You’re probably no stranger to sweet potatoes. With Thanksgiving having just passed and with Christmas around the corner, perhaps you enjoyed this sweet starch roasted, candied, or even in a pie. But TikTok’s newest food trend involves eating a baked sweet potato whole. That’s right — an entire sweet potato, including the skin. And you can’t forget stuffing it with cheese as you go. We have TikTok creator Courtney Cook to thank.
What is Courtney Cook’s cheese-stuffed sweet potato?
It all began when Cook posted a video, now at over seven million views, as a part of her “Teacher Lunch” series. The TikTok starts with Cook sitting in front of a warm unpeeled sweet potato and two spring onions. She then removes the top of the sweet potato and breaks off pieces of butterkase cheese to shove into the potato. “It’s like a sandwich,” she said.
According to Cook, by the time she eats enough of the potato, the cheese inside is softened. She also said it’s important to “keep sticking in cheese as you go.” On top of that, Cook also scoops spoonfuls of cottage cheese onto her plate, which she eats by the bite. Rounding out her sides are the spring onions and a few pickled onions from a jar.
How did people react?
At first, viewers seemed understandably baffled. One user commented, “She grew up in an ingredient household fur sure.” Another wrote, “Everyone’s talking about how she’s eating the sweet potato but have we ever seen someone eat a spring onion like that???”
But others were intrigued. Fellow TikTok creator @messymyles commented, “Mind you I bought a sweet potato and some cheese because of you.” He wasn’t the only one.
The day after seeing Cook’s video, creator @natti_lynn purchased a sweet potato from Trader Joe’s to try the recipe for herself. She used cheddar and gruyere cheese while also adding chunks of butter to her sweet potato. Her reaction? “I’m gonna eat this every day.”
Now, tons of people have put their own twists on Cook’s intriguing recipe, with most of them substituting the butterkase cheese. User @audreyeatzz ate her sweet potato with asiago and cheddar cheese. She also topped hers with pickled red onions and jalapenos.
Beyond the viral recipe, people are praising Cook’s broad palate, from eating the sweet potato skin to cottage cheese by the spoonful. One user commented, “as a picky eater i love seeing non picky eaters like yes girl u eat that vegetable i can’t even spell!! makes me feel fulfilled just watching.”
How can I make my own cheese-stuffed sweet potato?
All you need is a sweet potato and cheese of your choice. Cook said you can use either an oven or air fryer. She bakes her sweet potato at 300 degrees for one hour and 20 minutes. The key step comes near the end: leave the sweet potato in the oven or air fryer to cool for one to two hours. Cook said this “makes it taste like sweet potato pie.”
From there, stuffing in cheese is simple, and obviously eat the sweet potato handheld. Cook recommends adding turkey, chicken, or any protein to round out the sandwich look. Who knows, the next viral sweet potato filling could be in your kitchen.