It only takes 8 minutes to cook a sweet potato in the microwave. You will have a sweet potato ready to top, smash, or serve for lunch or dinner in no time.
It’s Easy to Microwave a Sweet Potato
We love a good baked sweet potato, but sometimes you just don’t have the time. Keep meal time easy and microwave sweet potatoes for dinner or if you need to soften a sweet potato for sweet potato pancakes or sweet potato burgers.
Reasons why you’ll love it.
All the
Sweet Potato Recipes
Looking for more delicious sweet potato recipes? We’ve got you covered. Check out our sweet potato fries, sweet potato pancakes, and more!
More How long do you microwave sweet potatoes for?We microwave a medium sweet potato for 8 minutes. The time may vary based on the size of the sweet potato.
Is it better to bake or microwave sweet potatoes?It all depends on how much time you have. Sweet potatoes taste almost the same whether they are baked or cooked in the microwave.
What do I top sweet potatoes with?We like to top our sweet potatoes with butter, salt and pepper to keep things simple. However, you can check out this stuffed sweet potatoes post with more topping ideas.
You only need 4 ingredients to make these sweet potatoes in the microwave.
- Sweet Potatoes- you can use sweet potatoes or yams for this recipe. Be sure to leave the skin on.
- Olive oil– olive oil keeps the sweet potato moist and aids in cooking the sweet potato in the microwave. We like the taste of olive oil but if you’d like to use a different oil, go ahead.
- Salt + pepper- we kept things simple for this sweet potato recipe. If you would like to add more flavor to these sweet potatoes you can use any flavorful dry rub like fajita seasoning or taco seasoning.
- Prepare the sweet potato. Use a sharp fork or knife to carefully poke holes all over the sweet potato. Drizzle the potato with olive oil and use your hands to massage the oil into the potato. Season the potato with salt and pepper and massage the spices into the potato.
- Cook the potato. Place the potato on a microwave safe plate and cook the potato on high for 4 minutes.
- Flip the potato. Feel the potato to make sure it isn’t mushy* and then flip the potato and cook on high for another 2 minutes. If after 2 minutes, the potato is fork tender, remove the potato from the microwave. If it isn’t quite ready, cook the potato for an additional 2 minutes.
- Enjoy the potato. Remove the potato from the microwave and cut the potato in half. Place the tablespoon of butter in the middle of the potato, season with salt and pepper, and enjoy.
Top Tips
Back-to-Basics Sweet Potato Tutorials
Sweet potatoes are an excellent, versatile veggie to roast, puree, bake with, add to bowls, the list goes on! Check out some of our back-to-basics sweet potato tutorials.
- How to Roast Sweet Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Puree
- Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries
- How to Make Sweet Potato Hash Browns
Let sweet potatoes cool completely. Then, transfer them into an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.
To freeze baked sweet potato, let it cool completely. Then, tightly wrap it in tin foil and place it in a freezer-safe gallon-size bag for up to 3 months.
More of our Favorite…
Sweet Potato Recipes
- Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff
- Easy Beef Stroganoff
- Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff
- Mushroom Stroganoff
- 1 medium to large sweet potato washed
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt + more for topping
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper + more for topping
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Use a sharp fork or knife to carefully poke holes all over the sweet potato.
- Drizzle the potato with olive oil and use your hands to massage the oil into the potato.
- Season the potato with salt and pepper and massage the spices into the potato.
- Place the potato on a microwave safe plate and cook the potato on high for 4 minutes.
- Feel the potato to make sure it isn’t mushy* and then flip the potato and cook on high for another 2 minutes. If after 2 minutes, the potato is fork tender, remove the potato from the microwave. If it isn’t quite ready, cook the potato for an additional 2 minutes.
- Remove the potato from the microwave and cut the potato in half. Place the tablespoon of butter in the middle of the potato, season with salt and pepper, and enjoy.
- We tested this recipe with a medium and large sweet potato and the cook times were similar.
- Every microwave is different so the cook time may vary based on the sweet potato.
