Cranberry Apple Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes (Printable)

Flavor-packed sweet potatoes stuffed with spiced apples, cranberries, and pecans

# What you need:

→ Sweet Potato Base

01 - 6 medium sweet potatoes, uniform size
02 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
03 - Salt and black pepper, to taste

→ Apple Cranberry Filling

04 - 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
05 - 2 large apples, peeled and diced into ½-inch pieces
06 - 1 cup fresh cranberries
07 - ¼ cup light brown sugar
08 - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
09 - ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
10 - ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
11 - ½ cup pecans, chopped and toasted

→ Optional Enhancements

12 - 2 tablespoons maple syrup
13 - ¼ cup sliced almonds
14 - Fresh thyme leaves, for garnish
15 - Flaky sea salt, for finishing

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Scrub sweet potatoes thoroughly and dry completely.
02 - Pierce each sweet potato several times with a fork. Rub all over with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Arrange on the prepared baking sheet, spacing evenly.
03 - Roast sweet potatoes for 40–45 minutes, until very tender when pierced with a knife. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
04 - While potatoes roast, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add diced apples in a single layer and cook undisturbed for 2–3 minutes to caramelize.
05 - Stir apples, then add cranberries, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and kosher salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5–7 minutes until cranberries begin to burst and apples are golden and tender.
06 - Stir in toasted pecans during the final minute of cooking. Remove skillet from heat.
07 - Once cool enough to handle, cut each sweet potato lengthwise down the center. Use a fork to gently fluff the interior, pressing ends toward the center to widen the opening.
08 - Spoon the apple cranberry filling generously into each sweet potato, mounding it high. Return filled potatoes to the baking sheet.
09 - Bake for an additional 10 minutes at 425°F, until heated through and filling edges are slightly caramelized.
10 - Remove from oven and rest for 2–3 minutes. Drizzle with maple syrup, garnish with additional toasted pecans, sliced almonds, fresh thyme leaves, and flaky sea salt if desired. Serve warm.

# Expert tips:

01 -
  • The contrast of tart cranberries against naturally sweet potatoes creates layers of flavor that keep every bite interesting
  • Twice baking transforms the texture into something creamy yet substantial, almost like a loaded baked potato but infinitely more festive
  • You can assemble everything ahead of time and just do the final bake when guests arrive, making you look effortless
02 -
  • Letting the sweet potatoes cool slightly after their first bake makes them much easier to handle and prevents the flesh from becoming gummy when you fluff it
  • The filling needs to cool for at least 10 minutes before stuffing, otherwise it makes the sweet potatoes collapse and lose their shape
  • Do not skip the parchment paper because the sugars from the filling will caramelize and stick to your baking sheet during the second bake
03 -
  • Look for sweet potatoes that are relatively straight and uniform in size so they cook at the same rate and sit flat on the baking sheet
  • If your apples seem especially tart, taste the filling before stuffing and add an extra teaspoon of brown sugar to balance it
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