For Super Crispy Sweet Potatoes, Never Skip This Step

There are numerous ways to cook sweet potatoes — you can boil them, steam them, or bake them into a marshmallow-topped casserole. If you want them crispy, though, you'll probably be frying or roasting them. Even then, they might not be as crisp as you'd like if you don't do the necessary prep. According to Nisha Vora, vegan cookbook author and recipe developer, your journey to better sweet potato fries or roasted sweet potato chunks starts with a soak. "Soaking is ... helpful for crisping up sweet potatoes, like when making fries or air-frying," Vora told The Takeout. "Soaking them in cold water for 30 minutes helps remove excess starch, which gives you crispier edges."

This only applies to sweet potatoes that have been cut into pieces, though. "For roasting whole," Vora says. "Soaking is not necessary." That's because it won't do an unpeeled potato much good. That skin is pretty water-tight. (That's why you need to poke a few holes before cooking it in the microwave. Otherwise, trapped moisture inside might cause the potato to explode.) If the peel does such a good job of keeping water inside a potato, it's also not going to let much of it penetrate from the outside.

Instead, you can get fairly crispy skins on whole roasted sweet potatoes if you rub them with oil before cooking. Another way to achieve super-crispy potatoes involves baking them twice. First, cook whole, unpeeled sweet potatoes until they're soft. Tear them into pieces and pour some oil over them, then crank the oven all the way up and bake the potato pieces until the skins are brown and crunchy.

If you'd rather your sweet potatoes be tender than crispy, Vora's got you covered. "I like to slow roast them at a relatively low temperature," she told us. She starts by pricking them all over to let the steam escape (just like you do when microwaving), then bakes them for an hour at temperatures ranging from 325 to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. When the hour is up, she turns off the oven, cracks the door open, and lets the potatoes sit in the residual heat for another 45 minutes. "The slow heat breaks down the fibers and caramelizes the natural sugars, giving you a melt-in-your-mouth texture and the most incredible flavor," she explained.

Don't have two hours to wait? Vora has a shortcut method. "If you want tender sweet potatoes but don't have time to slow roast them and want minimal prep, try slicing them in half lengthwise." Rub the cut potatoes with olive oil, then season them with salt and pepper. Bake them at a higher temperature (425 degrees Fahrenheit) for just 30 minutes and they should be good to go.

You can also achieve super-tender sweet potatoes by steaming them. As per Vora, "It preserves their natural moisture and sweetness without drying them out, which can happen at higher oven temperatures if you don't pay close attention." Flavorful, melting sweet potatoes can also be yours if you use a hybrid method. Bake sweet potato chunks until they're soft, then cover them with broth and cook until they've absorbed all of the liquid.