You can have a cooked sweet potato in 5 minutes following this foolproof hack to cooking sweet potatoes quickly! Here are 3 different ways to cook a sweet potato in the microwave so you can spend less time in kitchen!
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Why this works
Sweet potatoes are a versatile vegetable that can be used in both sweet and savory dishes alike! It’s the perfect vegetable to add to your weekly rotation, but it can be time consuming to bake in an oven. In some cases you may need to bake it for up to an hour—but there’s a faster way!
Microwaving a sweet potato can take just a mere 5 minutes! It’s an incredibly easy way to prepare a sweet potato and provides almost the same texture as a baked sweet potato!
You can cook whole sweet potatoes in the microwave or slice and chop into discs and cubes to use in salads, stir fries, curries and stews. You’ll quickly find that this cooking process for microwaved sweet potato is the easiest way to enjoy this healthy spud in minutes whether you need a quick side or turn it into a quick lunch or dinner.
Are microwaves healthy?
Yes, it is completely healthy to use a microwave to cook food. It is the fastest way to cook food, which actually helps prevent the loss of nutrients.
All cooking methods cause loss of nutrients due to certain vitamins naturally being destroyed with heat—such as vitamin C. Microwaves cook food in a fraction of the time it would take other cooking methods, helping them to preserve more nutrients in food than, say, baking for an hour.
Microwaves simply heat up the water molecules in foods, making them one of the healthier ways of cooking food.
Are sweet potatoes healthy?
Yes! Sweet potatoes are a complex carbohydrate full of beneficial vitamins and minerals that will keep you satiated for longer!
Sweet potatoes are a good source of Vitamin A and C, are low in calories, contain over 6 grams of fiber per serving, and provide antioxidants which neutralize free radicals and prevent cancer, heart disease, and other chronic diseases.
Overall, this vegetable is highly nutritious, and is a part of a healthy diet.
Ingredient notes
All you need to microwave a sweet potato is one sweet potato! The smaller the potato, the faster it will cook. I usually opt for a medium sized potato (about 8 to 10 ounces) which can cook in just 5 minutes. Larger sweet potatoes (10 ounces or more) may need up to 10 minutes in the microwave.
No need to peel it beforehand unless you prefer it. However, the sweet potato skin provides a lot nutrients that you could be missing out on!
Best types of sweet potatoes to use: Orange sweet potatoes such as Beauregard, Garnet, and Jewel work best. Even Okinawan purple sweet potatoes are great. I don’t recommend Korean sweet potatoes as they dry out too much in the microwave.
How to cook a sweet potato in the microwave (3 ways)
These step by step walk-throughs shows the process of baking a medium sweet potato in the microwave whole, cubed and sliced.
How to bake a whole potato in the microwave
1. Wash the sweet potato thoroughly then pierce it with a fork or knife several times on each side.
2. Place the sweet potato on a microwave-safe plate and cook in the microwave on high for 5-6 minutes. Check for doneness using the same fork or knife from before to see if it easily pierces the potato all the way to the center. If it needs more time, microwave in 30-second increments until its ready.
Caution: The plate may be hot so remove with care using oven mitts.
3. Use a knife to carefully cut the sweet potato open lengthwise.
How to cook cubed sweet potato in the microwave
For an even shorter cook time, make sweet potato cubes!
1. Wash the sweet potato thoroughly, then chop into 1/2-1 inch cubes. Try to keep the sizes uniform so they cook evenly.
2. Arrange the sweet potato cubes evenly spread out on the outer edges of a microwave-safe plate and cook in the microwave for 3-4 minutes. No flipping necessary. Check doneness by piercing the largest pieces. Add 30-second increments if they need more time.
Caution: The plate may be hot so remove with care using oven mitts.
3. Serve this cubed sweet potato as a side, or add to salads, casseroles, stews, and stir fries. Or store them for later use.
How to cook sliced sweet potato in the microwave
1. Wash the sweet potato thoroughly, then slice into discs about 1/8-1/4th inch thick. Try to keep the thickness uniform so they cook evenly. Discs that are different sizes circumference-wise are fine.
2. Arrange the sweet potato on a microwave-safe plate, slightly overlapping. Start with the outer edge of the plate and work your way in. Cook in the microwave for 4-6 minutes; flipping halfway through.
Caution: The plate may be hot so remove with care using oven mitts.
Expert tip: For easy flipping, wear oven mitts and place a second microwave-safe plate upside down over the plate of sweet potatoes. Firmly grasp the two plates together and flip over. Lift up the original plate that is now on top. Sliced potatoes are now flipped in one go! Return to microwave to continue cooking.
3. Add sliced sweet potato to your favorite dishes or serve as “chips” and dip into your favorite sauce or dip!
Tips for success
- To avoid the outside drying out, you can wrap the sweet potato in a damp paper towel. This helps to trap the moisture and prevent it from shriveling.
- If wanting a whole sweet potato, always prick it! The steam must be able to escape. To prevent any explosion mishaps, poke that sweet potato!
- Place your sweet potato on the outer edge of the rotating turntable inside your microwave. This helps the potato cook more evenly.
Serving suggestions
Need some topping ideas and ways to serve your microwave sweet potato? Here are some of my favorite ways to enjoy this healthy spud, whether that’s for a whole sweet potato, slices, or cubes!
For whole sweet potato
Breakfast or snack idea: Drizzle with favorite nut butter and add a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Main course idea: Easy Mexican-inspired meal: Stuff with black beans and top with salsa and cilantro. Top it with a hearty chili.
