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How to Make a Baked Sweet Potato in the Microwave

in Desserts, Recipes, Sides, Snacks

A tutorial on how to “bake” a sweet potato in the microwave in under seven minutes.

If you have not already figured it out, I am a big-time sweet potato lover.  I love sweet potato fries.  I love sweet potato in soups.  I love baked stuffed sweet potatoes for dinner and baked sweet potatoes topped with almond butter for dessert.  Clearly, I do not have a problem reaching my necessary vitamin A intake.

With this sweet potato obsession, you can only imagine how frequently I am needing to bake up batches of sweet potatoes.  Who am I kidding?  I never bake up batches of sweet potatoes.  In fact, I do not bake my sweet potatoes at all.  I am far too impatient to wait 45 minutes to an hour when a sweet potato craving hits.  Instead, I “bake” my sweet potatoes in the microwave.

I have had quite a few people ask me over the past year how to turn this:

How to Make a Baked Sweet Potato in the Microwave | cleaneatingveggiegirl.cominto a baked sweet potato in under seven minutes.

Lucky for you, I have decided to feature the sweet potato in my next “How To” post.  Following is a step-by-step pictorial on how to “bake” a sweet potato in the microwave when you just do not feel like actually baking it.

How to Make a Baked Sweet Potato in the Microwave | cleaneatingveggiegirl.comHow to “Bake” a Sweet Potato in the Microwave

Step 1

How to Make a Baked Sweet Potato in the Microwave | cleaneatingveggiegirl.comBegin by cleaning the sweet potato under running water using a produce scrubbing brush.  This is especially important if you also eat the skin of the potato like I do.

How to Make a Baked Sweet Potato in the Microwave | cleaneatingveggiegirl.comYour potato will look like this post-washing.

Step 2

How to Make a Baked Sweet Potato in the Microwave | cleaneatingveggiegirl.comPierce the potato with a fork about six to eight times.  This will prevent the potato from exploding in the microwave.  Trust me, you do not want to skip this step!

Step 3

How to Make a Baked Sweet Potato in the Microwave | cleaneatingveggiegirl.comWet a full-sized sheet of a paper towel with cold water.  Gently ring out any excess water.  Carefully unfold the paper towel and place it onto a microwave-safe plate.  Place the sweet potato onto the paper towel.

Step 4

How to Make a Baked Sweet Potato in the Microwave | cleaneatingveggiegirl.comLoosely fold over both sides of the paper towel to cover the sweet potato.  Covering the sweet potato with the damp paper towel will provide a “steaming” effect when microwaving the potato.

Step 5

How to Make a Baked Sweet Potato in the Microwave | cleaneatingveggiegirl.comMicrowave the potato on high for approximately six minutes, flipping once halfway through.  For a medium potato, I normally microwave it for three minutes, flip, and microwave an additional two and a half to three minutes.  Smaller potatoes will take less time.  Larger potatoes will take more time.  Once you experiment a bit, you will find the “right” amount of time for your potatoes.

Step 6

How to Make a Baked Sweet Potato in the Microwave | cleaneatingveggiegirl.comAfter cooking, unwrap the potato and let it cool for several minutes.

Step 7

How to Make a Baked Sweet Potato in the Microwave | cleaneatingveggiegirl.comUse a knife to cut the potato in half.

Step 8

How to Make a Baked Sweet Potato in the Microwave | cleaneatingveggiegirl.comAdmire how pretty your potato looks and then top it with desired toppings.  Some of my favorites include: maple or vanilla almond butter, Melt butter, yellow mustard, salsa, avocado, and dippy eggs- don’t worry, not all at once.  The topping choices are pretty much endless.

Easy peasy, right?

Whether you are making dinner with sweet potatoes, baking with sweet potatoes, eating sweet potatoes as a side, or eating sweet potatoes for dessert, save yourself a whole ‘lotta time and nuke them in the microwave.  This is the lazy girl’s way of cooking!

Side note: This same method works just as well with regular russet potatoes, too!

Other Food How To’s:

Avocado
Cantaloupe

What is your favorite way to eat sweet potatoes?

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