Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Loaded Sweet Potato Skins

Appetizers

Football season is finally here! Ok, so I admit I actually only know this because I saw a game on while I was browsing through the tv channels on the elliptical at the gym. I’m not actually a huge football fan, and much to my brother’s horror, I’ve never tailgated at a college football game (I went to a small division three college where we sat on the grass to watch football games), but I can be convinced to watch a bit if it means I have the excuse to whip up some football season munchies!

I decided to make these loaded sweet potato skins last night to enjoy with our gin and tonics. I topped the crispy sweet potato skins with a black bean sauce, cheddar cheese, and turkey bacon. These were really tasty and I used the leftover mashed insides of the sweet potatoes for another treat that will be up in my next post!

Loaded Sweet Potato Skins
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
4 sweet potatoes, scrubbed
6 pieces turkey bacon, sliced into small pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
Juice of half a lime
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400˚F. Poke holes in the sweet potatoes and bake for an hour at 400˚F or until soft. Allow sweet potatoes to cool slightly and then cut them into quarters. Scoop out some of the insides of the sweet potatoes, leaving a 1/2-inch shell.

Meanwhile, place bacon in a medium skillet over medium high heat and cook 7 minutes or until crispy. Drain bacon on paper towels. To make the black bean sauce, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in the same skillet over medium heat and sauté onion for 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and sauté an additional minute. Place onion mixture, black beans, lime juice, cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a food processor and pulse until smooth.

Mix remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt in a small bowl and use a pastry brush to coat both sides of each potato skin with olive oil. Bake potato skins on a large greased cookie sheet for 10 minutes at 400˚F. Flip potato skins over and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until skins are crispy. Evenly top crispy potato skins with black bean sauce, shredded cheese, and turkey bacon. Bake 2 to 3 minutes at 400˚F or until cheese is melted. Makes 16 loaded sweet potato skins (8 servings).

Nutrition: 258 calories, 12.2g fat, 6.4g fiber, 10.6g protein per serving
Cost: $0.85 per serving

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