Cranberry Pecan Sweet Potato Bake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Should you poke holes in sweet potatoes before baking? ›

Before baking, use a fork to prick each sweet potato several times. You don't need to jab the fork in deep. We're creating steam vents. Otherwise the pressure in the sweet potato could build up so high in the oven that it explodes—an unlikely possibility but one best avoided!

If your sweet potato casserole turned out “watery”, its usually because you forgot to add eggs; you didn't let your casserole have enough time to set up after baking or you used fresh sweet potatoes and didn't boil them long enough before mashing.

Sweet potatoes generally cook faster than russet potatoes. However, the size of the potato and cooking method will affect the cooking time. Is it better to microwave or bake a sweet potato? A microwave is the fastest way to cook a sweet potato, however baking will result in a better texture.

TIPS & TRICKS to Make this Recipe: The main secrets to achieving that incredible crispy texture, is to soak the cut sweet potatoes in cold water for at least 30 minutes. This helps remove the starch from the sweet potatoes so they´re not limp & soggy.

"Yes, it's good to prick them," Smith told Food52. "It pokes holes in the skin, which allows steam to escape. Otherwise, they could explode—it doesn't happen all the time, but it happens every once in a while.

Wrapping sweet potatoes in foil helps in a few ways. It prevents the exterior of the tuber from drying out and overheating too quickly, which would minimize enzymatic activity; it also results in a more evenly cooked texture.

A really good sweet potato casserole filling should be light and moist, not dense. If it's dense, then you may not have added an often overlooked ingredient—an egg. An egg adds lift, structure and volume and makes the filling more custard-like.

The reason they are hard in the middle is cook them longer or on a higher temperature. Please do not soak sweet potato. You must pierce the sweet potato on all the sides with a fork before baking it. This will ensure it comes out soft from inside.

A good rule of thumb for whole baked sweet potatoes: 45 minutes to 1 hour at 400 degrees F; 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes at 350 degrees F; 1 and 1/2 hours at 325 degrees F. You'll know the sweet potatoes are done by piercing the center of the sweet potato with the tip of a sharp knife; the flesh should yield easily.

If you're able to find true yams in your supermarket, they can be prepared just like your favorite potato recipes—boiled, roasted, baked, or fried. But if sweet, candied recipes are what you're after, you probably want to stick to using sweet potatoes.

Do you pierce sweet potatoes before baking in the oven? ›

Once potatoes are clean, pat them dry with a paper towel or clean kitchen towel. Pierce the sweet potato with a fork or sharp knife in several places, about about 6 times. This will allow steam to escape from the potatoes while they bake. Place your clean (and jabbed) sweet potatoes on the prepped baking sheet.

Baking whole sweet potatoes in the oven or cutting them into cubes and roasting them caramelizes the potatoes' starchy flesh, making it sweeter and giving it a silky smooth texture. Even if you are making mashed sweet potatoes, they will taste better with oven-cooked potatoes.

Do you have to poke holes in sweet potatoes before baking? Typically holes are poked into a sweet potato to prevent a potato exploding in your oven. However, the chance of that happening is low, and according to Lifehacker, sweet potatoes will retain more flavor if you don't poke them.

Poke a few holes in each potato so that steam can escape as the potatoes bake. Arrange on a baking sheet. I suggest lining the baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean up.

On harvesting potatoes, sweet potatoes, and other tubers and corms (e.g., gladiolus and dahlias), show holes or tunnels. Other crops such as onions may show scars. Season: The problems become evident at harvest time. Cause: The cause of the problem are the larvae of either the “click' beetle or the tuber flea beetle.

Rumor has it that an un-pricked spud will explode in the oven—but in all actuality, that's unlikely.