Baking sweet potatoes in an air fryer makes a delicious and easy side dish. The sweet potatoes are tender and fluffy inside and crispy outside. These sweet potatoes are nutritious and an easy to make side dish for your next family dinner.
Whole baked sweet potatoes are one of my favorite side dishes to serve with dinner. They are tasty, healthy and easy to make.
Reader Review
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These sweet potatoes were cooked perfectly! I was so happy with the texture and the taste. I will definitely make them in the air fryer all the time now! Thank you!
— Debbie
Why Cook Sweet Potatoes in Air Fryer
There are two big advantages to cooking sweet potatoes in an air fryer. First of all they will be done much more quickly. You can have air fryer baked sweet potatoes ready in 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of the sweet potato. I always am looking for ways to get dinner on the table more quickly!
The second advantage is that you can get a crispy skin. The hot air and high temperature of the air fryer nicely crisps the outside of the sweet potato. It will be crispier than if you use an oven and much, much crispier than if you use an Instant Pot or microwave to cook the potatoes.
Cooking in an air fryer gives you sweet potatoes with a light and fluffy inside and a crusty skin. They go well with a dinner like rib eye steak or pork tenderolin roast.
Selecting Sweet Potatoes
For baking sweet potatoes in an air fryer you will get better results if you pick ones that are all about the same size. This way they will all cook at about the same rate.
Smaller and skinny ones will cook more quickly and big fat ones will take longer. So as you are selecting sweet potatoes for the bins at the grocery store think about how you will be using them!
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How to Make Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes
1. Prepare the Sweet Potatoes
Wash the sweet potatoes well and then dry them off. If you don’t dry them the moisture in the skin will make them steam and they won’t be as crispy. Use a fork to poke holes in them.
2. Oil the Sweet Potatoes
I like to coat the skin of the sweet potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle them with kosher salt. This makes the skin extra tasty once they are baked.
On the other hand some people prefer to cook with an the air fryer in order to reduce the amount of oil that they use. You don’t need the oil, and can skip it without affecting anything except the final texture of the skin and the amount of calories in the side dish.
If you are going to oil them the best way to do it is to put the oil in a bowl and use your hands to rub it all over the sweet potatoes. Then sprinkle a little salt or other favorite seasoning on.
3. Air Fry the Sweet Potatoes
Put the sweet potatoes in the air fryer basket, being careful not to crowd them. The air fryer works by circulating hot air, so there has to be room for the air to circulate. I can fit 2-4 sweet potatoes in my Omorc air fryer, depending on their size.
Set the air fryer for 400 F for 30 minutes. There is no need to preheat the air fryer. After 30 minutes check the sweet potatoes. If they squeeze easily they are done and if not put them back in for another 5-15 minutes, depending on their size.
You can also use an instant read thermometer to test the potatoes. They are perfectly done when the internal temperature is 200 F. This is what I usually do since it takes the guess work out of when they are done!
Can I Make These Ahead of Time?
You can make baked sweet potatoes ahead of time, although they won’t be quite as tasty reheated. You can store them covered tightly in the refrigerator for a few days. Then when you are ready to serve them put them back in the air fryer for another 10-15 minutes to reheat them.
Doing this will result in some loss of crispiness in the skin. A better idea is to use leftover or extra baked sweet potatoes to make these twice baked sweet potatoes. These are delicious and a great way to make leftover sweet potatoes taste amazing!
What to Serve With Baked Sweet Potatoes
Baked sweet potatoes make a tasty side dish with almost any meal. You can also mash them with butter and milk and make mashed sweet potatoes.
I usually keep it simple and top the sweet potatoes off with butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar. But adding brown sugar makes them more appealing to kids and is popular too.
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Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 sweet potatoes
- 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 Tablespoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Wash the sweet potatoes well. Dry them thoroughly so they bake and not steam.2 sweet potatoes
- Use a fork to poke holes in the sweet potatoes.
- Rub the olive oil all over the sweet potatoes and sprinkle them with the salt.1/2 Tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 Tablespoon kosher salt
- Put the prepared sweet potatoes in the air fryer basket, being sure not to crowd them.
- Cook in the air fryer on 400 F for 30 minutes. Check the sweet potatoes for doneness and cook for another 5-15 minutes depending on their size. Sweet potatoes are done when they squish easily or when an instant read thermometer reads 200 F.
- Serve with butter and cinnamon.
Video
Notes
- Choose sweet potatoes of similar sizes to ensure even and consistent cooking.
- You can leave off the salt and oil if desired.
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Nutrition Information
Nutrition facts are estimates.
The sweet potato fries recipe is not there you have put a baked potato recipe there by mistake
These sweet potatoes were cooked perfectly! I was so happy with the texture and the taste. I will definitely make them in the air fryer all the time now! Thank you!
You said the skin is crispy. Do you eat the skin as well?
I was wondering the same thing! What’s the big deal with a crispy skin? I have never eaten the skin of sweet potato!
Excellent!