Do you know Sweet potatoes are considered a super food !! I didn't know that until couple years back. These days we eat them so regularly that now I have to think about the unhealthy effects of overeating sweet potatoes! All kidding aside, the best part of this air fryer baked sweet potato recipe is we don't even have to convince my kids that they are healthy. My 7 year old calls these dessert for breakfast 😉.
Feel free to use the 'Jump' button at the top of the page or below table of contents to jump to any section you want. Recipe card has all the information you want to make the recipe perfectly. However if you would like to get more detailed info & FAQs then please go through the entire post.
Health benefits of Sweet Potato
Sweet potatoes are a wonderful addition to a healthy diet. They are a power house of nutrients in spite of being a starchy vegetable. Here are some of the main benefits
- Excellent source of Vitamin A and Vitamin C
- 400% of your recommended daily intake of vitamin A.
- Half of your daily vitamin C needs
- Anti oxidant powerhouses
- Anti inflammatory
- Deep-orange sweet potatoes contain beta-carotene, an antioxidant thought to fend off illness. This might include certain cancers as well as eye disease.
- Scientists found these colorful spuds have a unique protein called a protease inhibitor. When tested against cancer cells, it appeared to halt some growth.
- Comparatively low glycemic index than potatoes and high fiber helps in avoiding blood sugar spikes.
- Good source of many vitamins and minerals like potassium and manganese.
Check out this article from web md which gives a more detailed list of sweet potato health benefits.
If you don't eat sweet potatoes regularly, this list should convince you to start including them in your regular diet.
Why you will love these
Making air fryer baked sweet potato will be the easiest recipe you will ever make for such a delicious treat.
- Super easy
- No need to baby sit except for flipping halfway
- No need to heat up your entire living area by using oven
- Super fluffy and perfectly sweet
I make both Instant pot and air fryer whole sweet potatoes but for different purposes.
I make the air fryer sweet potato when we want to enjoy it as it is with or without toppings as the air frying gives the perfectly sweet and right textured sweet potatoes to eat directly.
However when we want to use the sweet potatoes in some other recipes like casseroles or smoothies or baking goods then I use the instant pot sweet potatoes as they are completely no baby sit and little faster than this.
But to enjoy as it is, air fryer baked whole sweet potato wins the race. I tested and compared both methods ( Instant pot and air fryer) several times and to me there is a clear difference in the flavor even though both are really good. Instant pot gives mildly sweet flavor and air frying method gives that intensified flavor that we love and perfect creamy texture without moisture.
Check out some of my other air fryer recipes. Air fryer is our new cool toy 😊. We are trying to make everything in there these days.
- Candied Cashews and Pecans ( Oven & Air fryer )
- Pita Bread Pizza (Stove top, Air Fry & Bake in 3 different flavors) | 10 Minute Healthy Pita Pizza recipe
- Air fryer Medhu Vada Bites | Healthy Indian snack recipe for kids
How to make
Let's see how to cook sweet potatoes in air fryer. All you have to do is
- scrub and dry
- poke
- oil
- Air fry
Choose 3 or 4 sweet potatoes( according to your air fryer capacity) which are evenly shaped and not exceeding 2 or 3 inch in width. Evenly shaped means all of the sweet potatoes are roughly the same width from top to bottom as far as possible, like in below picture.
In the below picture, 3 of the ones on the right are roughly the same size and one on the left is little wider. So I chose to leave out the wider one for this time. This helps the even baking of sweet potatoes in the same time. You can always choose to cook them together and cook the wider one a little more in the end than the others.
Now scrub them really well under running water either using a vegetable brush or your hands. They grow in dirt so get rid of all that dirt.
Dry them thoroughly using a kitchen towel to make sure they bake and not steam.
Now poke few holes in them randomly using a fork or knife.
Apply oil using a brush or your hands all over the sweet potato skin.
Now put them inside the air fryer without touching each other and leaving enough space between them for air circulation.