Side dish idea: Serve as a side with a dash of salt and black pepper and some dairy-free butter. I like to serve it this way with Vegan Steak, Vegetable Irish Stew, or Lentil Loaf. Or mash it to switch it up from regular mashed potatoes.
More favorite toppings to try:
- Brown sugar, cinnamon, drizzle of maple syrup and a pat of butter
- Garlic powder, cumin, chili powder
- Salsa or cheesy sauce
- Vegan sour cream and chives
For sliced sweet potato
Add to salads or serve as “chips” and dip into your favorite sauce or dip!
For cubed sweet potato
Add to salads, curries, stir fries, casseroles and stews. Saves a bunch of time cooking since you no longer have to wait for the sweet potato to be cooked!
How to store
You can store microwaved sweet potatoes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can also use the leftovers to make mashed sweet potatoes. Just swap the regular white potatoes for sweet potatoes!
Cubed and sliced sweet potatoes are great for meal prep and can be added to other dishes throughout the week!
FAQ’s
Yes! You’ll need to poke holes in it so the steam can escape. Otherwise you may end up with an exploding potato!
A medium-sized sweet potato takes approximately 5 minutes in a microwave. For large sweet potatoes, add 30-second to 1 minute increments until fully cooked.
Take that same fork or a paring knife that you used to pierce it before cooking and try to pierce it all the way through the skin to the center of the potato. If there is some resistance, continue cooking. If it glides through rather easily, it’s ready!
No, in fact, it is one of the healthier methods for cooking a sweet potato due to the faster cooking time which helps preserve nutrients.
To reheat a sweet potato in the microwave, simply place the sweet potato on a microwave-safe dish and microwave for 2-3 minutes until heated through.
Absolutely! Add 2 extra minutes to the cook time per additional sweet potato. For example, if cooking two sweet potatoes, cook for about 7 minutes. For three sweet potatoes, cook for 9 minutes. Make sure your microwave is set on high power. If you have a weaker microwave, you may have to add more time.
It is really similar but the skin won’t be as crispy in the microwave. The inside texture is still soft and tender as if it was roasted.
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Easy Microwave Sweet Potato (3 Ways!)
Method
- Microwave
Ingredients
- 1 medium sweet potato
Instructions
- Wash the sweet potato thoroughly with cold water and a scrubbing brush to remove any dirt. Pat dry. Follow desired directions below for cooking the sweet potato in the microwave.
Whole baked potato
- Pierce on each side a few times using a fork.
- Place potato on a microwave safe plate and microwave on high for 5-6 minutes. If your microwave does not have a rotating turntable, flip the potato halfway through. Check for doneness by piercing with a fork—if it slides through easily it’s ready. Add 30 second increments if it needs more time.
- Carefully slice potato open lengthwise. If potato is too hot, wait a minute or two until it cools a little, then slice.
- Top with your favorite toppings!
Cubed sweet potato
- Chop into 1/2-1 inch cubes. Try to keep the sizes uniform so they cook evenly.
- Arrange the sweet potato cubes evenly spread out on a microwave-safe plate and cook in the microwave for 3-4 minutes. No flipping necessary. Check doneness by piercing the largest pieces. Add 30-second increments if they need more time.
- Serve this cubed sweet potato as a side, or add to salads, casseroles, stews, and stir fries. Or store them for later use.
Sliced sweet potato
- Slice into discs about 1/8-1/4th inch thick. Try to keep the thickness uniform so they cook evenly. Discs that are different sizes circumference-wise are fine.
- Arrange the sweet potato on a microwave-safe plate, slightly overlapping. Start with the outer edge of the plate and work your way in. Cook in the microwave for 4-6 minutes; flipping halfway through.Expert tip: For easy flipping, wear oven mitts and place a second microwave-safe plate upside down over the plate of sweet potatoes. Firmly grasp the two plates together and flip over. Lift up the original plate that is now on top. Potatoes are now flipped in one go! Return to microwave to continue cooking.
- Add sliced sweet potato to your favorite dishes or serve as "chips" and dip into your favorite sauce or dip!
Notes
Nutrition
This microwave sweet potato recipe was originally published August 23, 2021 and updated February 17th, 2023 with additional tips and photos.
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Thanks so much, Rich!
Had the best Sweet Potatoes. Blended with honey mustard a little cream. Well blended. To die for.
Thank you Rachel ! I love sweet potatoes but don’t make them often because I don’t want to turn on the oven for just one or two. This method is fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing. I’m enjoying my sweet potato with butter for dinner 💕
My pleasure! So glad you can enjoy sweet potatoes more often now 😀
Holy moly I had no idea it was this easy to cook a sweet potato! Definitely microwaving from now on. I roast sweet potatoes every week for meal prep so I’m excited to save time in the kitchen from now on!
Thanks, Kaitlyn! So glad you like it! It cuts down meal prep time so much!
Love sweet potatoes but always thought they had to be baked in the oven. Microwaving sweet potatoes worked like a charm! Thank you for sharing this!!
Happy to share! I’m glad to see others enjoying this quick cooking hack for sweet potatoes, I thought the oven was the only way too until a few years ago. Now I exclusively cook them in the microwave haha
Me and my granddaughter love sweet potatoes we cook them in the microwave all the time, we put butter and brown sugar,and some times I just put butter on it.and make sweet potato casserole .I have never tryed frying them..
Sounds delicious! Love that you make them together with your granddaughter!