How To Bake Sweet Potatoes in Halves in the Oven

Well, sweet potatoes are almost everyone’s favorite. I have liked them a lot since childhood. I remember that even when I used to go to my grandmother’s place, she always told me to buy sweet potatoes. I added many sweet potato recipes to my beginner recipes when I started learning to cook. 

However, things did not turn out as I had hoped. I thought sweet potatoes would be ready in 30 minutes, but that wasn’t the case; I boiled them for up to 1 hour. 

But then a question popped into my mind: How do I bake sweet potatoes in halves in the oven? 

This was a tricky question, but when I researched it, I found out we could also bake sweet potatoes this way. However, I made mistakes the first time. But if you don’t make mistakes and follow the process, it would take about 30-35 minutes, hardly 40 minutes.

7 Easy Steps To Bake Sweet Potatoes In Halves In The Oven

Step 1: Preparation

First, rinse your 3 sweet potatoes in cool running water

Use a fresh kitchen towel to dry them completely.

Gather your ingredients: fat (avocado, extra virgin olive oil, or coconut oil) and salt.

Get your baking sheet ready

Step 2: Preheat Your Oven

• Set the oven temperature to 200 degrees Celsiu, or 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Before placing the potatoes, it’s good to let the oil heat until it becomes very hot.
• This usually takes about 10-15 minutes

In the meantime, you can prepare the potatoes as follows:

Step 3: Cut the Sweet Potatoes

• Place every sweet potato onto a sturdy chopping board.
• Take the potato in one hand at the palm and let the other part of the potato hover above the ground.
• Help cut each sweet potato in half lengthwise using a sharp knife.
• To ensure that the two halves take the same time to cook, ensure your cuts are equal.

Step 4: Oil and Season

• Place all the sweet potato halves on your baking sheet
• Put 1 spoon of the selected oil (avocado, olive, or melted coconut oil).
• Pour the oil over the potato halves and make sure that they are all coated well
• Lastly, using your clean hands or just a brush spread the oil all over the smooth skin.
• Dribble a little teaspoon of salt over each half of the boiled potato.
• Do not add too much salt, as it might prevent you from making further additions.

Step 5: Position for Baking

• Flipping each potato half from the skin side to the cut side of the flesh side downwards
• Put them evenly on the baking sheet.
• If you find that some oil dripped on the baking sheet, there is no need to pani.c
• It’s essential to have a tiny space between each potato halves so that the heat circulates evenly around them.

Step 6: Put the baking sheet into the warm oven.

• Set your timer for 30 minutes.
• Check at 30 minutes by lightly pricking the skin with a fork.
• If required, you would need to cook for another 5 minutes more.
• You are done when the skins look shriveled and they feel sleek to the touch.

Step 7: Check for Doneness (This is the added step.)

• Insert a knife or fork into the potato’s thickest parts.
• It should glide in very quickly with little or no force exerted.
• If there is any hardness, it should be placed back in the oven for 5 minutes at a time.
• After that, check the bottom (flesh side) using the same fork—it must be golden brown and caramel colored.
• If the fork goes in quickly but the bottom is not caramelized, flip on the broiler for 2-3 minutes to get this done.

How Many Times a Week Should I Eat Sweet Potatoes?

You can consume sweet potatoes several times a week and even daily, depending on your diet. Sweet potatoes are an excellent food because of the fiber component, and they’re also full of vitamins, specifically vitamin A from beta-carotene and potassium. 

However, it is essential to treat it as any other food item and consume it in limited quantity, along with different vegetables and other vital nutrients.

There is no particular cause for avoiding sweet potatoes. It does not refer to consumption in obscene amounts. However, there are a few side effects of consuming large quantities of sweet potatoes, such as carotenemia, whereby your skin turns yellow or orange due to a buildup of beta-carotene. 

While this is not harmful and disappears when beta-carotene intake decreases, it highlights that moderation is essential in any diet.

Sweet potatoes are very healthy and satisfying vegetables suitable for weekly consumption as part of a healthy diet. 

How to Store Oven-Baked Sweet Potatoes?

1. Some people think we can store sweet potatoes without wrapping them, but I would never recommend it. Just wrap them and store them in the refrigerator; you can use them in 3 to 5 days. If you don’t wrap them, you can consume them on the second day, but for 5 days, I recommend wrapping them carefully.
2. If you want to freeze them, the good news is that a freezing option is also available. But here, double safety is necessary; first, you must wrap each sweet potato in aluminum foil and then place them in a freezing bag, removing as much air as possible. I made this mistake once; I didn’t remove the air, and the sweet potatoes got freezer burn.

Best Pair Ideas With Baked Sweet Potatoes For Winters

Baked sweet potatoes are versatile & you can use them in many dishes. Whether you like sweet or savory flavors, these tasty veggies can become a delicious and complete meal!

Good With:

• Pork
• Poultry
• Egg
• Beans
• Herbs & Spices

Baked Sweet Potatoes In Halves In Air Fryer: Alternative Option

An air fryer is an alternative option for this recipe. I tried both, and both are perfect. First, I will share its ingredients, then a step-by-step process. I added this method for your convenience; you can use any of them.

• 4-5 medium sweet potatoes: I select sweet potatoes of similar size and shape to cook them evenly.
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Why I Recommend These Ingredients

• Sweet potatoes are the hero—better make sure they are roughly the same size so that they cook evenly.
• Due to this, avocado oil is suitable for cooking at high temperatures because it has a high smoke point.
• Cinnamon complements the potato’s sweet taste and flavor on its own.
• Dark brown sugar adds a tasty sear to the final preparation.
• Salt and pepper make the food palatable to the sweetness that comes with the cooking.

Instructions

First, prepare the sweet potatoes by slicing them in half vertically down their length. This method helps the flesh of the meats to caramelize nicely.

• Prepare the potatoes
• Rub or mist with avocado oil
• Season with salt and pepper
• Put a fork through the skin. (Lay the skin side up on a sheet of parchment on the air fryer tray with some space between them.)
• Air fry at 425°F for 30 minutes or till soft.
• After the potatoes are boiling, mix cinnamon and brown sugar in a separate bowl.
• This will make the cinnamon-sugar mixture crisp again, and then, before you serve the potatoes, you should sprinkle this mixture on top.

My Recommendations For This Method

1. To get the best results in the air fryer, distribute the potatoes in between.
2. Do not forget to prick the skin of the potatoes—it helps prevent the potatoes from exploding.
3. For extra indulgence, place a knob of butter before putting in the cinnamon/sugar mixture.
4. Use a fork to test tenderness after the 25 minutes have been reached
5. Allow it to stand for 2-3 minutes before you have to touch it.

Final Words

Even baking the sweet potatoes is easy and is best done in halves because it brings out the food’s natural sweetness. Setting the right temperature and time will give you the right tenderness and caramelized sweetness. Thus, baked sweet potatoes with different toppings and other meals may be a good and juicy addition to people’s diets.