
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 45
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 sweet potatoes 1x
- Category: side dish, cooking basics, healthy dinner,
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This salt-baked sweet potato recipe will change how you bake sweet potatoes forever. With just sweet potatoes, salt, and a chef-tested technique, you'll get impossibly fluffy insides and a crisp, crave-worthy skin - no oil, no foil.
Ingredients
- 4 sweet potatoes: (6–12 ounces), any variety; choose similar-sized ones for even baking with few blemishes.
- Fine sea salt: fine-ground Celtic sea salt, Himalayan pink salt, or a mineral-rich salt like Baha Gold.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F.
- Wash and scrub sweet potatoes, leaving them wet.
- Rub with salt. While still wet (with water), liberally coat sweet potatoes on all sides with the salt. The water will help it stick. Do not use oil.
- Place them on the wire cooling rack, over a sheet pan. Prick once with a fork on the top.
- Bake on the middle rack until the sweet potatoes are tender in the middle, and the internal temperature reaches 205F to 212F. Timing will depend on the size of the sweet potatoes: medium sweet potatoes take 40-60 minutes.
- Slit the top ovpen with a knife within 5 mins of removing from oven- fluff the flesh with a fork.
- Serve with desired toppings.
Notes
Optional toppings: butter olive oil, or ghee, salt, pepper, chili flakes, chili crisp, green onion, or even a tiny splash of maple syrup.
No wire rack? Bake directly on the oven rack with a sheet pan on the rack below.
Storage and meal prep: slit the top, let cool, and store sweet potatoes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in a 350F oven until internal temp reaches 145F, or microwave.
Freeze individually wrapped for up to 6 months, letting them thaw overnight in the fridge.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 medium sweet potato (6-8 ounces)
- Calories: 141
- Sugar: 10.2 g
- Sodium: 521.4 mg
- Fat: 0.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 32.5 g
- Fiber: 5.2 g
- Protein: 3.2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
