These savory twice baked sweet potatoes are filled with caramelized onions and topped with cheese to make the perfect holiday side dish. No added sugar, gluten-free, and easy to make vegan!
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Twice baked potatoes have been a favorite of mine since childhood. Now that I'm fully in love with sweet potatoes too, it only makes sense that I needed a twice baked version of those!
Savory twice baked sweet potatoes
A lot of twice baked sweet potato recipes make them sweet by adding brown sugar or marshmallows. I wanted to keep things savory so I chose to stuff them with rich caramelized onions and top them with cheese.
I also love that this recipe doesn't require an extra bowl for mixing the filling, you'll just add it all right to the sweet potatoes themselves. Avoiding extra dishes is a win for everyone.
These could really be a meal on their own, but I especially love them as a Thanksgiving side dish. They're a little healthier than cream filled mashed potatoes and they have so much rich flavor!
Ingredients
- Butter
- Onions
- Broth or white wine
- Sweet potatoes
- Gruyere
- Salt & pepper
How to make twice baked sweet potatoes
- Heat butter in a large cast iron or stainless steel skillet over medium heat.
- Add the onions and stir, then turn the heat down to medium low. Allow the onions to cook, just barely sizzling, until soft and golden brown (about 1 hour), stirring every 5-10 minutes.
- Deglaze the pan by adding a little water, broth, balsamic vinegar, or white wine, stirring to pick up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper.
- While the onions are cooking, prick the skin of the sweet potatoes a few times with a fork and wrap each tightly in aluminum foil. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 400ºF for 1 hour or until soft when gently squeezed.
- Remove the potatoes from the oven and move the oven rack to the highest position. Preheat the broiler to high.
- Allow the sweet potatoes to cool enough to handle, then cut each in half and fluff up the inside carefully with a fork. Mash in a little butter, then distribute the caramelized onions between the sweet potatoes. Top with shredded gruyere cheese.
- Place the sweet potato halves on a baking sheet and broil a few minutes, watching closely, until the cheese is melted and just beginning to brown.
Top tips and questions
How to bake sweet potatoes
You'll want to prick your sweet potatoes a few times with a fork to allow steam to escape and prevent an explosion in your oven. This can also release some of the sweet, sticky sugars as it bakes, which can be really difficult to clean up.
For this reason, I like to place the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet lined with parchment or aluminum foil. I also wrap my potatoes in foil when baking, but if you prefer not to cook with foil you can omit this step.
Bake the potatoes for 1 hour at 400ºF, then check for doneness by giving it a gentle squeeze with an oven mitt covered hand. It should give to pressure and feel soft. You could also unwrap one and poke it with a fork. It should slide in easily.
Keep in mind that sweet potatoes come in a variety of shapes and sizes. If you have a large sweet potato it may need to cook longer.
Deglazing the pan
While the onions caramelize, some of that caramelization sticks to the bottom of the pan. Adding a little broth, water, balsamic vinegar, or white wine releases that and allows it to stay with the onions. I like the flavor of white wine best, but any of these four will work.
Freezing twice baked sweet potatoes
Yes, these can be frozen either before or after broiling. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer safe container before freezing for up to 3 months. They can be thawed overnight in the refrigerator or baked at 375ºF from frozen until warm.
Tips for customizing
- For vegan twice baked sweet potatoes, omit the cheese (or use a vegan version) and use avocado or olive oil to make vegan caramelized onions
- Make the caramelized onions oil free
- Skip the extra butter in the cooked sweet potatoes and instead mash in a couple teaspoons of sour cream in each
- Swap the gruyere for a regular swiss or cheddar and top with minced chives
- Meat eaters can add crumbled bacon
FAQ
Gruyere is technically not vegetarian because it uses animal rennet in its production. If this is a concern for you, swap it for another cheese, such as swiss cheese, that is made with plant derived rennet. A couple good brands of swiss that I've seen use plant derived rennet are Organic Valley or Happy Farms. You could also omit the cheese entirely.
Yes, this is the perfect dish to prep ahead of time. Follow the recipe up until it's time to broil them, then cover and refrigerate. To finish, you can either allow them to come to room temperature, bake for a few minutes, or microwave to warm the insides before broiling.
Yes, I love making baked sweet potatoes in the instant pot because it only takes a few minutes. You will still want to use your oven for the broiler unless you prefer to skip the second bake and just make a stuffed sweet potato.
What to serve with twice baked sweet potatoes
More side dish recipes
- Mashed Potatoes Without Milk
- Cranberry Sauce with Dried Cranberries
- Instant Pot Scalloped Potatoes
- Vegetarian Cornbread Stuffing
- Oven Roasted Vegetables
- Oven Roasted Broccoli
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Parmesan
- Mashed Potato Bake
- Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Garlic
If you make this recipe, be sure to rate it, leave a comment, or tag #theliveinkitchen on Instagram!
Recipe
Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Caramelized Onions and Gruyere
Ingredients
Caramelized onions
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 small to medium yellow onions, sliced
- 1-2 tablespoons Water, broth, balsamic vinegar, or wine, optional
- Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
- 4 large sweet potatoes
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 6 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded
- Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Caramelized Onions
- Heat butter in a large cast iron or stainless steel skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add the onions and stir to coat.
- Turn the heat down to medium low. Allow the onions to cook, just barely sizzling and stirring every 5 or 10 minutes, until very soft and golden brown, about 1 hour. If they start to dry out you can add a bit more butter.
- When the onions are dark enough you may want to deglaze the pan with a little water, broth, balsamic vinegar, or wine. Stir the liquid into the onions, allowing all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan to be picked up and absorbed into the mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- While the onions are cooking, rinse the sweet potatoes and prick the skin with a fork a few times to allow steam to escape as they cook. Wrap each potato tightly in aluminum foil and place on a baking sheet in the preheated oven until soft and easily pierced with a fork, about an hour.
- Preheat the broiler to high and set an oven rack in the highest position.
- Allow the sweet potatoes to cool enough so you can handle them. Cut each potato in half and fluff up the inside carefully with a fork, then mash a little butter, salt, and pepper into each half.
- Distribute caramelized onions amongst the potatoes, then top with shredded Gruyere.
- Place sweet potato halves on a baking sheet and broil a few minutes, watching closely, until the cheese is melted and just beginning to brown.
Notes
Tips for customizing twice baked sweet potatoes
- For vegan twice baked sweet potatoes, omit the cheese (or use a vegan version) and use avocado or olive oil to make vegan caramelized onions https://lettucevegout.com/recipes/vegan-caramelized-onions/
- Make the caramelized onions oil free https://minimalistbaker.com/easy-caramelized-onions-oil-free/
- Skip the extra butter in the cooked sweet potatoes and instead mash in a couple teaspoons of sour cream in each
- Swap the gruyere for a regular swiss or cheddar and top with minced chives
- Meat eaters can add crumbled bacon
Mom says
Lindsay...these look really good. Why do I always look at your site when I'm hungry. I'm going to have to try them. Say hello to the little potato heads for me. Love...Mother
Trish says
Yum! We usually try a new sweet potato dish every year just to change it up a little bit. I think there's a good chance this one will be on the menu 🙂
Casey says
Theres just something about twice baked sweet potatoes that really attracts me. Don't get me wrong - regular twice baked potatoes are awesome but SWEET potatoes just take the gold medal. Almost my favorite comfort food - apart from a big bowl of fattening pasta. 😉
Jane says
at what temperature do you bake the potatoes for one hour for the twice baked sweet potatoes with cartelized onions and gueyere cheese? Thanks