How long to bake a sweet potato at 400 so it’s tender and fluffy inside? We will show you how to bake sweet potatoes perfectly in the oven.

Oven baked sweet potatoes make a great easy side dish. They aren’t just for the holidays either friends. You can dress up the insides savory or sweet with cinnamon and sugar too. With a crispy outside, these can be roasted alongside your main meal on a baking sheet. (affiliate links present)
Bake Sweet Potato at 400
Ok so you wanted to know the best way to make baked potatoes which we shared years back. Those were using Russets and another great selection with dinner too. BUT there are so many other varieties out there. These aren’t just for mashing folks, they are fabulous sliced and stuffed too.
Now if you have a Foodi or other brand of air fryer you can make these quicker, at the same temperature. A better choice during the summertime so you don’t heat up your whole house, and the skin gets crispier than ever. For sweet potatoes in air fryer at 400 follow these directions. In the oven is below.

Baked Sweet Potatoes in Oven
Ok so no matter what method you choose, you always want to wash the outside first. I mean if you didn’t it would be pretty nasty. Unlike other produce in the stores, taters are typically just bagged and have quite a bit of dirt and debris on the outside still. When you rinse and rub with your hands you will see.
You can bake as is to get a really nice and crispy skin. If you just want tender thru and thru, this is how long to bake potatoes at 375 in foil instead.
Then you always want to dry them off with some paper towels, and poking all the way around is a must. Even when you are making smoked potatoes you need to allow the steam to escape, cook all the way to the center evenly, and not explode.
When you roast or bake them yes. You can wrap each one or just put into a dish and cover the entire top when baking in the oven. If you want crispy skin at the end, remove, brush on olive oil, and broil for a few minutes.
How Long to Cook Sweet Potato in Oven
I mean that is really it as far as prep folks. Really. Now you can bake with and without foil. Covered you’ll really be able to get the insides super fluffy so it’s recommended.
Without it the outside will get really crisp by the time the center gets fork tender, sometimes too much. You can cook these and pork roast in oven at 375 at the same time for a complete meal served together.

Instead I like to use both methods, cover casserole dish or rimmed baking sheet to tenderize and then remove to crisp. You could also throw them into your air fryer at the end at 400 for just a few minutes instead of broil but that is just dirtying another thing.
The only time I might do that is if I were making sweet potato skins and wanted to melt the top goodies.
How Long to Bake a Sweet Potato at 350
Of course this would take longer. Instead of this one at 45-60 minutes you’re looking at closer to 60-75 minutes. No matter what there will be a range depending on their size.
I highly suggest that you choose pieces that are all very similar. It will ensure that they can all be taken out at the same time.
This does come in handy though if the rest of your meal needs this temperature. Let’s say you’re making our chuck roast in oven at 350 or chicken wings at 375 you could basically have everything in there at the same time. If one is done a bit before the other just cover with foil to keep warm.

How Long to Bake Sweet Potatoes at 425
There isn’t a huge difference with this bit higher temp. The biggest difference is that you could take top off at the end and crisp as is without switching to broil since it should be high enough. I use this when making our roasted frozen vegetables in oven at the same time.
- First use your hands to rinse and rub the outside of skins to remove debris, and dry with paper towels. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Use a fork or knife to stick potato 6-10 times all the way around so that the steam can vent out.
- Place potatoes on baking sheet or inside a casserole dish (can put parchment paper on bottom for easier clean up).
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes – 1 hour 15 minutes depending on how large they are.
- Test them all after 40 minutes cooking time (or so) with a fork or knife.
- Insert into the center of each one, should be easy to slide in and out showing it is tender.
- If you want crispy outer skin, remove foil once tender. Brush olive oil on top and all sides. Sprinkle sea salt all over and set to broil for 2-3 minutes or until outside is as crispy as you’d like.
Carefully slice cooked sweet potato (they will be hot), use a fork to fluff the middle and add all the things. I mean all the things y’all. Use your imagination and think of your favorite flavors when it comes to these.
There isn’t a wrong answer. You could even create a potato bar during the holidays and let everyone dress up their own.

What can I put on top of sweet potatoes
If you just want to kinda’ keep them savory as a side dish I would add the salt with the oil at the end to the skins. Just add butter to the inside like we do with pressure cooker sweet potatoes recipe. BUT if you want to make these kinda’ like our roasted sweet potato cubes in oven you can make them sweet with;
- Brown sugar + salt and pepper is a nice sweet and savory idea
- Honey
- Maple syrup
- Mini marshmallows
- Diced candied pecans
Or you can scoop out the insides and just use that to make homemade sweet potato muffins or your favorite Thanksgiving casserole. If you need easy meal prep ideas, these are it. Hardly anything to do and can be prepped and sitting on the counter for hours until you’re ready to pop them in.
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How Long to Bake a Sweet Potato at 400
Equipment
- 1 baking sheet or casserole dish
Ingredients
- 4 sweet potatoes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- sea salt
Instructions
- Wash outside of skins and dry with paper towels. Preheat oven to 400 F. Use a fork or knife to stick potato 6-10 times all the way around to allow steam to vent out.
- Place inside a casserole dish or on a baking sheet. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes – 1 hour 15 minutes depending on how large they are. Test at 45 minutes with a fork or knife. Insert into the center of each one, should be easy to slide in and out showing it is tender.
- If you want crispy outer skin, remove foil once tender. Brush olive oil on top and all sides. Sprinkle sea salt all over and set to broil for 2-3 minutes or until outside is as crispy as you'd like.
- Slice in the middle, fluff insides and add butter, cinnamon and sugar, and can even put mini marshmallows inside. If you want those browned you'd want to fill before broiling so they can brown and melt.
Cathleen
Wednesday 4th of October 2023
I have been buying a lot of sweet potatoes lately, and have been googling this question every time I try baking it. Thank you so much for sharing, saving for the next time I bake my sweet potatoes :)
Kushigalu
Wednesday 4th of October 2023
This is a very useful post on baking sweet potatoes. Thanks for sharing.
dina and bruce
Wednesday 4th of October 2023
Yum! Love how easy these are! I baked up a few and am having for lunch this week!