Maple Walnut Twice Baked Sweet Potato Skins

White oval platter with loaded twice baked sweet potato skins.

4.72 from 21 votes

Maple Walnut Twice Baked Sweet Potato Skins

Tender sweet potatoes are mashed smooth with Greek yogurt, maple syrup, and pumpkin pie spice, then loaded back into their skins. Baked a second time with a buttery brown sugar and pecan topping to golden perfection!

Prep Time15

Cook Time45

Total Time1

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: potato skins

Calories: 311kcal

Author: Nora from Savory Nothings

Ingredients

Sweet potatoes:

4 small sweet potatoes
½ cup whole milk Greek yogurt OR sour cream
1.5 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice OR ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon maple syrup
3-4 tablespoons brown sugar or more to taste; can also be left out for a less sweet dish
pinch of salt

Topping:

⅔ cup chopped walnuts OR pecans
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoon light brown sugar

Instructions

Bake potatoes for the first time:
Preheat your oven to 400°F. Pierce the potatoes with a fork, place in a large baking pan and bake until soft (time will vary depending on the size of your sweet potatoes, anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes).
4 small sweet potatoes
Scoop out potatoes:
Cut each potato in half lengthwise. Scoop out the baked insides, leaving an ⅛-inch border. Try to keep the skins whole as much as possible!
Make filling:
Place the potato skins back in the baking pan. Mash the baked potato flesh in a bowl until smooth. Mix in the Greek yogurt, pumpkin pie spice, maple syrup (and brown sugar, if using) and salt. Scoop this filling into the sweet potato skins (I get 6 skins out of 4 baked potatoes).
½ cup whole milk Greek yogurt, 1.5 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, 3-4 tablespoons brown sugar, pinch of salt
Make Topping:
In a separate bowl, mix all topping ingredient. Sprinkle over the filled sweet potato skins. Bake at 400°F for 12-15 minutes.
⅔ cup chopped walnuts, 2 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoon light brown sugar
Finish:
Drizzle with extra syrup to serve, if you like, and serve hot.

Video

Notes

Sweet Potatoes: Try to find smaller sweet potatoes, so that half a potato will be just right for one serving. It's easier to cut them in half lengthwise if they're somewhat evenly shaped.

Maple syrup/butter: You can subsitute pancake syrup, honey, or brown sugar. Please don't use any substitutes for the butter, butter is the only way the topping turns out the way it should.

Nuts: I have readers who have successfully made this recipe nut-free by using rolled oats in place of the walnuts/pecans.

Don't overbake the sweet potatoes the first time around: You want them to be very soft, but not blackened. Not only will they start to taste bitter, but your skins will get paper-thin and have holes in them. Not ideal for filling them later on!

Make Ahead Instructions:

If you need to bring them to a party (instead of serving them to guests in your own home), I suggest assembling them fully, but skipping the second bake. Refrigerate them covered with plastic wrap for up to a day.

Just bring the filled skins and the topping to wherever you’re going and then put them in the oven right before serving.

Nutrition