Learning how to cook a sweet potato in the microwave is one of those kitchen hacks that pays off again and again on busy nights. We love a baked sweet potato, but waiting an hour for the oven when dinner needs to be on the table in twenty minutes is not always realistic. This method takes less than 10 minutes, uses nothing but a damp paper towel and a microwave-safe plate, and gives you tender flesh and soft skin every time.
Between the side dishes and main dishes on this site, I’ve developed over 100 recipes, and a whole lot of them started with figuring out the fastest way to get something cooked and on the table. I’ve been microwaving sweet potatoes since college, so we’re talking close to 20 years of trying different methods. Wrapped and unwrapped, straight on the microwave turntable and on a plate, poked and unpoked (don’t do this, it can get messy…). The damp paper towel is the one I keep coming back to, because it is the difference between a soft, tender skin and one that gets dry, wrinkled, and tough.
We go in streaks with these. We’ll make them 4 or 5 times a month, then stop for a few months for no real reason, then remember how easy they are and start the cycle all over again. They’re especially handy on nights when I’m only cooking for my husband and me, since our little one is not in a sweet potato phase at the moment (kids are going to kid sometimes). Sweet potatoes are also one of the more affordable things in the produce section, so this is an easy way to round out a meal without adding much to the grocery bill.
Depending on the night, these are either a simple side with a little butter, salt, and pepper, or they are the whole meal. Split one open, pile it high with your favorite toppings, and you have dinner. Our taco stuffed sweet potatoes started exactly this way, and they use this same cooking method as the starting point.
Jump to:
- You’ll Love This Microwave Sweet Potato Recipe
- What You Need to Microwave a Sweet Potato
- Steps for Cooking a Sweet Potato in the Microwave
- How Long to Microwave a Sweet Potato
- Microwave Timing Guide
- How to Serve Your Sweet Potato
- How to Store Microwaved Sweet Potatoes
- Expert Tips for Cooking Sweet Potatoes in the Microwave
- Microwave Sweet Potato FAQs
- Love This Recipe? Try One of These Sweet Potato Recipes Next!
- Oh hey, did you make this one? ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Easy Microwaved Sweet Potato
You’ll Love This Microwave Sweet Potato Recipe
Ready in under 10 minutes. No preheating, no waiting on the oven, and no heating up your kitchen in the middle of summer.
One ingredient and one plate. You need a sweet potato, a paper towel, and a microwave. That’s it.
A good source of fiber. Sweet potatoes give you both soluble and insoluble fiber, which makes them a satisfying carb to build a meal around.
Side dish or main event. Keep it simple with butter, salt, and pepper, or split it open and load it up to turn it into dinner.
What You Need to Microwave a Sweet Potato
- Sweet potatoes. Look for ones that are firm with smooth skin and no soft spots. Medium potatoes work best for this method because they cook through evenly. Very large ones can end up done on the outside and firm in the middle, so those are better suited to the oven.
- A potato scrubber is helpful, but not required. I was gifted this “spuddy buddy” scrubber one year for Christmas and was skeptical, but it works SO WELL.
- A fork or sharp knife. Used to poke holes in the potato before it goes in the microwave, and again at the end to check for doneness.
- A kitchen scale (optional, but very helpful). Using a kitchen scale to weigh your potato(es) will help you determine how long to cook it!
- Paper towels. Dampening a paper towel and wrapping it around the potato is the whole trick here. It traps steam against the skin as it cooks, which keeps the skin soft and the flesh moist instead of dried out and shriveled.
- A microwave-safe plate. Something to set the wrapped potato on while it cooks.
- Tongs or pot holders. Highly recommend tongs or an oven mitt / pot holder for flipping the potato halfway through cooking. It will be hot, so protect your hands.
- Optional toppings. Butter, salt, and pepper is how we eat these most often. Butter with brown sugar and a sprinkle of cinnamon is the sweeter route if that is more your thing.
Head to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full directions and details.
Steps for Cooking a Sweet Potato in the Microwave
Wash and scrub. Run the sweet potato under water and scrub it well to remove any dirt or residue. You can eat the skin, so give it a good clean.
Poke holes all over. Use a fork (or a sharp knife) to poke holes into all sides of the potato. This lets steam escape while it cooks, which you definitely want.
Wrap it up. Wet a paper towel, wring it out so it is damp but not dripping, and wrap it snugly around the potato. Set the wrapped potato on a microwave-safe plate.
Start cooking. Microwave on high power for half the total cook time based on your potato’s size and weight. See the timing guide below.
Flip halfway through using a tongs or potholders to protect your hands (the potatoes will be hot!).
Check for doneness. The potato is ready when it’s fork-tender (meaning a fork slides easily into the center without much resistance). If it still feels firm, keep going in 30 second increments and check again.
How Long to Microwave a Sweet Potato
Cook time depends on the size and shape of your potato as well as the wattage of your microwave. For my 1150 watt microwave, this 10.3-ounce potato was cooked perfectly in 6 minutes.
