Healthier

The Healthy Sweet Potato Nacho Recipe You've Been Waiting For

By Ella Burroughs at University of Maryland

This sweet potato nacho recipe is guaranteed to be hit...whether it's for game-day, family dinner, or a drool-worthy potluck dish. And guess what? No one will ever know it's secretly healthy. 

Last year, while on a college-touring trip in Burlington, Vermont, I discovered one of my favorite dishes to-date at a local bistro called The Gryphon: sweet potato nachos. 

This heavenly combo of healthy eating and absolute cheesy deliciousness was just too good to let go of. I set out to create a sweet potato nacho recipe of my own as a soon as I got home. I adapted my recipe from Minimalist Baker’s sweet potato chips, then got to work on putting together the toppings for the perfect combo of healthy protein and carbs...plus a little cheesy goodness. Something about that unique sweet potato flavor with black beans and guac makes me wonder where this dish has been all my life

The best part? Anyone can enjoy this match-made-in-heaven. The original sweet potato nacho recipe is vegetarian, but can be made vegan by substituting vegan cheese. You can go meat-lover friendly by adding in your favorite nacho meat.

Want to make it a clean-eating meal? Opt for whole milk cheese. Every other ingredient in the recipe is considered "clean-eating." Believe me, it's not difficult to enjoy this delicious, good-for-you spin on everyone's favorite comfort food.

Healthy Sweet Potato Nacho Recipe

  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 2 hrs 5 mins
  • Total Time: 2 hrs 15 mins
  • Servings: 2
Ingredients
  • 2 large sweet potatoes
  • 3 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp + 1 tbsp
  • tsp salt
  • tsp cumin optional
  • tsp chili powder optional
  • 1 cup Mexican cheese blend
  • 1 can black beans
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 1 small jalapeno pepper sliced thinly
  • white onion diced
  • cup cilantro for garnish
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • tomato salsa to taste
  • store-bought or homemade guac to taste

Ella Burroughs

Step 1

Prepare your sweet potato chips (I recommend Minimalist Baker's sweet potato chip recipe for the best results)

Ella Burroughs

Step 2

Dice the onion and sauté on medium heat with 1 tbsp olive oil

Ella Burroughs

Step 3

Rinse black beans well and drain diced tomatoes. Slice the jalapeño and cilantro

Ella Burroughs

Step 4

Once the onions start looking translucent, add in the black beans, diced tomatoes, corn. Season with paprika, cumin, and chili powder

Ella Burroughs

Step 5

After about 5-10 minutes, or until the beans and corn are heated through, remove the mixture from heat and start layering

Ella Burroughs

Step 6

Spread a third of the chips on a lightly greased baking sheet and preheat the oven to 425F

Ella Burroughs

Step 7

Layer with 1/4 of the Mexican cheese blend and about 1/4 of the topping mixture

Ella Burroughs

Step 8

Repeat steps 1 and 2 three times, or until you've run out of chips, finishing it off with a layer of the toppings

Ella Burroughs

Step 9

Bake for 5 minutes, or until cheese appears melted

Ella Burroughs

Step 10

Garnish with sliced jalapeños, cilantro, salsa, and guac to taste

Ella Burroughs

...And viola!

At first, I was a little apprehensive. Let me assure you, I'm no pro chef. I wasn't even sure if I could pull this recipe off, let alone do my new favorite restaurant order justice. Don't worry...it's so much easier than it seems! 

The first thing I learned: making your own chips is not as easy as it seems. It took a lot of too-thick, chewy batches of sweet potato “chips” before I finally found a recipe that works. The key to perfect, crispy goodness? Very thin slices—less than ¼ in. thick—and a long baking period on very low heat. Slicing the sweet potato as thinly as possible is the easiest way to get that crisp, chip-like texture.

Minimalist Baker suggests using a mandolin to slice the chips. If you have one, great, but if you, like me, have no idea what a mandolin is, it's time to get chopping. Slicing the sweet potato by hand will yield pretty much the same results. Just make sure to keep the slices fairly uniform and about ¼ in. thick to avoid thick, chewy chips. 

Pro tip—it's all about the layers. We all know that feeling of disappointment when you pull out a nacho with—gasp—no cheese. Instead of just sprinkling cheese on top, stack your ingredients: a layer of chips, followed by a layer of cheese, then a layer of toppings, and repeat. It'll look something like this:

I love to dust the sweet potato slices with a dash of cumin and chili pepper before they go into the oven. This is just to give my chips a little extra kick, though it's totally optional.

**Any leftover topping mixture can be used for a delicious side!