Baking sweet potatoes/yams in the oven USED to be my go-to method for cooking these spuds. Since I rarely eat them right out of the oven and I peel the skin, I’ve starting cooking them in the microwave instead. Using the microwave, I can cook the yams in a fraction of the time and there’s no risk of me burning down the house. Win win!
The different types of sweet potatoes/yams cook at various times – the yellow and orange ones are wetter and cook in about 10 minutes whereas the drier purple ones can take up to 20 minutes.
For all types of sweet potatoes, my method is the same:
I wash and dry similarly-sized sweet potatoes/yams…
…stab them all over with a sharp paring knife…
…and arrange them in a circle in a Pyrex dish.
I cover the yams with a damp paper towel…
…and nuke them on high for 5 minutes. (If you’re just making one yam, it only takes about 5 minutes.) Then, I rotate the yams and nuke them for another 5 minutes. I keep checking and nuking the yams until they are soft to the touch.
Orange and yellow yams are normally done after a total of 10 minutes. For the purple yams, I usually need to nuke them for a total of 20 minutes and I rewet the paper towel halfway through the cooking process.
Don’t be lazy and zap the spuds for a total of 10-20 minutes right off the bat – you’ll end up with unevenly cooked sweet potatoes. Break up the cooking time in 5 minutes intervals x2 and then shorter intervals (e.g. 1-2 minutes) as the spuds soften.
Once they’re finished, I let them cool to room temperature, peel them…
…and stick them in the fridge in the same dish. Why waste your time washing a pan or dish when you can do it later?
Easy and quick post workout carbs!
Looking for more recipes? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPad® app, and in my cookbook, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel, December 2013).
