Microwave sweet potato is a healthy and easy side dish that you can make in just a few simple steps. Using this foolproof method, you'll make delicious and fluffy sweet potatoes in less time and with no mess to clean up. Sprinkle it with a little salt or a pat of butter and you'll have the perfect side dish!
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💭 Why you'll love this recipe
- Perfect for a quick meal. Cooking sweet potatoes in the microwave has a shorter cook time, needs less effort, and will leave no mess to clean up making it perfect for quick everyday meals.
- Foolproof method. While this cooking method is the fastest way to cook sweet potatoes, it's also a foolproof method that will result in fluffy and delicious sweet potatoes every time.
- Healthy side dish. Sweet potatoes are considered a superfood that's full of nutrients such as fiber, antioxidants, Vitamins A, B, and C. Some of the health benefits of eating sweet potatoes are reduced risks of heart disease and blood pressure.
Want more easy microwave recipes? Check out microwave asparagus, microwave corn on the cob, microwave baked potatoes, or microwave broccoli. Or, if you want a savory dish, check out this savory sweet potato casserole.
📋 Ingredients and notes
To make microwave sweet potatoes, you'll need one sweet potato, salt, and black pepper. You can also add butter to make a creamier sweet potato.
Notes and variations
- Whole sweet potatoes. Use any medium sweet potato with a smooth and firm skin for this recipe.
- Butter. You can use either unsalted or salted butter for this recipe. You can also use margarine as a dairy-free option.
- Seasonings and herbs. To spice up your microwaved sweet potato, you can add garlic powder, paprika, and cumin for a savory flavor. You can also go the sweet way and add butter, cinnamon, maple syrup, and brown sugar.
- Sweet potato toppings. Level up your sweet potatoes by adding delicious toppings like sour cream, black beans, feta cheese, extra virgin olive oil, or even your favorite nut butter.
📖 How to make microwave sweet potatoes
Wash the sweet potato and poke several holes in it with a fork.
Wrap the potato in a damp paper towel.
Place it on a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high for 10 minutes, or until the sweet potato is tender and can be easily pierced with a fork.
Carefully remove the plate from the microwave, cut open the sweet potato and add butter to the center.
Season the cooked sweet potato with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve and enjoy!
👩🏽🍳 Tips for the best microwave sweet potatoes
To make microwave sweet potatoes the perfect way, make sure to follow these expert tips!
- Size of your sweet potato. The minutes of cooking time will ultimately depend on the size of your sweet potato. The perfect size would be a medium sweet potato, but if you are using a large or small sweet potato, you'll need to adjust and observe the cooking time accordingly.
- Microwave's wattage. The cooking time will also depend on the wattage of your microwave. Make sure to use a high power level when cooking the sweet potato. After the 5-minute mark, check the sweet potato in 30-second increments to avoid overcooking.
- Clean the spuds of the sweet potato thoroughly with a brush under cold running water. You don't want any additional dirt!
- Flip over the sweet potato halfway through cooking to ensure that it will be evenly cooked.
- Prick the sweet potatoes with a fork on both sides to check for doneness. If the sweet potato is tender enough that the fork goes through easily on both sides, then it means that it's cooked all the way through.
- Don't forget to poke holes. Poking holes can prevent your sweet potato from exploding and will also help cook it all the way through.
👩🏽🍳 Troubleshooting FAQs
The best way would be to cook one sweet potato at a time in the microwave for even cooking, but you can cook up to two sweet potatoes. Make sure to adjust the cooking time for both sweet potatoes to cook evenly and thoroughly.
Sweet potatoes should be cooked for 5-10 minutes in the microwave. The cooking time depends on the size of the sweet potato and the wattage of the microwave. To check if your sweet potato is cooked, pierce both sides with a fork. If the sweet potato is soft and tender enough, then your sweet potato is fully cooked.
It's possible to overcook sweet potatoes. When you cook them too long in the microwave, they can become dry and mushy. You can avoid this by rotating the sweet potato halfway through cooking and checking the microwave in 30-second increments.
🍴 Serve and store microwave sweet potatoes
Serve microwave sweet potatoes while hot. These sweet potatoes make for an easy and healthy meal and they are a great side dish, with any main course!
Store: To store leftover sweet potatoes, transfer them to an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. When reheating, heat it in the microwave for 1 minute or until it is heated through.
Freeze: To freeze, let the sweet potato cool completely before wrapping it in an aluminum foil plastic wrap. Put the wrapped sweet potato in a freezer bag before keeping it in the freezer. You can freeze it for up to 6 months.
More Easy Microwave Recipes
For more easy and delicious microwave recipes, try out our favorite recipes!
- Microwave asparagus
- Microwave baked potato
- Microwave broccoli
- Microwave corn on the cob
- Microwave rice
- Microwave mug cake
- Microwave mashed potatoes
📖 Recipe
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📖 Recipe
Microwave Sweet Potato
Equipment
- Microwave
Ingredients
- 1 sweet potato
- 1 tablespoon butter, optional
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Wash the sweet potato and poke several holes in it with a fork.
- Wrap the potato in a damp paper towel.
- Place it on a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high for 10 minutes, or until the sweet potato is tender and can be easily pierced with a fork.
- Carefully remove the plate from the microwave, cut open the sweet potato and add the butter to the center.
- Season the sweet potato with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve and enjoy!
I can't believe I never made sweet potato in the microwave before! Now I'm obsessed. I've been loving this as a quick afternoon snack. My favorite way to eat it is with a butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. It really makes it feel like fall.
Mind blown by how easy this is. I needed a quick side to go with tonight's dinner and made this. It was perfectly cooked.
This is a quick, easy, and delicious snack. Very filling and satisfying.
I've been into making loaded sweet potatoes but hate waiting an hour for my sweet potato to cook. The microwave is a lifesaver for a quick dinner. The sweet potato was so good too, honestly I don't know if I'd go back to roasting it bc this was so convenient.
First time to cook sweet potato in the microwave. This was quick and easy to make and healthy too! I served mine with a big chunk of butter on top, a little blackpepper and some parsely on top. Yum! thanks for sharing!