Best way to cook a sweet potato in the microwave

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Sweet potatoes are always a reliable meal option. These starchy spuds will make you feel satisfied longer, and they're full of essential nutrients. However, making them can be a time suck.

Between preheating the oven, and baking them for up to an hour, it's not exactly a quick and easy meal option. Unless you choose to microwave it, that is. Learn step-by-step the best way to cook sweet potatoes in the microwave for an easy dish that's ready in minutes.

Can You Cook Sweet Potatoes in the Microwave?

Yes, you can! In fact, the shorter cook time will help the sweet potatoes retain more nutrients that are often lost in the long baking process. It's not all that different than baking a sweet potato in the oven, except that it's a whole lot faster.

Although some do prefer the dry, crispy skin of oven-baked sweet potatoes, you can achieve a similar result by popping your microwaved sweet potato in the broiler for a few minutes after cooking.

How to Microwave Sweet Potatoes

Here's What You'll Need:

• Sweet potato(es)
• Fork and/or paring knife
• Microwave-safe plate
• Butter, olive oil, and seasoning, to taste

Instructions:

1. Start by washing your potato, as you normally would. Don't be afraid to really scrub (a scrub brush will help) — you need to get all the dirt off. Pat dry.
   
2. If you plan to serve the potatoes whole, rub the skin with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
   
3. Pierce the potato three or four times with a fork (this allows steam to escape so there are no messy explosions). Place the potato on a microwave-safe plate.
   
4. For one sweet potato, microwave on 100 percent power for 5 minutes, rotating halfway through. Add two minutes for each additional potato.
   
5. If it isn't fork-tender, or easily pierced with a paring knife, after five minutes, continue to microwave in one-minute increments until done. Be sure to protect your hands when removing the hot plate.
   
6. Slice the potato lengthwise and serve with butter, salt, pepper, and/or brown sugar as desired. Or top it off with brown-sugar cinnamon butter!
   

How to Store a Microwaved Sweet Potato

If for some unknown reason you have leftover sweet potato, or you're meal prepping, microwaved sweet potatoes will keep well for up to three days after cooking. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge.

A steaming hot sweet potato topped with a pat of butter and a sprinkling of flaky salt is one of the best and easiest side dishes you can make. I've been known to eat them for snacks too.

Bite Into A Wholesome Snack

The health benefits of a sweet potato are surprising, and worth mentioning. These sweet tubers are high in fiber, and rich in the antioxidant beta carotene. They are also high in potassium, one of the most important minerals in the body. It helps regulate fluid balance, muscle contractions and nerve signals. A high-potassium diet has been reported to help reduce blood pressure and water retention, protect against stroke and prevent osteoporosis and kidney stones.

Microwave Method

It's easy to say yes when the sweet potato is part of a larger recipe, but enjoying the earthy sweet flavor all on its own also has merit, and might even have you eating more.

While an oven-baked potato is a truly delicious thing, it can take more than an hour for the flesh to fully cook through. You can get great results in much less time by cooking the potato in the microwave. (Just don't bother boiling it!)

Here's how to do it:

1. Wash and scrub the potato skin clean, then dry it.

2. Prick the potato all over with a paring knife. (The holes allow steam to escape.)

3. Place the potato on a microwave-safe plate (sugar may leak out as it cooks) and cook on HIGH for five to six minutes. Halfway through the cook time, rotate the potato—be careful, it will be hot. Check the potato for doneness. If it is still a little too firm, continue microwaving one minute as a time.

Tips for Success

If you are cooking multiple sweet potatoes in the microwave, increase the cook time by two to three minutes per potato.

My favorite way to cook sweet potatoes is to soften them in the microwave for two to three minutes, then bake them in a 425˚F oven for 15 to 20 minutes on an aluminum-foil lined baking sheet. (This prevents sugar from leaking out and making a mess of your pan.)

Microwaving jumpstarts the cooking process and cuts down the total cook time by almost an hour, but you will still get the sweet, caramelized flesh and crisp skin that only comes from oven baking. It's the best of both worlds.

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