Microwave Timing Guide
Microwaves vary quite a bit, so treat these as a starting point and check for doneness before you pull it out.
- Small sweet potato (about 6 to 8 ounces): about 3 minutes, flip, then 2 more minutes
- Medium sweet potato (about 9 to 12 ounces): about 3 minutes, flip, then 3 more minutes
- Large sweet potato (about 13 to 16 ounces): about 4 minutes, flip, then 4 more minutes
Shape matters here too, not just weight. A short, thick potato takes longer to cook through the middle than a long, skinny one of the same weight, so two potatoes that weigh the same can finish a minute or two apart. Always go by the fork test rather than the clock.
How to Serve Your Sweet Potato
Split the potato open lengthwise and fluff the inside with a fork before adding anything. That little step makes a difference in how the toppings work their way into the potato.
For a simple side, a pat of butter with salt and pepper is all you need. If you prefer sweet toppings, try butter with a drizzle of maple syrup, honey or spoonful of brown sugar. Adding a little sprinkle of cinnamon is a nice addition too.
To turn it into a full meal, load it up with a protein like shredded chicken, carnitas, black beans, or whatever else you have on hand. You can add a drizzle of BBQ sauce, sprinkle of cheese, dollop of sour cream, crumbled crispy bacon, chopped green onions… the possibilities are endless! Or get a little fancy with it and make taco sweet potatoes (we usually top ours with our turkey and black bean taco filling)!
How to Store Microwaved Sweet Potatoes
Let the potatoes cool completely, then store them whole or scooped into an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. They reheat well in the microwave for a minute or two, or in a 325°F oven until warmed through.
Cooked sweet potatoes also freeze well for up to 3 months. Cool them completely, wrap them individually, and store in a labeled freezer-safe bag. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating.
Expert Tips for Cooking Sweet Potatoes in the Microwave
Use hot pads or tongs to flip. That potato is hot and so is the steam trapped in the paper towel. Do not grab it barehanded. That game ‘hot potato’ we all played as kids came from somewhere…
Do not skip the holes. Steam needs somewhere to go during cooking, and poking the potato all over is what keeps it from bursting (and making a mess) in your microwave.
Wring the paper towel out well. You want damp, not soaking. A dripping paper towel will leave you with a soggy skin.
Start on the low side of the recommended cook time. You can always add 30 more seconds, but you cannot undo an overcooked, dried out potato. Check early and continue to cook as needed.
Microwave Sweet Potato FAQs
Yes! You’ll just need to cook them a little longer, anywhere from an additional 1 to 4 minutes. Check and continue in 1 minute increments until both are fork tender. Try to pick two potatoes that are similar in size and shape so they finish around the same time. This is how we usually do it so we can both eat at the same time.
You can microwave a sweet potato without wrapping it, but the paper towel is what makes this method work so well. The paper towel helps holds steam against the potato as it cooks, which keeps the skin soft and the inside moist. Without it, you are more likely to end up with a dry potato with wrinkled skin.
This usually comes down to size or microwave wattage. Larger potatoes need more time to cook all the way through, and not all microwaves cook at the same power. Just continue to microwave in 30 second increments and check with a fork until it slides in easily. If you find yourself doing this a lot with really large potatoes, they may do better in the oven.
Absolutely. Cook them, let them cool, and refrigerate for up to 4 days. They reheat quickly and make meal prep a lot easier, especially if you are planning to stuff them or use the flesh in another recipe.
Love This Recipe? Try One of These Sweet Potato Recipes Next!
Oh hey, did you make this one? ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Easy Microwaved Sweet Potato
Equipment
- potato scrubber (helpful, but not required)
- kitchen scale (helpful to gauge cooking time needed)
- fork or sharp knife
- Paper Towels
- microwave-safe plate
Ingredients
- 1 medium sweet potato
Instructions
- Wash and scrub. Run the sweet potato under water and scrub it well to remove any dirt or residue. You are eating the skin, so give it a good clean.
- Poke holes all over. Use a fork (or a sharp knife) to poke holes into all sides of the potato.
- Wrap it up. Wet a paper towel, wring it out so it's damp but not dripping, and wrap it snugly around the potato. Set the wrapped potato on a microwave-safe plate.
- Microwave and flip halfway. Microwave on high power for half the time required to cook your potato based on the size / weight. Flip the wrapped potato with a tongs or oven mitt, and continue to cook for the additional time required.*See the timing guide below for how long to cook based on size.*
- Check for doneness. The potato is ready when a fork slides easily into the center without much resistance. If it still feels firm, keep going in 30 second increments and check again.
Notes
- Small sweet potato (about 6 to 8 ounces): about 3 minutes, flip, then 2 more minutes
- Medium sweet potato (about 9 to 12 ounces): about 3 minutes, flip, then 3 more minutes
- Large sweet potato (about 13 to 16 ounces): about 4 minutes, flip, then 4 more minutes
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