Bake them at 350ºF ( for thinner sweet potatoes under 2 inch width) for 40 to 45 mins or until done. For crispier skins or wider sweet potatoes bake at 390ºF for 40 to 45 mins or until done. Flip them halfway through to ensure even baking.
How to serve these Air fryer sweet potatoes
- As a side dish or breakfast or a snack
- Topped with your favorite toppings ( Topping ideas given below)
- Make smoothies or mashed sweet potato recipes from left overs
Topping ideas
- Butter cubes
- Butter & Cinnamon sugar (Instructions on how to make cinnamon sugar given in the recipe card)
- Coconut raisin & nut topping ( Instruction in the recipe card)
- Sour cream and chives
- Maple syrup ( just a drizzle)
- Just plain without toppings !! ( Yes, just plain is surprisingly good too)
Storing & Reheating
Store the leftovers in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 to 5 days. To heat up, you can either heat up in the microwave or air fryer.
How to make this in Oven
This can be easily made in oven if you don't own an air fryer. Just prepare the sweet potatoes in the same way by cleaning, drying, poking and applying oil and then bake at 425ºF in a pre heated oven on a foil lined baking sheet for 45 to 50 mins or until done. Check the doneness by poking with a knife, the knife should go inside very smoothly when poked.
Recipe
Air fryer baked sweet potato
Ingredients
- 3 Sweet potatoes
- oil to brush on the sweet potatoes
Optional toppings
- butter cut into cubes
- cinnamon sugar see instructions below on how to make it
- ½ tablespoon Cinnamon powder
- 2 tablespoons Granulated sugar
- Coconut raisin & nut topping see instructions below on how to make it
- ½ tablespoon butter or ghee
- 1 teaspoon broken cashew nuts unsalted
- 1 teaspoon sliced almonds
- 1 teaspoon raisins
- 2 teaspoons dry coconut powder or fresh grated coconut
Instructions
- Wash the sweet potatoes thoroughly by scrubbing them under running water until all the dirt is gone.
- Dry them using a cloth or paper napkins thoroughly.
- Poke few holes in them using a fork or knife
- Place them in the air fryer basket leaving enough space between them for air circulation
- Bake them at 350ºF for 40 to 45 mins or until done. Flip them halfway through at 20 min mark using a tongs. (for crispier skins, bake at 390ºF for 40 to 45 mins)
- Once done, remove them onto a serving plate. Using a knife, gently make a slit in the the skin on the top and cut through to make a pocket.
- Either serve these sweet potatoes in their jackets just like that plain for a delicious breakfast, snack or side dish or to make it even fancier, serve them with any of these below topping suggestions.
Topping suggestions
- Cut butter into cubes and places a cube or two in each sweet potato pocket and serve. (see picture above)
- Mix ½ tablespoon cinnamon and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar in a bowl until well mixed and sprinkle it generously inside the sweet potato pocket along with little butter cube and serve.
- In a small pan, heat ghee or butter and fry broken cashews, raisins, sliced almonds for a min or two until you get nice aroma and then add coconut powder, mix it up well and remove from heat. Place this topping mixture inside the sweet potato pocket and serve.(our favorite)
How to Bake in Oven
- This can be easily made in oven if you don't own an air fryer. Just prepare the sweet potatoes in the same way by cleaning, drying, poking and applying oil and then bake at 425ºF in a pre heated oven on a foil lined baking sheet for 45 to 50 mins or until done. Check the doneness by poking with a knife, the knife should go inside very smoothly when poked.
Notes
- Choose same sized sweet potatoes for even cooking which are not too wide.
- Don't crowd your air fryer, Leave enough space between sweet potatoes for air circulation.
- Store the left overs in the refrigerator for up to a week in an air tight container. You can either store them as it is or take the pulp out and store it in a box.
Don't wait to make these delicious sweet potatoes in your air fryer and let me know how did they turn out for you.
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