Microwave Sweet Potato

Microwave sweet potato is one of the easiest meals you'll ever make and by far the easiest and fastest way of cooking sweet potato.

You can have it for lunch, dinner, as a side dish, main dish, and even as a healthy dessert with cinnamon and maple syrup.

Compared to oven-roasted sweet potatoes, which take about 40 minutes to cook whole, sweet potatoes only take a fraction of the time to cook in a microwave oven, depending on their size.

A medium sweet potato will cook in about 6 minutes, while larger potatoes will take a few minutes longer. If you are unsure how long your sweet potato will take, start by cooking it for 5 minutes, then prick it with a paring knife to check for doneness.

If the knife slides right in, the potato is ready; If not, keep microwaving it in 30-second increments until tender inside.

You can microwave sweet potatoes whole, one at a time, pricking them with a fork before cooking to prevent them from popping in the oven.

Cooking more than one sweet potato at a time will extend the cooking time, almost doubling it, and the potatoes will cook unevenly, so we don't recommend it.

Pros

• Fast: your sweet potato is ready in about 5 minutes.
• No chopping: you can nuke the sweet potato hole.
• Healthy: there's no oil involved.
• Texture: microwave sweet potato stays moist and gets all tender throughout.
• Versatile: eat it as is, or cut it open and load it with toppings, or use it to make sweet potato mash, or use it for soups.

Cons

• No browning: roasting in a standard oven or an air-fryer slightly browns the sweet potato making it more flavorful.
  
• No caramelization: the sugar in the sweet potato doesn't caramelize the same way as when roasted in the oven. The spud is less sweet and a little less tasty.
  
• The skin of microwave sweet potato is not as tasty as that of roasted sweet potato because there's no charring and no browning involved. However, if you like crispy skin, you can always microwave the sweet potato first, then drizzle it with olive oil and salt, and broil it in the oven for 2 minutes per side until crispy and slightly charred. Yum!

Is microwave sweet potato worth it?

Absolutely! We are the biggest microwave sweet potato fans! It's such a fast and healthy cooking method that we eat sweet potatoes like this most of the time, even as a last-minute healthy dinner.

The secret to the tastiest microwave sweet potatoes is to cut them open with a knife and load them with a delicious topping. Check out our favorite toppings below!

Ingredients

All you need is a medium sweet potato per person, plus any of the toppings below.

Other Ingredients

Other Ingredients that go well with microwave sweet potatoes are extra virgin olive oil, Mexican salsa, black beans, paprika, black pepper, chives, garlic powder, spices, flat-leaf parsley, cilantro, apples, bell peppers, cauliflower, curry, ginger, garlic, kale, and most nuts.

Toppings

Load your microwave sweet potato with one of our delicious, wholesome, and protein-packed plant-forward toppings, and turn it into a fabulous main dish.

Mexican Topping

Tasty and protein-rich Mexican-inspired topping with black bean quinoa salad, mashed avocado, and vegan sour cream.

Note: in our black bean salad recipe, we add diced sweet potato in the salad. Replace the sweet potato with tomatoes or cucumbers if you want to use our black bean salad as a topping for microwave sweet potato.

Mediterranean Topping

Light and nutritious Mediterranean couscous salad with crispy roasted or air-fried chickpeas and creamy and nutty tahini sauce on top.

Greek Topping

We use a simple couscous or bulgur salad with tomato and cucumber, then top it with crispy chickpeas, sliced black olives, and crumbled feta cheese (we used dairy-free feta).

Chickpea Tuna Topping

Our delicious vegan tuna recipe is perfect to stuff microwave sweet potatoes. You can even add melty vegan cheese on top and arrange them on a baking sheet under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese melts.

Simple Savory Topping

A simple savory topping of butter (we use dairy-free), sage leaves fried in butter in a pan for 2 minutes, and sea salt or kosher salt.

Simple Sweet Topping

A simple sweet topping with a pat of butter (we use dairy-free), maple syrup (or brown sugar), cinnamon, nutmeg, and walnuts (or pecans). You can also add chopped apple on top.

We took the sweet potato out of its skin for this one, then mashed it lightly with a fork for the spices and maple syrup to go in. It was a scrumptious dessert.

Wash the sweet potato with a brush under cold water to scrub the dirt away. Dry it with a paper towel, then prick it with a fork a few times.

Arrange the sweet potato on a microwave-safe plate and microwave at high power for 5 minutes.

Slide a paring knife in the center of the potato to check for doneness. The potato is cooked if the blade slides in easily through the center. If not, keep microwaving it in 30-second to 1-minute intervals.

When ready, slice the sweet potato in half with a knife and add your favorite topping.

Note: we find that there's no need to wrap the potato with damp paper towels before baking it.

There's also no need to wrap it in aluminum foil or parchment paper after cooking it.

The most important thing to have perfectly tender and moist spuds is not to overcook them, so check for doneness after 5 minutes.

Microwave sweet potato is the perfect side dish if you serve it on its own, with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, and parsley. As a side dish, we would serve about half a medium potato per person.

However, we think this recipe is even better as a main dish for a quick and fulfilling lunch or an easy healthy dinner loaded with one of our delicious toppings.

See the "Toppings" chapter above for the complete list of toppings.

Storage

Microwave sweet potatoes keep well and are a great recipe for meal prep.

Store leftover sweet potatoes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days to four days. It's best to store it without the topping. Then, eat cold or reheat in the microwave for one minute.

More veggie-packed recipes

Are you looking to add more veggies to your diet? Check out our stuffed and loaded veggie recipes that please even the pickiest of eaters:

For more veggie inspiration, see our 25 best vegetable side dishes with salads, and roasted and grilled vegetable favorites.

More sweet potato recipes

If you like cooking and eating sweet potatoes, have a look at these wholesome and veggie-packed meals: