Trying new foods is something I have always loved to do. When I first saw a version of this recipe, I was super excited to try it out asap! This is a great mix up with two staples in our household. After making this yummy meal several times, I finally tweaked my recipe enough to finally post it. This meal will have everyone drooling over dinner!
Chicken Baked Sweet Potatoes
Makes 6 servings
Total time to make: 1.5 hours
What you need:
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts (roughly 2 breasts)
3 medium sweet potatoes
1/4 cup EV olive oil
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice (I used 1 drop of Lime essential oil too)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
2 cups (1/2 of 10oz bag) baby spinach
5 oz. colby jack cheese, shredded (you can also use a sharp or mild cheddar)
salt & pepper, to taste
chopped cilantro, for garnish
7 oz. non-fat plain Greek yogurt, for serving
*Optional* (I do NOT add this just to please everyone in my house)
3 whole chipotle peppers, minced
What to do:
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Wash your sweet potatoes and poke with a fork all over. Place in oven for 50-60 minutes (depending on size of potatoes) or until tender.
- Place chicken in an oven safe dish and coat with a tablespoon of olive oil, salt & pepper as desired. Put in oven with potatoes and bake for 25 minutes.
- Once chicken has cooled, shred with a fork, set aside and keep warm.
- After sweet potatoes are cooked, cut in half and let cool for 6-8 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a medium sized bowl, olive oil, garlic, lime juice, oregano, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper, set aside. *If using peppers, add them here*
- Next, heat a skillet to medium heat and wilt the spinach. Once wilted, mix spinach with shredded chicken. Set aside and keep warm.
- Turn oven up to 400°. Scoop potato out of the peel (leaving just enough to ensure it stands on its own) and place skins on a baking sheet. Brush the skins with the spicy sauce and bake for 5-10 minutes checking occasionally for crispy skins.
- Meanwhile, mix the chicken and spinach mixture with the remaining spicy sauce and 1/2 of the sweet potato insides. Mix thoroughly.
- Remove skins from oven and stuff with potato & chicken mixture. Top with shredded cheese.
- Serve with freshly chopped cilantro and Greek yogurt, if desired.
Y'all! This meal is perfect if you're looking to add something new to your chicken meals. To make this more kid friendly, I reserve just a little bit of the shredded chicken and spinach mixture before adding the spicy sauce. Take that and mix with some of the remaining sweet potato mixture. My son loves this meal! Depending on how sweet the potato tastes, I might add just a pinch of honey Greek yogurt to give just a little bit of flavor. We love the Greek Gods brand. This will sweeten the potato without having to add brown sugar. Keep in mind what your own children eat. If you know they won't eat Greek yogurt, then I would just add brown sugar.
I hope your family enjoys this meal as much as ours! Please let me know if you make it and how it turns out!! :)
Essentially,
Andrea
