These Sweet Potato Nachos will Rock Your World

Instead of eating a plate full of fried chips covered in processed melted cheese, refried beans, and greasy ground beef, try these Sweet Potato Nachos. They're baked sweet potato chips topped with low-fat Mexican blend cheese, corn, black beans, kalamata olives, green peppers, cherry heirloom tomatoes, avocado, and low-fat sour cream. 

Something I've been noticing lately in the "food world" is that people really want to eat healthily, yet struggle with this immensely. I think this is due to the fact that society approaches the whole concept of "healthy eating" in a very black or white matter; they automatically go from eating fast food every day, right to a super regimented "clean eating" lifestyle with no wiggle room. Hey everyone, there's a grey area! Continue to eat your favorite foods, but do so in moderation with some small changes, such as this recipe exemplifies. All the goods are still there but in a fresher, lighter, more vibrant way.

The serving size for this recipe is for 3 or 4 people, as it is more of a snacking dish (great for parties and gatherings), but could definitely be dinner for two with the addition of ground lean turkey, or another lean protein. 

Sweet Potato Nachos

• Prep Time:10 mins
• Cook Time:25 mins
• Total Time:35 mins
• Servings:3
• Medium

Ingredients

• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
• 1/4 cup corn Either fresh or canned
• 1/4 black beans
• 1/4 cup kalamata olives
• 1/4 cup green peppers
• 1/4 cup cherry heirloom tomatoes
• 1/2 a slightly under-ripe avocado
• A drizzle sour cream
• Feel free to include your favorite nacho toppings/change the amount based on your preference!

• Step 1

  Preheat the oven to 425°F. Wash the sweet potato and finely slice into 1/8" thick "chips" (or as thin as you can get them before cutting your fingers!).

  

• Step 2

  Take awe over your rocking knife cuts and then place into a bowl and toss in just enough olive oil to coat.

  

• Step 3

  Place the sweet potato slices on to a very lightly oiled sheet tray, and give them some room to breathe (aka no overlapping!). It's okay to break out another sheet tray if there's not enough room for everyone.

  

• Step 4

  Roast the sweet potatoes for 10 minutes, then flip and repeat. Once cooked through fully, broil in one-minute increments. Super thin slices = super high chance of burning. We are looking for a crisp, chip-like texture here so broil until this is achieved. After they are through roasting, place on a wire cooling rack if available for use.

  

• Step 5

  While the chips are roasting, gather the olives, green pepper, cherry heirloom tomatoes, and avocado and dice into a uniform "nacho topping" size. After, collect the rest of the topping ingredients.

• Step 6

  Set the oven to 350°F. Place the sweet potato chips onto a very lightly oiled sheet tray and arrange into an overlapping structure for the toppings to sit on.

  

• Step 7

  Topping time! This part is awesome, as you can customize the recipe and truly make it into your own. I decided to put the toppings on in the least to most vibrant order in color: cheese, black beans, kalamata olives, corn, green peppers. Bake for about 3 minutes or until the cheese is melted to your satisfaction.

  

• Step 8

  Topping time, part two! Add a pop of color to the dish with the diced cherry heirloom tomatoes and avocados. Finally, drizzle the sour cream to make it look and taste impressive af.

  

• Step 9

  Eat yo' heart out!