These mini sweet potato bites are served with a bacon and sun dried tomato guacamole. They’re easy to make, perfect for a party and BURSTING with flavour!
If you’re in need of an easy but absolutely delicious crowd pleaser, you’re in luck. These sweet potato bites are perfect for pot luck, awesome for BBQs and make the perfect appetizer. Follow me…
Roasted Sweet Potato Bites
Think of these as mini edible plates to present your gauc (more on the guac in just a sec). As such, we need them to be able to ‘hold’ the guac. I mean this in the sense of being sturdy enough to physically hold the guac, but also flavoursome enough to hold their own against the guac.
How thick to slice the sweet potato?
No false promises here – the sweet potato itself isn’t going to be ultra crispy. As such, very thin slices won’t be sturdy enough to hold the guac. And if you’re anything like me you’re gonna dollop that guac on top like there’s no tomorrow. With that in mind you’re going to want to slice the potato into disks of at least 1/2″. Sweet potatoes with around 2″ in diameter work great for this!
What to season the potato with?
I keep it simple here and go for a combo of smoked paprika, cumin, ground coriander and cayenne pepper. These will not only bring out the best in the sweet potato but will also compliment the guac nicely.
Can I make this part ahead of time?
Sure! Just allow to cool then tightly store in the fridge. I recommend reheating until they crisp up again, just to keep them sturdy before you top them.
Process shots: slice potato into disks (photo 1), combine with spices and oil (photo 2), spread out on oven tray (photo 3), roast in the oven (photo 4).
Bacon Sun Dried Tomato Guacamole
Guac purists – look away now 😂 Sweet potato bites are classically topped with some form of smashed avocado, sometimes with bacon. I thought I’d take things up a notch and top them with the most delicious guacamole you’ll ever make. I remain calling it guacamole as it does have some traditional roots.
Flavour Paste
Typically you’d make guac in a pestle and mortar because you want to grind the ingredients to better release their flavour. However, you can mimic this by grinding the ingredients in salt with the blade of your knife. The base flavour of this guac (jalapeño, onion, coriander/cilantro, lime zest and garlic) is ground into a paste-like texture and creates the backbone of the guac.
Perfect Avocados
Because perfect avocados = perfect guac = perfect sweet potato bites 😁 You’re looking for avocados that are ripe but not bruised. For that perfect buttery texture you’re looking for the avocado to give a little when you firmly press it, but not so much the skin begins to break. This is important, if the avocados aren’t ripe enough they’ll taste bitter and be tricky to mash.
Sun Dried Tomatoes & Bacon
These really take this guac through the roof. I recommend stirring through the bacon just before needed, just so it stays nice and crispy. In both cases, you’ll want to save some to sprinkle over the bites at the end.
Can I make the guac ahead of time?
Yep! Just leave out the bacon and stir through when serving, just to keep it somewhat crisp (more on this in the recipe card notes below).
Process shots: add flavour paste ingredients to board (photo 1), mix and finely dice (photo 2), add salt and grind (photo 3), add to avocados with extra virgin olive oil & lime juice (photo 4), gently mash (photo 5), add more coriander/cilantro, sun dried tomatoes & bacon (photo 6), resist eating with a tablespoon (photo 7).
Serving Sweet Potato Bites
From there it’s just a case of topping the sweet potato with mini dollops of your guac, then sprinkle over a little more coriander/cilantro, bacon and sun dried tomato!
Do I serve these hot or cold?
You can either serve them right away, meaning the potato with still be warm and the guac is room temp. Or, you can cool both components, stack then serve. They will be slightly softer this way but still delicious.
Can I make these ahead of time?
You can, it’s just a case of storing them both separately then stacking before serving. You can make the whole thing and tightly store in the fridge, I just find the guac softens the potato a little too much this way.
When can you serve sweet potato bites?
These are awesome to feed a crowd. They’re great as an appetizer for dinner, or you could serve them as part of a Finger Food spread for something like gameday!
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for these sweet potato bites shall we?!
How to make Sweet Potato Bites (Full Recipe & Video)
Sweet Potato Bites
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Equipment
- 1-2 Large Greaseproof Baking Trays
- Medium Size Mixing Bowl & Masher (for guac)
- Large Mixing Bowl & Spatula (for potatoes)
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
Ingredients
Sweet Potato
- 2lb / 1kg Sweet Potatoes, scrubbed with skins left on (preferably around 2″ in diameter)
- 2.5 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tsp EACH: Smoked Paprika, Cumin
- 1/2 tsp EACH: Ground Coriander, Salt
- 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
Guac
- 3x 9oz/250g ripe (but not bruised) Avocados, pitted & halved
- 7oz / 200g Bacon, cooked, cooled & chopped (weight BEFORE cooked)
- 1 cup / 125g Sun Dried Tomatoes, diced
- 3 heaped tbsp Coriander/Cilantro plus more to garnish
- 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (make sure it’s extra virgin)
- 1 Jalapeño, deseeded & diced
- 1/2 small Onion, diced
- 1 Lime, zest & juice
- 1 small clove of Garlic, diced
- 1/2 tsp Salt, plus more to taste if needed
Instructions
- Sweet Potatoes: Slice your sweet potatoes into 1/2″ disks and combine in a large bowl with olive oil and seasoning. Space out on a large baking tray (use two if needed) and bake in the oven at 200C/390F for 30-40mins, or until lightly charred and cooked right through. Flip once around halfway.
- Guac Seasoning: Meanwhile, on a chopping board add onion, jalapeño, 2 heaped tbsp coriander/cilantro, lime zest and garlic. Mix together and dice into tiny pieces. Sprinkle over 1/2 tsp salt and begin spreading with the side of the blade of your knife until a paste forms.
- Guac: Add into a medium sized bowl with avocados. Add in 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and the juice of 1 lime. Gently mash until everything has incorporated, leaving a few chunks here and there. Stir in your last heaped tbsp of coriander/cilantro and most of your sun dried tomatoes and bacon, saving some to garnish (if you want to keep the bacon crispy you can stir this through just before serving). Check for seasoning and adjust if needed.
- Serve: When cool enough to handle, serve up sweet potato disks with 1 heaped tsp guac on top. Sprinkle over some extra bacon, sun dried tomatoes and coriander/cilantro and serve up! See notes for make ahead.
Video
Notes
b) Making the guac ahead of time – You can make the guac ahead of time (2-3days) just cover with a layer (approx 1/2″) of water so it doesn’t oxidise. Place in an airtight container in the fridge and pour out water when needed. I definitely recommend stirring bacon through the guac just before serving/stacking so it stays crispy.
c) Making the potatoes ahead of time – You can also make the potatoes ahead of time, just allow to completely cool then tightly cover in the fridge. Again, 2-3days should be fine. Then just stack and serve. To heat them up again just place back on a baking tray and roast at 180C/350F until hot & crisp again.
d) Making the whole thing ahead of time – If you want to make the whole thing I only recommend a few hours before serving, or the guac starts the brown and turns the potato soggy. Just make sure the potato has cooled, then stack and tightly store in the fridge until needed.
e) Calories – based on there being 40 bites in total and shared between 8 people (5 each).
Nutrition
If you’re looking for more delicious finger food check out my Spicy Potatoes and Dip!
For more similar recipes check out these beauties:
Delicious Sweet Potato Recipes
- Sweet Potato Hash Browns
- Garlic Rosemary Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Chorizo
- Sweet Potato Breakfast Hash
- Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries
- Sweet Potato Stacks
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