These Stuffed Sweet Potato Skins came out of a desire to see if I could improve on the classic baked sweet potato,much like I did with a white potato. I actually didn’t like sweet potatoes for a long time, unless made into a Sweet Potato Casserole with marshmallows on top. In the past few years, I have started to enjoy them more and more. Whether grilled, roasted or baked, a well made sweet potato is truly delicious. In my effort to reinvent this fantastic tuber, I took the idea of a twice baked potato and created Stuffed Sweet Potato Skins. Think of them as the sweet version of Potato Skins. They make a great side dish or appetizer and are a nice change from a baked potato.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: 8 Servings

4 sweet potatoes
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup unsweetened, non-dairy milk
salt to taste
pepper to taste
shredded vegan cheddar cheese
vegan bacony bits
vegan sour cream
2 green onions, thinly sliced, green part only

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with foil and set aside.

2. Pierce each sweet potato a few times with a fork. Dip your fingers into the olive oil and rub each potato with your oiled hands, sprinkle with salt, place on the baking sheet and bake at 400˚F for 50 minutes or until soft.

3. Let potatoes cool, until you can handle them. Cut each potato in half lengthwise. Scoop out the middle leaving a ¼ inch layer of sweet potato inside, and put the part you scooped out into a medium bowl.

4. Place skins back on baking sheet, brush lightly with remaining olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt. Bake at 400F for 6 minutes skin side down, flip and bake 10 minutes skin side up.

5. While skins are roasting, mash sweet potato flesh with milk, salt, and pepper until smooth and creamy.

6. Remove sweet potato skins from oven, fill each with an equal amount of potato mixture and sprinkle with a little of the vegan cheddar cheese.

7. Return them to the oven and bake at 400F for 12 minutes.

8. Remove skins from oven and top with bacony bits, and serve with sour cream and green onions.