These sweet potato skins are loaded with melted cheese, crumbled crispy bacon, and green onions. They are baked instead of fried making a healthy-ish version of the classic restaurant appetizer.
This recipe is easy to customize, make as many (or as few) as you’d like and adjust the toppings to please your crowd. If you need more appetizers to go with your baked sweet potato skins, try this easy restaurant style salsa and these baked buffalo chicken wings.
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Ingredients
- Sweet Potatoes – Use medium sweet potatoes that are roughly the same size and shape so that they cook at the same rate.
- Oil – Use a neutral oil with a high smoke point (we used canola oil).
- Salt – A coarse salt like kosher salt or sea salt works well.
- Bacon – Regular cut or thin will cook the fastest but you can use thick cut if you prefer. Use your favorite cooking method, skillet/stovetop, microwave, or oven bacon.
- Cheese – We use a cheddar Monterey jack blend, use your favorite provided it melts well. Here, we hand shred the cheese because it will melt better than pre-shredded.
- Garnish and serving – Green onions for garnish and sour cream for serving, if desired.
You will also need:
- Baking sheet with a cooling rack
- Aluminum foil
- Cooking spray
Recipe tips
- You don’t have to wrap the sweet potatoes in foil. The benefit of doing so, is that the foil will keep the skin moist, and it will have a fuller, less wrinkled appearance. For these sweet potato skins, I prefer to wrap them in foil for baking.
- The cooking time will depend on the size of the sweet potatoes. Always test the largest (fattest) potato to gauge the remaining cooking time.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil to prevent sticking and for easy clean-up. Even if you wrap the potato in foil, it can still leak.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F
Wash and scrub the sweet potatoes gently and pat dry.
Prick them a few times on all sides with the tip of a sharp paring knife to vent.
Cut a piece of foil approximately 16-18 inches long. Make it large enough so that you can wrap the sweet potato a few times. Wrap each potato going around a few times and fold in the ends.
Arrange the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet (line with foil or parchment paper for easy clean-up). Bake on the middle rack of the preheated oven for 50 – 60 minutes or until they are tender.
Remove the potatoes from the oven and carefully open the foil to vent. Allow them to cool.
When they are cool enough to handle, slice them in half, lengthwise.
Use a spoon to scoop out some of the flesh leaving about ¼ to ½ inch on the bottom and all the way around. Line a baking sheet with a cooling rack. Spray it lightly with cooking spray. Arrange the skins on the cooling rack, scooped side up. Preheat the oven to 400°F (if not still on)
- Bake the sweet potatoes (skin side up) for 15 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and use tongs or a spatula to carefully turn them over (scooped side up). Continue baking for 20 minutes until they are slightly golden on the edges.
- Fill each potato skin with 1-2 tablespoons of shredded cheese and about 1 teaspoon of crumbled bacon. Bake 1-2 minutes until the cheese is melted.
- Garnish with green onions and serve with sour cream if desired. Enjoy!
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Check out this Story for loaded sweet potato skins for a quick visual on making this delicious recipe.
Sweet Potato Skins
Ingredients
- 4 Medium Sweet Potatoes roughly the same size and shape
- 1 tablespoon Oil use a neural oil with a high smoke point (we used canola oil)
- ½ teaspoon Salt or to taste (kosher or sea salt work well)
- 4 Bacon Slices cooked until crispy and chopped or crumbled
- 1 cup Shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack Cheese or cheese of choice
- 1 tablespoon Sliced Green Onions for garnish
- Sour Cream for serving optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F
Prepare the sweet potatoes
- Wash and scrub the sweet potatoes gently and pat dry. Prick them a few times on all sides with the tip of a sharp paring knife to vent.
- Cut a piece of foil approximately 16-18 inches long. Wrap each potato going around a few times and fold in the ends.
- Arrange the sweet potatoes on the baking sheet. Bake on the middle rack of the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until they are tender.
- Test if they are done by choosing the largest one. Carefully unwrap it and insert a sharp paring knife into the thickest part. If the knife slides in and out easily without any resistance, they are done.
- If the knife does not slide in and out easily, rewrap the test potato and continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes and test again.
- Remove the potatoes from the oven and carefully open the foil to vent. Allow them to cool.
- When they are cool enough to handle, slice them in half, lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out some of the flesh leaving about ¼ to ½ inch on the bottom and all the way around. Don’t scoop out too much of the flesh so that they hold up.
Make the sweet potato skins
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (if not still on)
- Line a baking sheet with a cooling rack. Spray it lightly with cooking spray. Arrange the skins on the cooling rack, scooped side up. Brush the inside of each piece lightly with oil. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
- Turn each piece over, lightly brush with oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
- Bake the sweet potatoes (skin side up) for 15 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and use tongs or a spatula to carefully turn them over (scooped side up). Continue baking for 20 minutes until they are slightly golden on the edges.
- Fill each potato skin with 1-2 tablespoons of shredded cheese and about 1 teaspoon of crumbled bacon. Bake 1-2 minutes until the cheese is melted.
- Garnish with green onions and serve with sour cream if desired. Enjoy!
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