The sweet potato doesn’t get enough love if you ask me. They are one of the most versatile roots out there that can easily be made into a savory or a sweet dish. They have been a staple on tables for centuries both as a side dish and a main dish due to their mashed potato consistency and firm, meaty texture. It all just depends on how you make them.
In this recipe, these sweet potato bites would make the perfect appetizer or even side dish. You could easily make these delicious little morsels into a crudité plate or as a finger food to serve at your next barbecue. The possibilities are truly endless with these savory little bites, and your friends and family are sure to love them. This is also a vegan recipe, so this appetizer is perfectly acceptable to serve to your vegetarian, vegan or even omnivorous friends. It’s sure to delight everyone who gets to try them.
About Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are commonly sought after for their potato like properties without all the carbs. While yes, sweet potatoes do have carbs, they are not as starchy as regular Potatoes (russet, Yukon gold, etc.) and have a naturally sweeter taste. You can easily make sweet potatoes into a dessert or a sweet dish, as baked sweet potatoes and candied sweet potatoes are some of the most common sweeter sweet potato dishes out there.
A sweet baked potato is commonly served with maple syrup and cinnamon honey butter for a delicious new spin on a traditional baked potato. You can also make mashed sweet potatoes with butter, maple syrup and cinnamon as a delectable side dish. Around thanksgiving, a popular side dish is candied yams or sweet patois, which is served up with brown sugar and toasted marshmallows.
However, you decide to cook your sweet potato, there are so many possibilities and this great sweet potato bites recipe is not exception.
Savory Snack
For this recipe, these sweet potato bites would be best served as a pre-meal appetizer or as a complimentary side if you are having something light like a salad. This would make a great finger food at your next barbecue, too, so this cute little appetizer really has a lot of options behind it.
The best part about this recipe is that it is very versatile. You can add some sour cream to the top of these if you are serving to vegetarians or omnivorous friends. Basically, any kind of topper you like, you can top on these cute little bites. These are also super easy to make, so you won’t have to spend all day slaving over a hot oven making them. It’s just a few simple steps and then you are done.
Ingredients You Need for Sweet Potato Bites:
- 1 large potato
- 2 medium ripe avocados
- 1 cup cherry tomato
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp lime or lemon juice
- Salt & pepper to taste
How to bake sweet potatoes to prepare the sweet bites:
Step One: Prepare the potatoes
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Chop the sweet potato in thin slices without peeling it. The thinner the slice, the faster it will cook, but you should keep your sweet potato slice at at least a ½ inch so that they are thick enough to hold all your toppings and maintain a firm shape. Too thin and your sweet potato slice will fall apart too easily.
Step Two: how to bake sweet potatoes
Place them in a baking sheet previously oiled. Bake ten minutes from one side, and another 10 minutes from the other. Watch the edges of your sweet potato to make sure the edges are not burning. If they seem to be a bit too crisp, your slices may be a bit too thin, so you’ll want to take them out a bit earlier.
Step Three: prepare the fixings
- In a small bowl mashed the avocado and set aside.
- Chop the tomatoes in small pieces and mince the garlic cloves. Set them together with the olive oil, the lemon juice, salt, and pepper. The olive oil paired with the lemon juice, salt and pepper will marinate your tomatoes and give them a bright flavor. Perfect for adding to the top of your sweet potatoes slice.
Step Four: finish and garnish
- Finally, place the sweet potato slices in a place and put 1 tablespoon of mashed avocado with half tablespoon of the tomato mix.
- Garnish with fresh parsley (optional).
See how easy these amazing sweet potato bites are to make? Not only are they super quick, but they also only require a few ingredients and can easily be customizable depending on your personal tastes. AS stated above, this recipe as written is vegan, but you can easily add some sour cream, bacon bits or even some prosciutto or cheese to make this recipe unique and more in line with your appetizer desires. Whatever you choose, using these sweet potato slices as an appetizer is a great way to help gather your friends and family around to enjoy some really great food. The possibilities are really endless with this recipe and your loved ones are sure to love it just as much as you do.
FAQ
Who would enjoy this recipe?
This recipe is really great for anyone, but the recipe as written is already vegan, just in case you were looking for quick vegan recipes to serve your friends. Otherwise, all types of diets would appreciate this kind of appetizer because it is light and healthy. Adults and kids alike would like this recipe because it’s simple but very flavorful. This could also be a great way to incorporate more vegetables into your child’s diet.
Can I use different toppings?
Of course! The recipe as written is delicious, but you can easily jazz this recipe up by adding more roasted veggies, a dollop of sour cream, some bits of bacon, or really whatever else you may think of. This is a very easy dish to customize, so you can add or subtract as much as you’d like. Adding some chives or scallions with sour cream, or even a little ranch dressing could make this appetizer your next go-to when it comes to entertaining. Or you can make it different each time for each event.
What would this dish go well with?
This dish would be best served as an appetizer since it is both flavorful and light. It won’t fill you up unless you eat a lot of them, so it’d be great as a finger food or to be served at a barbecue where people can just hang out and eat. You could also easily make this a solo quick weeknight meal and pair it with your favorite glass of wine. The possibilities here are truly endless. You can even eat this as a side dish to a main dish like pork ribs or barbecue chicken.
Is this recipe good for all diets?
If you stick to the recipe as is, it’s a perfect vegan appetizer. If you decide to mix it up by adding your own spin on ingredients, then depending on what you use, it will come with a bit more restrictions. For example, if you add sour cream or bacon, well then, the dish is no longer vegan or vegetarian friendly, so make sure you keep in mind of any dietary restrictions before making this dish for guests.
Will this recipe work with regular potatoes?
Yes. This recipe will work if you use regular potatoes’, but the taste profile will be different. While regular potatoes have more of a firm bite with a savory taste, these sweet potatoes bites have a sweeter side to them. The pairing between the sweet and savory ingredients within this recipe makes this recipe unique. Using a regular potato will still be delicious, but you won’t have much more flavor profile as a sweet potato can offer.