Loaded Baked Sweet Potatoes

Easy + Healthy Dinner Recipes:

Ingredients: Makes 2-4 servings

4 medium sweet potatoes (about 12 ounces each), washed, scrubbed, and dried
extra virgin olive oil; coat potatoes
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
sea salt and black pepper
toppings: sharp cheddar cheese, low fat sour cream, parsley, uncured turkey bacon (chopped), or add your favorite/preferred toppings

Cooking Instructions:

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 375ºF (190ºC). Using a fork, puncture sweet potatoes in several spots. Rub each sweet potato all over with a light coating of oil. Arrange on a baking sheet and bake until a fork can easily be inserted into the center of each sweet potato and skin is crisp and lightly browned, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
Let sweet potatoes rest 5 minutes. Slice each open lengthwise almost all the way through, open like a book. Mash potatoes. Add butter, season with salt and pepper.
Top with toppings of your choice. To melt cheese, add it first, then return sweet potatoes to oven until cheese is melted, about 1 minute. Add bacon, parsley, and sour cream. Feel free to add your favorite toppings to make it your own.