Chili Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why do you soak sweet potatoes before baking? ›

The cold water bath helps rinse the starch off the sweet potatoes so they're a bit more crispy. That said, if you do not have the time, you can still get crispy baked sweet potato fries by using high heat and a little drizzle of olive oil.

One stuffed sweet potato is pretty filling so you may find that it makes an entire meal for you - depending on how hungry you are of course! The first sweet potato is stuffed with avocado and black beans. This will provide some good anti-inflammatory fat, plus iron and plant-based protein from the black beans.

Place the sweet potato meat into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and add the orange juice, cream, butter, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Mix together until combined but not smooth and transfer to a baking dish. Bake the potatoes for 20 to 30 minutes, until heated through.

Wrapping the sweet potatoes in foil ensures that they don't dry out too quickly, and allows you to add aromatics if desired. Unwrapping the sweet potatoes and increasing the oven temperature produces charred, roasted flavors and caramelizes converted sugars.

Types of Potatoes to Soak

"Sweet potatoes can also be peeled and stored in water for up to 24 hours."

Give them a cold water bath: Once your fries are chopped, toss them into a large bowl. Then cover the fries completely with cold water and let them soak for at least 30 minutes (or up to overnight). This will help to rinse off the excess starch and help the potatoes crisp up beautifully in the oven.

Can You Cook Sweet Potatoes in the Microwave? Yes, you can! In fact, the shorter cook time will help the sweet potatoes retain more nutrients that are often lost in the long oven-baking process. It's not all that different than baking a sweet potato in the oven, except it's a whole lot faster.

If you enjoy sweet potatoes, you can absolutely enjoy them daily. However, eating multiple sweet potatoes every day could cause a harmless condition called carotenodermia, where your skin turns yellow-orange. You may also want to be cautious about your sweet potato intake if you have a history of kidney stones.

Baking can also cause an 80% drop in vitamin A levels, twice as much as boiling. Therefore, from a nutritional standpoint, boiling rather than baking should be recommended for cooking sweet potato.

Scrub and pat potatoes dry. Pierce potatoes all over with the tines of a fork and bake in oven, directly on rack, until soft and caramelizing, 1 1/2 hours. Slash the tops of potatoes open with the tip of a sharp knife and push ends of each potato toward each other to open.

Should I peel sweet potatoes before boiling? ›

There is not much difference between boiling sweet potatoes with the skins on versus peeling them, but you will get a boost of fiber and potassium if you keep the skin on. The skin also adds a subtle texture to each bite. If you're looking for a smoother mash, peel the potatoes first before boiling.

No, yams and sweet potatoes are not the same. Yams have rough, dark brown skin that is often compared to tree bark, and their flesh is dry and starchy like a regular potato. Sweet potatoes have smooth reddish skin, softer flesh (when cooked), and a sweet flavor.

Jewel. While Beauregards may be the most common sweet potato, Jewels are right next to them in terms of being a great, classic sweet potato. They have a pretty, thin orange skin, and bright orange flesh that screams "sweet potato." (Or "yam," wrong as that may be.

Toppings for Baked Sweet Potatoes:

Maple syrup, butter and toasted pecans. Sour cream, chives, salt, and pepper. Blue cheese, walnuts and honey. Mini marshmallows, brown sugar and cinnamon (pop it under the broiler to toast the marshmallows a bit).

The Bottom Line. You can eat sweet potato skin. It's a good source of fiber, a nutrient that may help lower the risk of heart disease and keep you feeling full for longer periods of time. The next time you make a sweet potato dish, whether it's a roasted side dish or a hearty, cozy casserole, leave the peel on.

If you skip the soaking stage, they don't get as crisp. I rinse them off, cut off the ends, jab them with a knifepoint, and bake them until fork-tender, usually 30–40 minutes at 400 F. No problem. Works for regular and all the varieties of sweet potatoes/yams that I have tried.

Why use salt water for soaking potatoes? There's moisture naturally found in potatoes, and moisture is drawn to higher concentrations of salt. (This is a process called osmosis.) So, if you put the potatoes in a salt water bath, that will help draw out some of their moisture, resulting in crispier fries.

The reason is to prevent the potatoes exposure to air, which causes dehydration, oxidation, and discoloration. Immersing cut potatoes will also help rinse off excess starch.

To remove excess starch, place cut sweet potatoes into cold water making sure the cut surfaces are submerged. This step is especially recommended for "kinton" (Japanese-style mashed sweet potato) and other lightly seasoned dishes where a delectable color is desired. Soaking time of about 5 minutes is sufficient.