Simple to make baked sweet potatoes are overstuffed with shredded apple and crispy bacon then topped with a bright red pop of pomegranate arils and more bacon.
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time1 hourhr
Total Time1 hourhr15 minutesmins
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: stuffed sweet potatoes, Thanksgiving side dish
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Wash and dry the potatoes. Carefully poke all sides of the potatoes with a sharp knife or fork.
4 medium sweet potatoes
Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until soft when given a squeeze. Reduce the oven temperature 400 degrees F.
Let the potatoes cool for about 10 minutes. Cut off the top of each potato and scoop out the inside. Leave about ¼ to ½ inch of the pulp in the skin. Place the sweet potato pulp in a large bowl. Set the empty potato skins back on the baking sheet.
To the sweet potato pulp, add the butter, kosher salt, cinnamon and light brown sugar. Mash the potatoes with a masher. Set aside.
2 tablespoons salted butter, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
Peel the apples. Using a grater, shred the apples.
2 medium apples such as Braeburn or Honeycrisp
Add the shredded apple and half of the crumbled bacon to the mashed potato mixture. Stir to combine.
4 slices of bacon
Fill the potato skins with the mashed potato filling. Place the potatoes back on the baking sheet. Bake in a 400 degree F oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
Remove the potatoes from the oven. Sprinkle with the pomegranate arils and the parsley.
Be sure to bake sweet potatoes on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Sweet potatoes are high in sugar. While the potatoes bake, the sugar oozes out. If the potatoes are baked directly on the oven racks (like other potatoes) the sugar will drip and cause a smoky mess in the oven.
Let the potatoes cool about 10 minutes after baking so they are easy to handle. If they are still too hot, hold the potatoes with a couple sheets of paper towels or a dish towel.
The skins of the baked sweet potato are thin. When scooping them out, leave about ¼ to ½ inch of the the potato pulp along the interior.
Sweet potatoes mash very easily. I favor a handheld potato masher.
Using a grater to shred the apples makes the perfect size of apple pieces to mix into the mashed sweet potatoes.
There will be plenty of filling for the potato skins so don't be afraid to overstuff them.