How Long To Bake Sweet Potatoes For Perfect Results Every Time

Even giving sweet potatoes an extra hit of flavor with baking staples and complementary condiments won't save a spud that's underdone; or overdone, for that matter. Nailing that sweet spot where the veg is tender without becoming mushy can be tricky, so The Takeout recently sought the advice of not one but two experts to determine how much cooking time is required for a perfectly baked sweet potato.

Before setting them in the oven, Erin Clarke, the bestselling cookbook author behind Well Plated, noted that some prep work is necessary for her preferred method. "Start by scrubbing the sweet potatoes, pat them dry, then poke them a few times with a fork so steam can escape," she said. After seasoning them with olive oil and salt, the timing is fairly straightforward. "I bake them at 425 degrees Fahrenheit, which is higher than many recipes suggest, but the higher heat gives you more sweetness and tenderness in less time. At that temperature, a medium sweet potato takes about 45 to 50 minutes."

Jessica Rice, senior test kitchen editor for Budget Bytes, prefers to shorten that cooking time by utilizing the help of everyone's favorite sous chef. "Sometimes I like to par-cook them in the microwave first. I prick the sweet potato all over with a fork, then microwave them on high for 3 to 5 minutes," she said. "Then, I let it finish baking in the oven. This cuts the baking time roughly in half! Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, then bake for 25 minutes after my microwaving trick."

Just as bigger isn't always better when buying lobster, massive sweet potatoes aren't ideal if you're hoping for the fastest cook. Rice said, "If you're putting the baked potatoes straight in the oven, start a timer for 45 minutes, but be ready to go over an hour if needed for bigger, thicker sweet potatoes." Clarke backed up that assessment, saying, "A slender sweet potato might be perfectly done at 40 minutes while a thick, dense one could need a full hour or more."

Rice offered us another hack for reducing the time it takes to bake a chunky tuber. "One of my other favorite tricks is to prick a sweet potato with a fork, rub it with a little oil, salt, and pepper, cut it in half, and cook it cut side down on a lined baking sheet," she said. Simply tossing them in the oven whole is perfectly fine — just understand that you'll want to watch the oven carefully after roughly 40 minutes have passed.

If you commit the common sweet potato mistake of undercooking it, you'll know right away after a quick check with a fork. "An undercooked sweet potato will feel firm in the center and the fork will meet resistance," Clarke said. An overdone spud will likewise be easy to notice. "An overcooked one will be very soft all the way through, but the flesh can get a little stringy, and the skin might start to collapse." The bright side to overcooking it is that you can still salvage it as a mash, but if it's hard in the middle, back in the oven it goes.