These baked sweet potatoes are loaded with chicken and kale. Pepperoncinis add a kick to balance out the sweetness of the potato.
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I'm not going to lie, I don't even like sweet potatoes normally. But, aware of their health benefits I'll force myself to eat them occasionally, usually in the form of fries. Sometimes I'll make a barbecue chicken and broccoli stuffed sweet potato, but really wasn't feeling bbq today. So, it was one of those "let's see what needs to get used up from the fridge" sort of meals and boy, it did not disappoint.
I used canned chicken as I haven't been to the grocery store in what seems like forever. This would probably be equally good, if not better, with some leftover rotisserie chicken instead. Go for it. Aside from the chicken, it's got great-for-you kale, sweet relish and some sliced pepperoncinis for a subtle kick. My husband and I definitely prefer savory foods over sweet ones so the cheeses, peppers, kale and bacon were the perfect combination to offset the sweetness of the sweet potato.
Sour cream, cream cheese, chicken, kale, relish and pepperoncinis mix to make up the stuffing for our loaded sweet potatoes.
As your sweet potatoes near the end of their initial bake, combine the ingredients for the filling in a large mixing bowl. I'm fairly certain you could add a shredded Italian cheese mix and bake this off to make a killer dip for chips or toasted bread, that's for another day though...
Load up the pre-baked sweet potatoes and top with shredded cheddar cheese. 15 more minutes and they're ready to enjoy!
You'll want to check your sweet potatoes after 45 minutes at 400 degrees. They're ready when fork tender. Depending on the size of your potatoes, they may need to go an additional 15 - 20 minutes. Once cooked through and fork tender, cut an "x" across the top of each potato and pinch to open up the center. Fill with chicken and kale mixture and top with shredded cheddar cheese. Bake, uncovered for an additional 15 minutes.
Bacon crumbles give these potatoes the extra salt needed to balance out the sweetness of the sweet potatoes.
Top the finished potatoes with bacon crumbles, lots and lots of delicious, salty bacon crumbles. Let cool a couple of minutes before serving as filling may be pretty hot! If you are not currently having an aversion to bbq sauce like myself, it may be an added bonus to drizzle a bit on top. Add at your own risk though, this is pretty darn good as is.
Not a fan of sweet, marshmallow topped sweet potatoes? We're not either. Go savory with kale, chicken, cream cheese, sour cream and pepperoncinis.
If you're using large sweet potatoes, one of these bad boys can serve two people. Part of the fun is everyone getting their own though, so maybe just save your other half for lunch tomorrow!
Ingredients
2 large sweet potatoes - scrubbed and pierced with fork all over.
olive oil
salt
pepper
10 oz. can white meat chicken chunks (or a couple cups of shredded rotisserie chicken)
2 ribs chopped kale - stem discarded.
3 pepperoncinis - thinly sliced
1 T. sweet relish
3 T. cream cheese
2 T. sour cream
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
bacon crumbles for topping
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place each scrubbed and pierced sweet potato on a square of aluminum foil. Drizzle with olive oil and season generously all over with salt and pepper. Wrap in aluminum foil and place on baking rack - bake for 45 minutes.
While potatoes are nearing the end of their initial baking period, mix together chicken, kale, pepperoncinis, sweet relish, cream cheese, sour cream, a pinch of salt and pepper in a large bowl.
Check potatoes after 45 minutes. They're ready when fork tender. If you're using larger potatoes, they may need an additional 15-20 minutes. Once fork tender, cut an "X" at the top of each potato and squeeze to open up the center. Spoon filling into the sweet potato and top with cheddar cheese. Bake, uncovered for an additional 15 minutes. Top with bacon crumbles and serve.
Healthy sweet potatoes and kale are the star of the show but are balanced out nicely with some savory bacon and pepperoncinis.