Oil-free sweet potato rounds baked and smashed with herbed pea pesto. The perfect healthy appetizer for game-day or any-day!
Hi, guys!
Are you football fans?
I can’t say that I am, but you know what I am a fan of?
Easy and healthy game-time snacks.
Dan would tell you that I’m a Patriots fan by marriage (don’t hate!), but I spend the majority of the game asking what just happened.
And smashing all of the veggies together to make an oil-free, gluten-free option to enjoy between (and during) plays.
These Pea Pesto Sweet Potato Poppers are a total “game-changer” (sorry, I had to), when it comes to feeding you and your football fans this fall!
Have you tried baking oil-free sweet potato rounds yet?
While I do love my sweet potato fries and baked sweet potatoes, my go-to lazy-girl method of baking sweet potatoes is to slice them, throw them on a baking sheet, and impatiently wait for them to soften and get all jeweled orange and juicy.
Trust me, they don’t need anything else to bake and come out tasting like a dream.
Well, they might need a little pea pesto…
You might recognize my basic pea pesto recipe from this post, but I changed it up by adding hemp hearts instead of pistachios for that nutty flavor.
I used a lot of dill in this mixture as my herb of choice, but feel free to swap the fresh dill out with a basic basil or mint!
So.
The Pea Pesto Sweet Potato Poppers came into being when I had a pan of freshly baked sweet potato rounds resting on my blue striped oven mitt in desperate need of a dipping partner.
The usual suspects are guac, hummus, or nut butter, but I happened to have some leftover pea pesto in the fridge so I smashed some on with a fork and popped it in my mouth.
Yum.
Totally pop-able.
Enjoy these Pea Pesto Sweet Potato Poppers as an easy snack, appetizer, or side to your main meal.
I think you should whip up some pea pesto in advance, throw a pan of sweet pots in the oven just before halftime, assemble and serve ’em warm on a giant Pea Pesto Sweet Potato Popper platter.
Watch these little bites become the MVP for a few minutes.
If you make these Pea Pesto Sweet Potato Poppers, let me know!
Be sure to leave me a comment, rating, and review so I can use your feedback to create more yums.
Give me a shout on Instagram and use #floraandvino to show me your creations.
Check out my Pinterest page to pin more recipes like this one to make later.
For more oil-free sweet potato pairings, check out my Baked Yam Fries with Oil-Free Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and Purple Sweet Potato Fries with Beet Ketchup, too!
If you loved this post and want more, go to my homepage and subscribe to get deliciousness delivered right to your inbox!
XO Lauren
Pea Pesto Sweet Potato Poppers
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 6-8 servings
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Oil-free sweet potato rounds baked and smashed with herbed pea pesto. The perfect healthy appetizer for game-day or any-day!
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Poppers
- 3–4 sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2” rounds
Pea Pesto
- ¼ cup hemp hearts
- ½ cup frozen peas, thawed
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- 1 cup packed fresh spinach (or sub basil)
- ¼ cup fresh dill (or sub basil or mint)
- 2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
- 2 TBSP runny tahini
- Himalayan sea salt
- Black pepper
For Serving
- fresh dill
- hemp hearts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add your sliced sweet potato to the pan and bake them for 30 minutes, flipping them halfway for even baking.
- While the sweet potatoes are baking, prepare the pea pesto by add all remaining ingredients to a high speed blender. Pulse until well-combined but not pureed, scraping down the sides as needed to recombine.
- When the sweet potatoes are done, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool slightly before assembly.
- To assemble, smash ~1 Tablespoon of pea pesto onto each sweet potato rounds and serve them garnished with fresh dill and hemp hearts, if desired.
- Store leftover sweet potatoes and pea pesto in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Notes
Pea Pesto adapted from Love & Lemons
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Side, Snack
- Method: Oven-Bake
- Cuisine: Vegan, Oil-Free, Gluten-Free
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