Bake Sweet Potatoes From Frozen For The Fluffiest Results

If you've ever baked a sweet potato then you know that fluffy is the absolute last adjective you'd use to describe it. Would you describe it as sweet? Yes. Silky? Sure! Satisfying? You bet! But fluffy? Probably not. Sweet potatoes are popular for their sweet flavor and smooth texture but they can be a bit dense. It's one of the reasons that you'll most often see them mashed in casseroles topped with marshmallows or brown sugar. It's also a reason why you'll catch them in recipes recommending that you roast them, which allows the sugars to caramelize and gives them an even sweeter flavor.

If you're looking for a fluffy baked potato, you might be convinced that the only option is a high-starch potato like a russet. However, it turns out that there is, in fact, a way to make a sweet potato fluff before baking it. It might sound crazy, but freezing your spuds and baking them from frozen could be the answer. 

While it might seem silly to freeze a sweet potato just to bake it, it might be worth your time if you're in the market for fluffy tubers. Freezing a sweet potato causes the water inside the potato to crystalize. This water stays crystallized inside the potato and doesn't break the skin which gives it a resulting fluffy texture. It's recommended that you bake the frozen sweet potato at a lower temperature initially but then finish it at a higher temp to get that caramelized flavor.

Some people prefer to eat sweet potatoes over a regular Russet potato for health reasons. By freezing the spuds before baking them, you're more likely to get a similar texture to a traditional baked potato, which can be fun if you don't regularly eat Russet jacket potatoes. If you are planning to roast sweet potatoes to puree them, or you're planning to chop them and roast them for a salad, or vegetarian taco recipe, there's no need to freeze them first. It's simply a technique to consider employing if you're planning to serve the sweet potato baked with toppings and you're looking for that fluffy baked texture.