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Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes are the perfect side dish for Thanksgiving. They are sweet and savory and taste like you’re having dessert for dinner!
For more sweet potato goodness, try my Brown Sugar & Bacon Mashed Sweet Potatoes.
Why We Love This Recipe
- Best of Both Worlds – Twice baked sweet potatoes are like combining baked potatoes and mashed potatoes. You can have the roasted potato flavor and crispy skin with the creaminess of mashed potatoes.
- Fall Spices – The mashed sweet potato is full of cinnamon and nutmeg, plus they are sweetened with brown sugar. It doesn’t get more fall than that!
- Sweet and Savory – Sweet potatoes already have that hint of sweetness, but adding the brown sugar bumps it up even more. Top with mini marshmallows or candied walnuts for more sweetness, or with chopped pecans for a little savory boost.
recipe walk-through
Ingredient Notes
- Sweet Potatoes – Choose firm, medium-sized sweet potatoes with smooth skin that are about the same size so they will cook evenly.
- Cream Cheese – Use a full fat brick style cream cheese. Let it sit out while the potatoes are baking to soften.
- Brown Sugar – Light or dark will work; use what you have on hand. You can cut back the amount if you want them less sweet.
- Spices – Ground cinnamon and nutmeg. Ground ginger is also an option if you like. You also may want to add salt and pepper.
- Optional Toppings – Mini marshmallow, chopped pecans, candied walnuts. Think of the individual potatoes like a sweet potato casserole. Anything you’d see as a topping will work.
How to Make Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
Prep and bake: Scrub the sweet potatoes clean and poke each one several times with a fork to release steam as they bake. Bake at 375℉ for about an hour.
Cool: When the potatoes are finished baking, remove them from the oven and set aside until they are cool enough to handle.
Mix filling: While they are cooling, mix together the softened cream cheese, brown sugar and spices.
Scoop flesh: Cut the sweet potatoes in half and remove the flesh; be careful not to tear the skin.
Mix flesh with filling: Mix the flesh with the cream cheese mixture. For a creamier potato filling, use a hand mixer, otherwise use a fork to mash everything together.
Fill halves of sweet potatoes: Spoon the mixture into the potato skins. If you want, you can dress them up with toppings like mini marshmallows, candied walnuts, crumbled bacon, or chopped pecans.
Bake: Bake for 5 minutes at 375℉ or until everything is warmed through.
Make Ahead
Prep the potatoes all the way up to just before the second bake. Arrange them in a baking dish and cover it tightly with plastic wrap. Place the dish in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, then bake as directed, adding roughly 5-10 minutes to the cook time.
If you don’t want to do the filling ahead of time, you can bake the sweet potatoes and let them cool in the refrigerator for a day to help save you some prep time.
Storage Tips
Storing Leftovers
When potatoes are completely cool, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. The leftovers make a great snack or even breakfast the next day! Reheat in the microwave for about a minute or until warmed through.
Recipe Tips
- Scooping the flesh of the potatoes: Use a cookie scoop to help remove the insides of the potato easily.
- Use caution: Be very careful when cutting into the warm potatoes. The insides get very hot and the steam can burn you.
- Even-sized potatoes: Try to get evenly sized potatoes, and ones that are a little thicker rather than long and skinny. Larger sweet potatoes can take up to 90 minutes to roast. For this recipe we used small to medium size potatoes, about 5-7 ounces each.
- How do you know when a potato is fork tender? When you poke the potato with a fork, the potato will go through the flesh without force, and release from the fork without effort. Always test the thickest part of the potato as sweet potatoes are rarely uniform in size.
- Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes: To save time, cook your potatoes in a pressure cooker.
More Sweet Potato Recipes
- Sweet Potato Muffins
- Sweet Potato Wedges
- Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Sweet Potato Pie
Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 Sweet potatoes 5-7 ounces each
- 4 ounces Cream cheese room temperature
- 1/4 cup Brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons Melted butter softened at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Optional: mini marshmallows, crushed pecans or walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Scrub the sweet potatoes and poke each 8-10 times with fork. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for one hour, or until fork tender.
- Mix the cream cheese, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper together in a bowl.
- Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and remove the flesh, leaving a small rim of flesh intact on the skin, and add to the cream cheese mixture. Mix well. *Blend with a hand mixture if you prefer creamy potatoes.
- Scoop or pipe mixture back into potato skins. Top as desired with mini marshmallows or chopped nuts. Bake 5 minutes or until warmed through. Use a torch or broiler to toast marshmallows if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
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