Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
Published Sep 30, 2026
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These are twice-baked, savory sweet potatoes stuffed with herby basil pesto and Parmesan. Topped with melty mozzarella cheese and marinara sauce, they make a delicious side dish or appetizer, full of Italian-style flavors.
My Southwest stuffed sweet potatoes are another easy recipe to try.
Cheesy Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes With Pesto
These cheesy twice-baked sweet potatoes are like an Italian twist on classic twice-baked potatoes. I’m trading jacket potatoes for sweet potatoes and the usual butter, cheese, and bacon combination for herby basil pesto and Parmesan in the mashed sweet potato filling.
Of course, they’re topped with more cheese. I also sprinkled on toasted pine nuts to complement the pesto and slathered on savory marinara sauce. Flavor all around!
Instead of pre-baking them in the oven, I “bake” the sweet potatoes in the microwave first. It’s minutes in the microwave vs. 30 minutes plus of oven time, which significantly speeds up the twice-baked process.
Why You Should Make These Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes
- They’re loaded with savory Italian-inspired flavor for a unique twist.
- The sweet potatoes cook in a fraction of the time, thanks to a microwave shortcut.
- Easily customize this recipe with any pesto you’d like, different cheeses, etc.
- These stuffed sweet potatoes double as a side dish and party snack.
Like crispy potato skins, these actually make a great game day appetizer. In fact, I was munching on these exact twice-baked sweet potatoes while watching the Cubs win the World Series in Chicago! ⚾ Forever associating that moment with cheesy, pesto-packed deliciousness.
What You’ll Need
Here are notes on the ingredients needed to make this twice-baked sweet potatoes recipe. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe amounts.
- Sweet Potatoes – If you’d prefer to make this with regular potatoes, russet potatoes are the best choice for twice-baked recipes.
- Pesto – Pick up a jar of your favorite basil pesto. You can also make this recipe with homemade parsley pesto or spinach pesto.
- Parmesan Cheese – Freshly grated. Pecorino cheese or Gruyère cheese also works nicely.
- Mozzarella – Freshly shredded cheese melts more smoothly than pre-shredded.
- Pine Nuts – You can buy these toasted or lightly toast them yourself in a dry skillet for a few minutes, until fragrant. If needed, swap pine nuts with chopped walnuts for similar crunch.
- Marinara Sauce – Or passata or regular tomato sauce.
Recipe Tips and Variations
- Prick the sweet potatoes before cooking. This ensures that the steam can escape, so your taters won’t burst in the microwave.
- Sweet potatoes are cooked when they’re fork-tender. If you hit some resistance while trying to scoop out the flesh, return the potatoes to the microwave until they’re easy to pierce with a fork.
- Add fresh herbs, like chopped basil, rosemary, thyme, sage, and parsley, to the filling.
- Swap the basil pesto with red pepper pesto or roasted red pepper relish.
- Make it meaty. Top these sweet potatoes with leftover meat sauce, like Bolognese or pork ragu, before adding the mozzarella cheese.
- Loaded twice-baked sweet potatoes. Mash the sweet potato with butter, then fold in grated cheddar cheese, minced jalapeño, and crumbled bacon. Top with more cheddar, extra bacon, and chives or green onions. (You may also love this loaded baked potato casserole.)
- Sweet potato casserole-inspired. Rather than the Italian filling used here, mash the sweet potatoes and mix in butter, brown sugar, spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, and salt to taste. You can also add a little vanilla. Top each stuffed sweet potato half with marshmallows before the second bake.
What to Serve With Italian Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes
Serve these Italian-style sweet potatoes as a side dish with any of the easy dinner ideas below. These also make a tasty, filling appetizer for parties and on game day. Pair them with tortellini skewers and wash everything down with a Campari spritz.
- Bread and salad on the side: Serve with grissini breadsticks or fluffy focaccia and a fresh Mediterranean salad.
- Proteins: Try spicy shrimp fra diavolo, creamy Tuscan shrimp, or lemon Parmesan chicken as a main.
- More Italian-style dishes: Try crispy arancini or a big sharing bowl of caponata.
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Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 (8 ounces each) sweet potatoes
- ½ cup basil pesto
- 3 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan
- Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
- ½ cup fancy shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- ⅓ cup toasted pine nuts
- ½ cup marinara sauce, for serving
- Fresh chopped parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Get ready to bake. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Lightly spray a baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- Microwave the sweet potatoes. Pierce the sweet potatoes 6 times. Place on a microwave-safe plate and microwave for 6 minutes, rotating halfway through. Remove the sweet potatoes from the microwave and let them stand for several minutes.
- Scoop out the sweet potatoes. Once cool enough to handle, cut them down the middle, lengthwise. Scoop out the flesh, careful not to cut through the skins, and transfer to a medium mixing bowl.
- Make the filling. Stir in the basil pesto; add grated Parmesan, salt, and freshly ground pepper. Mix and stir until smooth and well incorporated. Taste for seasonings and adjust accordingly.
- Fill the sweet potatoes. Spoon the mixture back into the potato skins. Transfer the potatoes to the previously prepared baking sheet.
- Bake. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and add mozzarella cheese and pine nuts; continue to bake for 4 more minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven and let stand for a couple of minutes.
- Serve. Transfer to serving plates and top with marinara sauce and chopped fresh parsley.
Notes
- Serve as a side dish or an appetizer.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes
- Microwave the sweet potatoes. Prick the sweet potatoes all over with a fork, then place them in a microwave-safe dish. Heat for 6 minutes, turning the potatoes halfway through. Afterward, let the sweet potatoes stand for a few minutes, until they’re cool enough to handle.
- Scoop out the flesh. Next, slice the sweet potatoes in half. Hollow out each half, taking care not to scoop through the skins. Place the scooped-out flesh into a bowl.
- Mix and fill the potatoes. To the sweet potato filling, add the pesto and grated Parmesan, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix and mash until it’s well combined. Then, spoon the mixture back into the sweet potato skins.
- Bake. Arrange the filled sweet potatoes on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 375ºF for 15 minutes. Now, add the shredded mozzarella and pine nuts. Bake for 4 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
- Finish and serve. Serve your twice-baked sweet potatoes topped with marinara sauce and fresh parsley, if you’d like.
Storing and Reheating
- Refrigerate leftovers. Store the cooled twice-baked sweet potatoes in a covered container. Refrigerate and then reheat within 3 days.
- Reheat. Warm up the stuffed sweet potatoes in the oven under foil, or in the microwave.
Love the recipe and I love Sweet Potatoes even more! But this recipe is amazing I’m truly curious to how it taste!
Oh boy I could have tons of these. They look fantastic!
I am absolutely LOVING this recipe! It is such an unexpected flavor combo, but it sounds and looks amazing. 🙂
First, the World Series: congrats — but I’m an Indians fan, so I’m so very sad (although if it had to be any team, glad it was your Cubs)! What a great series, though!!
Second. If I had these gorgeous sweet potatoes, they might make me feel a little better 😉 This is a fabulous recipe! Maybe my favorite in a long time – LOVE!
This looks amazing!