By Alba Galvan 

As someone who’s been trying to reach their fitness and food goals in 2026, I have been doom-scrolling TikTok trying to find healthy snacks that don’t hurt my pockets as a broke college student — that’s why sweet potatoes are a delicious, inexpensive snack. 

These two sweet potato recipes can be stored in the fridge for up to three days. What I really like about these is how easy they are to customize by adding more toppings or eating them as a meal instead of a snack. 

Here are two easy, yummy ways to prepare sweet potatoes. 

Roasted caramelized sweet potato

When I first tried this sweet potato recipe, I was in heaven — and it wasn’t because of the cannabis I consumed beforehand, it was because of how easy it was to make. I am usually more of a savory or spicy person, but this sweet potato was to die for. It also pairs wonderfully with other foods and doesn’t have to just be a snack. 

Sweet potato has a sugar called maltose that is released when heated up, causing it to caramelize and have an interesting texture. 

Ingredients: 

1 large sweet potato

1 to 2 tbsp olive oil 

Salt and pepper to taste 

Step 1:

Preheat the oven to 370 degrees

Step 2:

Rinse the sweet potato until clean,  dry it, and cut in half lengthwise. 

Step 3:

Coat the cut sides with olive oil, salt and pepper. Then, in an oven-safe pan, place the sweet potato cut side down and place in the oven for 50 minutes. 

Step 4: 

Once the sweet potatoes are done, let them cool down so the cut side can finish caramelizing.

Step 5:

Enjoy! 

Cheesy Caramelized sweet potato

Additional ingredients: 

Cheese of choice, recommendations: Sharp Cheddar, Gruyere, Pepper Jack, Goat Cheese, Feta Cheese, or Butterkäse. 

Optional: hot honey, chilli flakes

Step 1

Follow steps 1-4 above. 

Step 2 

On the cut side of the sweet potato, add cheese to your preference.

Step 3 

Add to the oven for 3-5 minutes until melted. 

Step 4 

Enjoy! 

Alba is a journalism major and reporter for The LumberJack and El Lenador. She’s very passionate about sharing and listening to different opinions and loves self-expression. Contact her at: agg83@humboldt.edu