Best Baked Sweet Potato Toppings

There’s more to sweet potatoes than butter and casseroles, and in this post, I’m sharing countless baked sweet potato toppings you can use to turn plain potatoes into a satisfying and healthy meal.

I love using sweet potatoes to build a quick dinner or serve alongside an entreé. They are rich in fiber and beta-carotene, which is converted into Vitamin A, a.k.a, the stuff we need for healthy skin and vision.

Not to mention they’re savory-sweet flavor makes them a versatile ingredient for all sorts of recipes.

Sometimes I like to slice and bake them into fries, but I often bake them whole and serve them as a baked potato bar with various toppings. It’s a no-pressure way to get my kids to try new things and make dinner fun.

Check out this video below to see how to make an easy dinner any night of the week.

But before we dive into all the delicious toppings and loaded potato recipes, let’s go over a few ways to bake sweet potatoes with tender, fluffy orange centers.

How to Bake Sweet Potatoes Fast

There are 3 methods for baking sweet potatoes; oven, microwave, or slow cooker. Ultimately, the choice is left to how much time you have and how many potatoes you want to bake at once. 

You’ll want to start with medium-sized potatoes washed and poked with a knife so the steam can escape during cooking.

Oven-Baked Sweet Potatoes
Rub each potato with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Wrap the potatoes individually and place in a 425F oven for 45 to 60 minutes or until tender through the center. 

Crockpot Sweet Potatoes
Rub each potato with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Wrap the potatoes individually and place them in the slow cooker dish. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours or until tender when poked with a fork. 

Microwave Sweet Potatoes
Place the potatoes in the microwave on high power for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, turn them over and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, in 1-minute intervals, pausing in between each interval to check for doneness. 

You can also cook sweet potatoes using this instant pot method or cook them in an air fryer.

Undoubtedly, baking the sweet potatoes in the microwave is the fastest route, but I like to save even more time and “bake” the sweet potatoes in the slow cooker by setting them to cook in the morning. When dinner rolls around, they are tender in the center and ready to be stuffed!

Best Baked Sweet Potato Toppings

Outside of butter, there are so many delicious ingredients to load onto a baked sweet potato. You can go savory, sweet, or a little of both! Here’s a few ingredients to get you started: 

Sweet Potato Toppings (Sweet or Savory): 

• Cooked taco meat
• Shredded chicken + sauce
• Fried egg
• Sauteed peppers and onions
• Sauteed spinach
• Sauteed cabbage
• Bacon, cooked and chopped
• Guacamole
• Diced Avocado
• Pico de Gallo
• Black beans
• Chunky avocado salsa
• Lentils
• Shredded or soft cheese
• Hummus
• Mushrooms
• Almond or peanut butter
• Nutella
• Chocolate chips
• Chopped walnuts
• Marshmallow
• Berries
• Sliced bananas
• Honey or maple syrup

Baked Sweet Potato Recipes

Here are a few ways to combine popular sweet potato toppings and turn this side dish into a full meal, or dessert:  

• Taco Sweet Potato: All your favorite taco stuffings loaded onto a potato. Ground taco meat, guacamole, cheese, and topped off with sour cream. 
• BBQ Chicken Potato: smoky and sweet shredded BBQ chicken, shredded Cheddar, and a drizzle of BBQ sauce.
• Southwest Potato: a vegetarian meal packed with flavor and protein. Black beans and corn, salsa, diced avocado, and sour cream. Feeling fancy, give it a drizzle of Cilantro Lime Ranch. 
• Buffalo Chicken Sweet Potato: a new and healthier way to enjoy buffalo chicken. Top a sweet potato with shredded buffalo chicken, blue cheese crumbles, a drizzle of Ranch dressing, and green onions. 
• Breakfast Potato: the perfect breakfast for dinner dish with 4 ingredients: cooked bacon, diced avocado, a fried egg. Feel free to add cheese or pico de gallo. 
• Broccoli & Cheddar: classic potato toppings but over a sweet potato, it’s cheesy, savory, sweet, and pure goodness.
• Shakshuka Potato: baked eggs in a savory tomato sauce over a sweet potato.
• PB & J: sweet and savory with peanut butter and fresh berries.
• Protein Potato: another way to pack on the protein in a creamy, delicious combination with Ricotta or cottage cheese and fresh berries. 
• The Elvis Potato: try this epic combination of peanut butter, chocolate chips, and sliced bananas over a baked sweet potato for a better-for-you dessert. 
• Sweet Potato Pie- want to keep it simple? Top a baked sweet potato with butter, cinnamon, and a drizzle of maple syrup. Classy, easy, and oh so good! 
• Roasted Apples & Cinnamon Potato- the combination of sweet potato with apple pie filling is another wholesome dessert that’s out of this world.

These ideas aren’t the only way I enjoy loading sweet potatoes, there are also some delicious ways to enjoy sweet potatoes as toast. My favorite: mashed avocado, topped with a fried egg- it’s heavenly.

Make-Ahead Baked Sweet Potatoes

Prepping baked potatoes ahead is another bonus to making incredible meals fast. Bake them in the slow cooker, oven, or microwave until cooked through, wrap them with foil, and store them in the fridge for up to 4 days. This way, you have perfectly cooked potatoes ready to be reheated, stuffed, and eaten.

What are your favorite baked potato toppings?