These dressed-up sweet potato skins still have bacon, but are a lot healthier. They are perfect for game day snacking or appetizers at any time!
Potato skins were a really big thing when I was a teenager. I think it had something to do with the fact that my friends and I could drive to our favorite restaurant on a quarter tank of gas and still have money left over to share a platter of cheese and bacon-topped potato skins. Then we'd go through the inevitable "splitting of the bill", which was painful because someone always "forgot" to put in their portion and figuring out $12.95 divided by 8, plus tip, never went well.
Now that I'm a little older and wiser, I've turned to making potato skins at home, with sweet potatoes, better cheese and a lot less drama. And I don't even charge my guests for them! What a deal.
I've been convinced for a long time that sweet potatoes and bacon are made for each other. A little sweet, a little salty...a little tender, a little crunchy...it's like a love tango for food. And I want to throw myself right onto the dance floor with them.
The key to these sweet potato skins is to bake them first, so you can scoop out most of the tender flesh (save it for mashed sweet potatoes), then broil them until starting to turn golden brown and a little crispy. Once you add the goat cheese and bacon, it just takes a couple more minutes under the broiler to reach that perfect bubbling, cheesy state. Salivating.
These are best served warm, so if they cool down while out on the appetizer table, just pop them back in the oven for a couple of minutes.
Other healthy game day appetizers:
Baked French Fries with Indian Spices
Southwestern Stuffed Mushrooms with Black Beans, Rice & Red Pepper
Light Sweet Potato Skins with Bacon & Goat Cheese
Ingredients
- 4 8 ounces each sweet potatoes, scrubbed
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 ounces goat cheese chevre, crumbled
- 6 slices center cut bacon cooked and crumbled
- 1 green onion thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a rack on top of the foil.
- Pierce the sweet potatoes all over with a fork and place on the rack.
- Bake the sweet potatoes until tender when pierced with a fork, 50 to 55 minutes.
- Let the potatoes cool for 10 minutes, then cut into quarters. Scoop out the flesh, leaving a ¼-inch border of potato. Reserve the flesh for another use.
- Preheat the broiler.
- Lightly brush both sides of each potato skin with canola oil, then place the potato skins on the rack, skin side up.
- Broil until the skins are starting to turn crispy, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn them over, then broil for additional 1 to 2 minutes, or until the edges are starting to brown.
- Sprinkler the pepper, salt, goat cheese and bacon evenly between the potato skins.
- Broil until the cheese is starting to melt, about 2 minutes.
- Garnish with green onions and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Bob
Unless you're making two potato skins, it should be "Sprinkle the pepper, salt, goat cheese and bacon evenly AMONG the potato skins." Keep up the delicious work.