Perfectly Baked Sweet Potato with Chicken top - Taste and Tasty

I've got a new healthy basics recipe for you today that is perfect for these cold winter months and that's baked sweet potato. Now, before you think ah, I already know how to do that, you might want to stick around for some of my tips and because I'm sneaking in a barbecue chicken-stuffed sweet potato recipe at the end.

Ingredients:

For those of you doing the January Whole30, this is a 100% compliant recipe. And if you're not doing a Whole30, it's still a tasty, filling, and nourishing recipe that's perfect for any day of the week and especially on game nights. So, let's dive in. Sweet potatoes come in a variety of shapes and sizes, thanks to Mother Nature. But when you're making baked sweet potatoes, it's best to grab some that are about the same size, whether that's long and skinny, small and round, or large and round. Starting with sweet potatoes more similar in size ensures that they'll bake at the same rate and you won't have some that are undercooked or overcooked.

Cooking Directions:

Sweet potatoes also come in many varieties so you'll frequently see an entire rainbow of colors in your supermarket or Farmer's Market. The orange sweet potato is most common and oftentimes you'll see it inaccurately marketed as a yam, but yams are quite different and I chat about this on the blog post. You can always jazz up your baked sweet potato recipe by using Japanese sweet potatoes that have a reddish skin and a white interior, purple sweet potatoes that are purple on both the outside and inside, and white sweet potatoes that are cream-colored throughout.

 

To get started baking your sweet potato, preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Then grab a baking sheet. I highly recommend a heavy duty or commercial baking sheet, if you don't have one, because it won't warp or bend like cheaper baking sheets. And I linked mine in the description box below. Sweet potatoes also have a tendency to ooze a bit when baking, so my other tip is to line your baking sheet with parchment paper. It just makes the whole cleaning process easier, and while some recipes have you wrapping each sweet potato individually in aluminum foil, that's definitely not necessary. So I've got four sweet potatoes about the same size and before I get to baking, I need to give them a good scrub. While they've been rinsed before arriving at the market, they're not exactly clean and I don't think anyone wants dirt or debris in their meal.

 

To give them a good wash, grab a vegetable brush like this one. It's labeled as a vegetable brush, which is a good thing, so it won't accidentally get mistaken for a kitchen or bathroom scrubber. And it has both hard and soft bristles. And since I know you guys are going to ask, I've linked it below as well. Wash your sweet potatoes under the faucet and gently scrub all the nooks and crannies of the potato until it's clean. Then place it on a paper towel and blot it dry. If you're cooking several sweet potatoes, just repeat this process until all of them are clean. Add the sweet potatoes to your baking sheet and then give them about five to six pokes with a fork or a sharp knife.

 

A lot of heat and steam builds up inside the sweet potato while baking, and while they're not quite as likely to explode in the oven as the microwave, it is better to be safe than sorry. At 400 degrees Fahrenheit, the average-sized sweet potato will bake in about 60 minutes, but as mine are larger today, they'll probably need about 15 minutes more. And you might need to flex your bake time as well depending on the size of your sweet potato. When the potatoes are almost done, I'll prep my ingredients for the barbecue chicken-stuffed sweet potato recipe. This is an incredibly easy recipe and only requires a handful of ingredients. I'll start by slicing one red onion, and as I'm sure you guys have gathered by now, I almost always slice the entire onion when I do so that I can store it in a container precut and use it in recipes throughout the week. Then chop up some fresh cilantro.

 

If you're not a fan of cilantro, you can use a variety of other herbs like parsley or tarragon. Now if you watch last week's video, you learned how to quickly shred chicken and I got a whole batch of it ready to go in my fridge so I'll use that today. In terms of barbecue sauce, I'm using this one from Primal Kitchen as it has wholesome ingredients, no added sugar, and is Whole30 compliant. Because my chicken is cold from the fridge, I'm just going to quickly heat it up on the stove top and add about three cups worth to a sauté pan then pour the entire bottle of barbecue sauce on top. If you like your chicken extra saucy, you might want to buy two bottles.

 

To tell if your sweet potatoes are done, all you have to do is poke one with a sharp knife. It should go through like soft butter, so if you have any resistance, just cook your potatoes a little bit longer. Let your potatoes sit for a couple of minutes or until they're cool to the touch. Then slice one in half and open it up. It should be soft and steamy on the inside and from here you can simply add a pat of butter, salt and pepper, and serve it up as a side dish. But if you'd like to turn this into a meal, add some of that barbecue chicken on top, a few slices of red onion, and a generous handful of cilantros. And that's how easy it is to make these barbecue chicken-stuffed sweet potatoes.