Microwave Sweet Potato

Sweet potatoes are a favorite of mine with their vibrant, creamy, naturally sweet interiors. Whether mashed, roasted, fried, or steamed; whether they hold a starring role as a main dish or add a little something special to a recipe, sweet potatoes are a superstar veggie.

While I love a perfectly baked sweet potato, they certainly take their sweet time to cook through. You can easily end up waiting an hour for a baked sweet potato—fine if you have the time and don’t mind heating up your kitchen, but not great for a quick meal.

Enter the microwave. While the device is often relegated to reheating leftovers, it’s also great for steaming foods like broccoli, rice, and sweet potatoes. In less than 10 minutes flat you’ll have a moist, fluffy, ready-to-eat sweet potato. If you have an extra 10 minutes, pop it in the oven to crisp the skin. You won’t be able to tell the difference between your shortcut microwave sweet potato and a 100% baked one.

What Kind of Sweet Potato is Best?

You can cook any type of sweet potato using this method, but orange varieties with more moisture like Jewel or Garnet are especially good for microwaving. Most importantly, look for sweet potatoes that are smooth and plump, not shriveled, and free of bad spots. Old sweet potatoes will take longer to cook and often turn out dry with lackluster texture and flavor.

A Note on Microwaves

Home microwaves come in a wide range of wattages, typically between 600 and 1,200 watts. As you might imagine, this has a big impact on the cook time. A weak little dorm room model is not going to cook food in the same amount of time in a big, new, shiny model.

I recommend you become acquainted with your microwave’s stats—they’re often displayed on a sticker on the door or interior. Look for the “output wattage,” which will tell you how powerful your model is. My built-in model has an output of 1,000 watts—a common wattage for relatively new, medium to large microwaves.

Tips for the Best Microwave Sweet Potato

While popping a sweet potato in the microwave couldn’t be simpler, there are a few tricks to help ensure it emerges perfectly cooked.

• Adjust the cook time as needed. This recipe is for a medium potato. Smaller or larger will take less or more time, respectively. The cook time can also vary depending on the strength of your microwave.
• Give it a poke. Don’t forget to pierce the sweet potato a few times with a fork before cooking. This will help prevent any blowouts.

• Keep it moist. Don’t dry the sweet potato after rinsing it and either wrap it tightly in a moist paper towel or nuke it in a covered container to keep it from drying out. 
• Crisp the skin. If you’re planning to eat the skin, brush with oil and bake for a few minutes. It’s not quite as quick as just microwaving, but it makes the sweet potato about 5 times better. The skin becomes a little bit crisp rather than tough, leaving the interior moist and fluffy. It’s a dead ringer for a baked sweet potato in just 15 minutes.

How to Enjoy a Microwave Sweet Potato

For a super quick side or main dish, simply split open the microwaved sweet potato, top with salt and pepper and your choice of butter, sour cream, shredded cheese, chives, chopped bacon, chili, or a combo. Go sweet with a light sprinkling of brown sugar and cinnamon.

You can also turn the microwave sweet potato into something else entirely. Let the potato cool, slice into thick slices, and pan-fry for sweet potato home fries. Or dice and use in home fries or toss into a vegetarian chili or curry. To use just the flesh, discard the peel, mash, and use to make mashed sweet potatoes, sweet potato casserole, or a sweet potato soup.