Ah, sweet potatoes. People seem to have a love and hate relationship with them and quite frankly, I simply can not understand how can people hate them. It is a potato that’s sweet enough so you can make desserts with it, what is there to hate really?
But, if you’re a fan of sweet potatoes then this one’s for you guys. As many people usually do(including myself), they leave leftovers after their dinner, and sometimes, those leftovers need to be reheated to be as tasty as before.
So, how does one reheat sweet potatoes? When it comes to reheating your leftover sweet potatoes, there are a few ways you can do it and they’re all so easy peasy.
How To Reheat Sweet Potato?
Reheating your leftover potato really varies on the way you originally cooked them. Sweet potatoes are very versatile and they can be cooked in many different ways.
You can boil them and turn them into sweet mashed potatoes, fry them and get sweet potato fries, bake them, roast them, etc.
So, before you do any reheating, make sure you get the right method to do so. We are here to help you figure out which method will suit you the best.
Note: Always store your leftovers in the fridge/freezer using an airtight container so they don’t get the smell from other food or get freezer burn.
How To Reheat Sweet Potatoes In The Microwave
The fastest way to reheat your leftover sweet potatoes is, of course, using the microwave. Here are all the simple steps to follow when you’re using a microwave when you’re heating up sweet potatoes.
- Take your sweet potato fries or any type of sweet potatoes out of the fridge and leave them to sit a room temperature for 5-10 minutes. If you have frozen leftovers, you might want to defrost them first using the defrost setting on your microwave or let them defrost the natural way.
- Place your leftover in a microwave-safe dish or microwave-safe plate, and cover the dish with a damp paper towel on top. The wet paper towels help them to soak up any excess moisture so they don’t become mushy and wet. You should also do this technique when you’re reheating regular potatoes as well.
- Set your microwave to high or medium-high heat and microwave the sweet potato fries for 2-3 minutes. If you’re reheating baked potatoes then you might have to microwave them for a little bit longer, depending on the size of your sweet potatoes.
- Once your potatoes are done, remove the damp paper towel and leave the potatoes to rest for a minute at room temperature.
- If you’re reheating a sweet potato dish of some sort, measure your leftovers using a kitchen scale so you know how much time it needs to completely reheat. The cooking time of 1 pound of potatoes is usually 5-10 minutes.
- Sweet potato mash takes no more than a minute to completely reheat in the microwave and for this, you don’t have to use a damp paper towel.
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Reheating Sweet Potatoes In The Oven
This method is best when it comes to reheating your leftover baked potato or potato fries. Simply preheat your oven to 400 degrees F, transfer your sweet potatoes to a baking tray lined with a baking sheet, and let them reheat for 15-30 minutes depending on the type of sweet potatoes.
If you’re reheating sweet potato fries, then 10-15 minutes will be more than enough for them to reheat. Baked potatoes take a little bit more time again, depending on their size.
As always, stay close to your oven so you can track the progress aka be careful so you don’t burn them. If you happen to reheat a sweet potato dish that’s full of other ingredients as well, the heating process might take a longer time, depending on its’ size.
[Related Article: How Long Does It Take To Preheat An Oven?]
Reheating Sweet Potatoes In An Air Fryer
If you don’t live under a rock, I’m sure that you’ve probably heard of this little useful tool before. An air fryer is used as a healthier alternative for frying your food in oil. The air fryer uses hot air to cook, or in this case, reheat the food.
If you don’t want to preheat your oven for only a small batch of fries or baked potatoes, then this is definitely the way to go. Usually, the air fryer can contain only small batches of food so this is actually perfect for leftover food.
If you have bigger sweet potatoes as your leftovers then I suggest you cut them into smaller pieces so they can reheat faster and don’t take up too much space in the air fryer.
Set your air fryer to 300 degrees F or 150 degrees C and add your potatoes to the air fryer tray. Add a tiny bit of oil of your choice just so the potatoes don’t stick to the surface. Heat them for 5-6 minutes, again, depending on your potatoes’ size.
Note: Pre-heating the oven to the right temperature is an important step when you’re baking or reheating food.
Reheating Sweet Potatoes In A Pan
This quick and easy method is especially great for sauteed sweet potatoes or sweet potato mash. It only takes 3-4 minutes to get your leftover potato reheated to perfection.
Set the temperature on your stove to medium-low or medium heat, add just a little bit of cooking oil or cooking spray to the pan so your potatoes don’t stick, and when the oil has heated, add your leftover potato dish to the pan.
The cooking time shouldn’t be longer than a couple of minutes if your oil has been preheated. Baked sweet potatoes or sweet potato wedges are not suitable to be reheated with this method so I wouldn’t recommend it.
How To Store Cooked Sweet Potatoes
If you want to safely store your already cooked sweet potato leftovers but don’t know how don’t worry, this is the part where we get through all the different methods you can store your leftovers and keep them for later.
- The most important task to do before storing any leftover food, especially sweet or regular potatoes, is to let them cool off completely before putting them in air-tight containers.
- Baked sweet potatoes or sweet potato wedges take longer to cool off completely so make sure you give them a solid amount of time.
- If you’re freezing them or leaving your leftover sweet potatoes, they should be stored in air-tight storage containers or a ziplock bag. If you’re leaving them in the refrigerator, you can simply just put them on a plate and cover them with plastic wrap.
- I wouldn’t recommend freezing leftover potato fries since they lose so much of their taste.
Relevant Questions And Answers
Can You Reheat Cooked Sweet Potato
Yes. You can reheat cooked sweet potatoes in the microwave, in the oven, in an air-fryer, or in a pan.
How Do You Reheat Baked Sweet Potato
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, wrap your baked potatoes in aluminum foil, or simply just put them on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake them for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes look soft and moist.
Reheat Sweet Potato Microwave
You can reheat your sweet potatoes in the microwave. Add your sweet potatoes to a microwave-safe dish or plate with a damp paper towel on top, and microwave at medium temperature for 2-3 minutes depending on your potatoes’ size. For sweet potato mash, you’re going to need only a minute or two.
How Long To Reheat Sweet Potato In Microwave
The time it takes to reheat sweet potatoes in the microwave depends on the size of the potatoes. For baked sweet potatoes you’re going to need 2-3 minutes to get them reheated. If that’s not enough, feel free to pop them in the microwave for another minute or 2.
