Can You Eat Sweet Potato Skin?

Deciding which potatoes to use in your favorite recipes can be a little bit more of a challenge in the era of super-stocked grocery stores that offer up an abundance of sweet potatoes, purple potatoes, and those little baby fingerling potatoes in addition to traditional white potatoes. But aside from its nutritional profile, color, and flavor, the sweet potato does have something in common with the humble russet and wax potato: You can eat the skin. 

Sweet potatoes are sometimes called a superfood. That's because they're loaded with vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B-6, and fiber (via The Kitchn). But if you're not eating the skin, you might be missing out on some of those benefits (via Men's Health). Sweet potato skins carry much of the nutritional load of the potato, including minerals, protein, and vitamins, and since it's safe to eat, you might as well nosh away and get those healthy additions (via Spoon University).

That being said, you do have to be careful if you're going to eat sweet potato skins. Like regular potatoes, sweet potatoes are a root vegetable. They're grown underground, which means they're covered in dirt, fertilizer, bugs, and other matter when they're first harvested. 

If you're going to eat sweet potato skins, you need to make sure to wash them thoroughly before you cook with them. Run the potato under water and use a stiff-bristled brush to scrub away any dirt and grime. You can also cut away any marks, divots, or potato buds. If you want to be extra careful, you can add some white vinegar to your potato-cleaning routine to help get rid of any germs (via Livestrong).

When you're ready to start cooking, dry your sweet potatoes thoroughly if you want the skin to crisp up. You can bake the sweet potatoes in their skins, make skin-on mashed sweet potatoes, or even skin-on sweet potato fries. Not only is it less work than peeling the potatoes, but you also get to enjoy the added nutritional boost that comes with eating sweet potato skins.