Ditch the casserole and make these Twice-baked Sweet Potatoes instead! They’re topped with a dollop of butter, toasted pecans and a dash of cinnamon. And they are the perfect side dish for your holiday meals!
We love potatoes, but especially sweet potatoes! Compared to regular potatoes, sweet potatoes are higher in Vitamin A, fiber and lower on the glycemic index! Some of our favorite sweet potato dishes are baked sweet potato fries, sweet potato coconut curry, and sweet potato biscuits. But for holidays we love twice-baked sweet potatoes!
Sweet and Savory
Sweet potato casserole wasn’t something we ever had for Thanksgiving dinner. It wasn’t until I was married that I had it for the first time at my in-laws and I immediately fell in love.
Today I’m sharing a slightly healthier mash-up of that classic casserole and twice-baked potatoes (similar to our loaded twice baked potatoes). These are the best of both worlds!
It’s a combination of the two recipes and this version is SWEET and SAVORY!
How to Make
The great thing about this recipe is how EASY it is! You can toss the potatoes in the oven, set them & forget them.
Prep and bake: Scrub potatoes, dry and pierce several times with a fork. Place on a lined baking sheet and bake for 50-65 minutes or until cooked throughout
Filling: When they’re fork-tender, carefully cut off a thin slice from the top of each potato. Scoop out the inside of each potato and place in a medium mixing bowl. Add cream cheese, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Then using a fork, mash the potatoes until smooth and creamy. Add milk until potatoes are light.
Second Bake: Spoon the filling back into the potato skin shells. Then return the potatoes to the oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes.
Toppings
To keep these on the “lighter” side, we’re ditching the marshmallows (trust me, you won’t miss them) and the sugary crumble. Instead, we’re topping them with a tiny pat of butter, some toasted pecans and a pinch of cinnamon. It’s amazing how good they taste with so little sugar. The natural sweetness of the potatoes really shines in this recipe.
However, if you want to make them sweeter you can add mini marshmallows to the top before you bake for the second time. After 10-15 minutes turn on the broiler and broil for about 1 minute, until the mini marshmallows are toasted.
Or you can make your sweet potatoes more savory by topping with butter, salt, pepper, bacon, sour cream, and cheese!
Storing + Reheating
Make them ahead of time: What I love about twice-baked sweet potatoes is that you can make them the day before! Follow the recipe all the way up until you bake for the second time. Then store them in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.
The next day pull them out and bake as the recipe instructs or until they are heated through (they might take a few minutes longer after being in the refrigerator).
Leftovers: If you have leftovers, store them in the refrigerator in an air-tight container. Then reheat in a 375-degree oven for 20-30 minutes until bubbly or heated through.
Freeze: Twice baked sweet potatoes can be frozen for 2-3 months.
I hope you love these twice-baked sweet potatoes as much as we do! They are perfectly portioned for your next holiday meal!
Find more holiday sides here:
Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 large sweet potatoes
- 3 oz cream cheese
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp kosher sea salt
- pinch nutmeg
- 2-3 tbsp whole milk
For the Topping
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup toasted chopped pecans
- 3 pinches cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Scrub potatoes, dry and pierce several times with a fork. Place on a lined baking sheet and bake for 50-65 minutes or until cooked throughout. Carefully cut off a thin slice from the top of each potato (essentially create a lid). Scoop out the inside of each potato and place in a medium mixing bowl.
- Add cream cheese, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg to the mixing bowl. Using a fork, mash the potatoes until smooth and creamy. Add milk until potatoes are light.
- Spoon filling back into the potato skin shells. Return to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes. Remove and top each with a small slice of butter, toasted pecans and a pinch of cinnamon. Serve immediately.
NOTES
- You can easily double or triple this recipe.
Man I messed up and ended up having to scrape out the soft meat inside the potatoes and I messed up the skins. Do you have a video of procedure?
Thanks you,
Susanne
Hi Susanne, I’m sorry to hear this. It can be a little tricky and sorry, I don’t have a video.
So creamy and flavorful! This is one of my favorite side dishes and meals. So filling too.
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe! Will surely have this again! It’s really easy to make and it tasted so delicious! Highly recommended!
Can you make the filling the night before? Then finish them up the next day?
I personally have not tried, but that should work 🙂