Japanese sweet potatoes are the ultimate superfood—they’re healthy, nutritious, delicious and filling! While this isn’t a particularly complex recipe, I wanted to talk about how we enjoy Japanese sweet potatoes and the different things you can do with them!
Japanese Sweet Potatoes vs. Orange Sweet Potatoes
Of course, all sweet potatoes are incredibly healthy, but the clearest difference between a Japanese sweet potato and a standard sweet potato is the color. Japanese sweet potatoes are purple on the outside and yellow inside.
I’ve also anecdotally found that the water content of a Japanese sweet potato seems to be slightly less. The texture is a little bit fluffier and starchier, which I personally enjoy. The flavor has more of a candy-like sweetness, with a nutty, chestnut-like flavor and texture.
That’s why, in my humble opinion, they’re such a great all-purpose item to have during the week for snacking and meal-prepping. They’re super satisfying, and are closer in flavor and texture to a standard white potato.
The Benefits of Japanese Sweet Potatoes
Japanese sweet potatoes are of course packed with vitamins and fiber, but they’re really an incredible source of complex carbohydrates that fill you up, fuel you, and ensure that you have energy to go about your day, or burn calories without needing to deprive yourself of carbohydrates!
We’re smack dab in the middle of guilt over forgotten new year’s resolutions and the rising anticipation of getting in summer shape. But I’m a big believer that anyone looking to get healthier doesn’t have to limit themselves to leaves and bricks of poached chicken breast to get healthy. Japanese sweet potatoes are one of my favorite snacks and building blocks for delicious and filling meals.
How to Eat Them
We like to steam or roast our Japanese sweet potatoes. This recipe is for roasting in particular, as roasting potatoes is one of those things that can be surprisingly tricky if you get your cooking temperatures and times wrong.
Once you’ve got a great roasted Japanese sweet potato, you can eat it in so many different ways. There is some debate in the family on this topic. My mom loves them plain and can’t imagine eating them savory / salty. I, however, love the combination of the sweet chestnut flavor and really big flavors that add salt, spice, and healthy fats into the mix.
Here are some of the ways we enjoy them:
- As a snack, plain, or dipped in salt, or any other seasoning of choice—salt & black pepper, salt & white pepper, salt with chili flakes even! Experiment!
- Served as a side with salt and maybe even a pat of butter.
- Used in a salad—this would be a great addition to our Thai Chicken Salad with Red Curry!
- As a loaded baked potato with Mexican favorites like beans, chorizo, and maybe even a little bit of queso. (I’ve gotten hooked on cashew queso lately!) All you need is some vegetables on the side to make it a full meal.
Baked Japanese Sweet Potatoes: Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F/220 degrees C. Using a fork, poke holes in the sweet potatoes to create steam vents. Just do a few per side. You don’t want too much moisture to escape, which can actually slow down the cooking time.
Bake the sweet potatoes for 45-50 minutes.
When they are fork-tender, remove from the oven and serve. You can also let them cool, store in an airtight container, and snack on them throughout the week.
Perfect Baked Japanese Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 Japanese sweet potato (scrubbed)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F/220 degrees C. Using a fork, poke holes in the sweet potato to create steam vents. Just a couple per side are needed, as you don’t want too much moisture to escape, which can actually slow down the cooking time.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes.
- When they are fork-tender, remove from the oven and serve. You can also let them cool, store in an airtight container, and snack on them throughout the week.
Just a reminder, these must be refrigerated after cooking and should be consumed within a few days. I got sick pushing it to a week and letting them spend too much time at room temperature.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience, it’s so helpful :-)
My husband accidentally picked these up at a Korean supermarket – he thought he was getting the orange variety of sweet potato. Neither of us has had the white kind so I had no idea how to prepare them. A quick Google search led me to this site – thank you So Much for the great (and easy) recipe!
Thanks, Mrs. Wong! I’m glad you found us :)
When I bake these, the inside is deliciously soft but the skin is tough. Is there a way to make skin soft to eat?
We don’t eat the skin. If roasting to eat, peel the skin after you roast or steam them. The skin peels right off because some of the moisture escapes while cooking that it contracts/shrinks after it cools down.
hi Jessica, I haven’t had that problem, but I am a fan of munching on the skin. A way to make it soft is to steam them instead of baking.
I baked mine wrapped in aluminum foil and the skin was tender and delicious. It was the first time I made them. Just bought some yesterday . Have never seen them before. They are delicious.
I really love the Japanese sweet potatoes. More so than the orange ones. I usually make them in the microwave but I’ve never roasted in the oven. They are delicious.
It’s so hard for me to choose between them! Depends on my mood :)
Can a baking tray be used or does it need to be directly on the rack?
I use a baking tray lined with parchment paper so cleanup is easy. Because they’re sweeter, it can caramelize or even burn onto the gray, which is then so annoying to clean.
My first experience with Japanese Sweet Potatoes was spring 2021 during the Easter Season. My new find is Japanese Sweet Potatoes, which I discovered Spring 2021 at the Easter Season.
We baked them and topped with sour cream which was very good. However, since then, I found that peeling them, cut into medium dice,, and frying them is just as good. (quicker). I prefe them better than regular sweet potatoes. They are so sweet. Too bad they are not available in my area all year around.
Sounds delicious, Marie! Gotta get them when they hit the market, but we have noticed they have become a lot more common in general, so there is hope!
Do we cover the sweet potato in the oven ?
Hey Yen, no need!
I just tried these this weekend, they are delicious….
Wonderful, Lucie! Thank you :)
I think my girlfriend is mildly sick of how many of these I’ve cooked/eaten. Thank you for introducing me to these potatoes, I don’t even dress them up. Just keep a bag of roasted potatoes in the fridge and snack on one or two a day. Bless you and bless this website, reference it quite frequently!
Thanks so much, Grason! Tho apologies to your gf haha
Do u add brown sugar. To them like a regular sweet potatoes
Hi Shirley, there’s no need to, but you’re certainly welcome to try it out! These have a great natural sweetness, perhaps more so than orange sweet potatoes
There is no need to add brown sugar because they are naturally so sweet on their own. I never add brown sugar to a regular sweet potato….more sugar than is necessary. With frying them, I cook with S & P , butter and may top with a small amount of sour cream. if in the house.