Recipe

Need Some More Vitamin A? Here's How to Make the Best Baked Sweet Potatoes of Your Life

By Tara Bitran at University of Southern California

Regular baked potatoes are such old news. Sure, they're yummy, especially if you have some crispy skin on the outside with some salt, but the better form of the harvest vegetable? Baked sweet potatoes.

Hear me out. I've been making these since I moved into my first apartment sophomore year. They're super easy, delicious, and extremely healthy for you. Native to Central and South America and having been consumed since prehistoric times over 10,000 years ago (not to mention rising in popularity internationally when Columbus brought them over to Europe after sailing the ocean blue in 1492), sweet potatoes have been lauded in gastronomic circles for centuries.

As far as health benefits are concerned, sweet potatoes have you covered. They are one of the best sources of vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene), which improves vision and the functions of the immune system, reproduction, and organs like the lungs, heart, and kidneys. They are also high in vitamin B6 (heart attack prevention), vitamin C (let's get rid of those cold and flu buggers), vitamin D (want to build stronger bones?), magnesium (the anti-stress and relaxation mineral), potassium (an electrolyte also found in bananas and dates that helps regulate heartbeat and nerve signals), AND does not cause blood sugar spikes. In essence, sweet potatoes are the ultimate superfood. Here's how to bake them to perfection.

How to Make the BEST Baked Sweet Potatoes

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 40 mins
Servings: 4

Ingredients

4 sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1 cinnamon shaker

Tara Bitran

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 450° Fahrenheit.

Tara Bitran

Step 2

Spread and fold tinfoil over 1 sheet pan.

Tara Bitran

Step 3

Wash each sweet potato in the sink.

Tara Bitran

Step 4

Dry each sweet potato completely with a paper towel.

Tara Bitran

Step 5

Stab each sweet potato all over with a fork.

Tara Bitran

Step 6

Place each sweet potato on the sheet pan. Repeat three more times. Side note: your oven should be finished preheating to 450° Fahrenheit by the time you're done prepping.

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Step 7

Grab oven mitts and put your sheet pan into the oven for 45 minutes.

Tara Bitran

Step 8

45 minutes later, grab your mitts again and flip each sweet potato over to the opposite side.

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Step 9

Take them out after another 45 minutes and place the pan on your stove.

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Step 10

Wrap three of the potatoes in tinfoil to eat throughout the week and place them in the refrigerator.

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Step 11

Take one and slice it in half on a plate.

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Step 12

Grab as much peanut butter as your heart desires (I suggested 2 tablespoons, but I just use a Jif To Go container and that 100% suffices).

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Step 13

Use a knife to spread the peanut butter over both halves of the sweet potato. (Alternatively I sprinkle cinnamon on top of both halves, but either option is delicious). Enjoy!

Tara Bitran