Healthy Sweet Potato Skins
I know I posted about a zillion recipes that would be great for your Super Bowl parties just a couple of days ago, but I made these the other day after I already wrote the Super Bowl post and they're so crazy good and easy to make and pretty healthy for you too, that I just had to share! Seriously, I think I could eat these every day!!
Growing up we rarely ate sweet potatoes--they just weren't in vogue except around Thanksgiving and then they were usually covered with marshmallows! Now we eat quite a lot of them--they're the one vegetable I know that everyone in my family will be happy with and I feel good serving them because I know how good for you they are. And these cheesy filled sweet potato skins make the perfect healthy hors d'oeuvres or side.
They're super easy to make and I guarantee that no one will accuse you of serving "healthy" party food--they'll be too busy gobbling them down! You start by baking a bunch of sweet potatoes (which you can even do a few days ahead of time) and scooping out most of the insides.
Then you flip them over, brush them with a bit of olive oil and bake them for about ½ an hour to get them all crispy and crunchy.
Next you fill them with cheese, top with scallions and bake for a few more minutes until the cheese melts.
That's it! You can serve them with salsa, sour cream, guacamole, hot sauce or just as is. They're extremely versatile too--you could add beans along with the cheese or pieces of avocado, corn, bacon,whatever you like. Just keep a close eye on them as you're preparing them 'cause certain people have a way of making them disappear rapidly and there won't be any left for your party!!
Healthy Sweet Potato Skins
Makes about 8 servings if you cut them into thirds and serve them as hors d'oeuvres, but I'd make a lot more if this is the only thing you're serving because people love 'em and they disappear in no time!
Prep Time: 10 minutes, plus the baking of the potatoes; Bake Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
6 sweet potatoes (about 3 pounds)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups shredded cheese (I used a combination of cheddar and monterey jack)
2-3 scallions, thinly sliced
Salsa, sour cream, guacamole, hot sauce as toppings (optional)
The Recipe
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF and bake the sweet potatoes on a pan for about 1 hour until they're tender. Let them cool completely. You can even do this the day before or a few days ahead and store them in the refrigerator till ready to use. Once potatoes are cooled, cut each one in half lengthwise and scoop out most of the potato, but leave some in so that the potato can stand upright. Save the scooped out potatoes for something else.
2. Turn oven up to 400ºF and place the potatoes, with the skin side up on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush with the olive oil. Bake for about 20-30 minutes, until the skins are crispy and slightly browned. Let cool a bit then turn over and fill with equal amounts of the cheese and sprinkle the scallions on top. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and melted. Serve immediately with salsa, sour cream, guacamole, hot sauce or anything else you like as a topping.
3. If you want to serve these as bite sized pieces, they will cut more neatly if you cut them before you add the cheese. When you remove the unfilled skins from the oven, let them cool until you can really handle them and then cut them in half crosswise. Then fill as directed.
Enjoy!
Note: Recipe very loosely based on this Food Network version.
