This recipe for twice baked sweet potatoes is tender potatoes piled high with pecan brown sugar streusel, marshmallows and dried cranberries and baked to perfection. You can prepare them in advance and then pop them in the oven right before your holiday meal!
These sweet potatoes have all the great flavors of a traditional casserole, yet they’re elegant enough for a fancy dinner. When I want sweet potatoes I serve crock pot sweet potato casserole, candied sweet potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes or this fantastic dish.
There are so many different mashed sweet potato recipes out there – some are topped with marshmallows, some with pecans and some with streusel. I can never decide which version I like the best so I decided to combine them all and stuff them into a hand held form. Behold, twice baked sweet potatoes loaded with toppings, the perfect Thanksgiving recipe.
These twice baked potatoes are wonderful with holiday dishes like Cajun turkey, brussels sprouts salad, crock pot stuffing or honey roasted carrots.
Table of Contents
- Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes Ingredients
- How Do You Make Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes?
- Tips For The Perfect Sweet Potatoes
- Quick Tip
- Recipe FAQs
- Flavor Variations
- More Great Thanksgiving Recipes
- Love This Recipe?
- Loaded Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes Recipe
Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes Ingredients
To make twice baked sweet potatoes you will need sweet potatoes, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. For the streusel topping make sure to have flour, more brown sugar, chopped pecans, cubes of butter, mini marshmallows and dried cranberries. For amounts and details check out the recipe card below.
- Sweet Potatoes: Pick any orange or red fleshed sweet potato for this recipe. You can use varieties like jewel or garnet sweet potatoes.
- Pecans: You can chop the pecans for the topping yourself or buy a bag of chopped pecans to save a little time.
- Mini-Marshmallows: These little marshmallows go great with sweet potatoes. Buy a bag from your local supermarket and if you have leftover marshmallows use them for slow cooker hot chocolate!
How Do You Make Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes?
To make twice baked sweet potatoes, first poke your sweet potatoes with a fork and place them on a baking sheet. The sheet pan goes into the oven about 45 minutes until the potatoes finish roasting. Let the potatoes cool and then scoop out the sweet potato flesh.
Mash the scooped out sweet potato with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Put the mashed mixture back in the sweet potato skins. Mix up a streusel topping by combining flour, brown sugar, butter and pecans.
Sprinkle the topping on the potatoes and they go back in the oven. After 20 minutes take the potatoes out and add the marshmallows to the top. Put them back in the oven a few minutes then sprinkle dried cranberries over the top and serve this delicious side dish!
Tips For The Perfect Sweet Potatoes
- Try to pick sweet potatoes that are the same size and shape. They will cook more evenly and the end result will look nicer if all your potatoes look similar.
- I take the contents of 8 potatoes and stuff them into 6 potato shells. This makes each of the twice baked sweet potatoes look full with delicious mashed sweet potatoes.
- Cook your sweet potatoes on a sheet pan so they don’t drip into your oven. If you use a sheet of aluminum foil your cleanup will be easier.
- Make sure to prick your sweet potatoes with a fork before they go into the oven.
- Feel free to double or triple this recipe for a crowd.
Quick Tip
I use a potato ricer for the smoothest end result but you can also use a standard potato masher or a mixer.
Recipe FAQs
Are sweet potatoes better baked or microwaved?
I prefer oven baked sweet potatoes over microwaved potatoes. The flesh of the potato is more uniformly tender when roasted in an oven.
How do you prevent twice baked potatoes from falling apart?
The secret to preventing twice baked potatoes from falling apart is to carefully scoop out the roasted potatoes. You want to leave about a quarter inch of potato on the skin so that the skin stays intact. You also want to carefully put the mashed potato back in the potato skins. One trick is to pipe the mashed potato back in place with a piping bag.
Should you poke holes in a sweet potato before baking?
You should poke holes in a sweet potato before baking with a fork or a skewer. This allows excess moisture to leave the sweet potato while cooking. It keeps helps keep the shape of the sweet potato which is especially important for twice baked sweet potatoes.
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Flavor Variations
These twice baked sweet potatoes are sweet and delicious as-is; however, you can change up the flavors if you want.
- Maple: Try adding a tablespoon of maple syrup to the mashed potatoes.
- Savory: For a savory version of this dish, omit the brown sugar and cinnamon from the mashed sweet potatoes and omit the sweet toppings. Instead, add a dash of black pepper and 2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning to the mashed potatoes. Top the dish with bits of cooked bacon. If you don’t have Italian seasoning, feel free to mix in some thyme, parsley, oregano, basil and garlic powder. For a little spice, try adding cayenne pepper.
- Apple: Instead of cranberries and marshmallows, top the dish with slices of peeled apple that you sauté until tender in 3 tablespoons of butter, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 3 tablespoons of brown sugar.
- Pie Spices: You can make your sweet potatoes more like a sweet potato pie. Just stir into your mashed sweet potatoes 4 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
- Fluff: Feel free to top your sweet potatoes with a little marshmallow fluff (marshmallow creme).
This is such a fun way to serve sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving and it’s so convenient to make them ahead of time. The important thing is to not skimp on the toppings. Because come on, we all know that’s the best part!
