By Angela Moriarty, Dietetic Intern [University of Minnesota – Fairview]
Who doesn’t love the warm smell of baked sweet potatoes around the holiday season? The aroma brings be back to my grandma’s home on Thanksgiving Day.
Here is a twist on the classic sweet potato casserole – adding a crunchy and fruitful flare! You can enjoy these as a seasonal side dish or as a fall dessert.
Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Blueberries and Pecans
Ingredients:
- 3 sweet potatoes
- ½ tbsp. butter or coconut oil
- 2/3 cup pecans
- 1/3 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
- Cinnamon and nutmeg to taste
- Optional: Garnish with brown sugar
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 F
- Wash sweet potatoes and place in the oven whole on a baking sheet. Cook until a fork can easily puncture the sweet potato (40-50 min).
- While the potatoes are baking, melt the butter or oil on a skillet on medium heat. Add the pecans and stir, allowing them to be toasted.
- Add the blueberries to the skillet and stir together. Turn off the heat when the blueberries are warm and set aside.
- After the potatoes are removed from the oven (leave oven on), cut them in half. After they have cooled enough to hold, scoop out all the potato flesh from the skins into one medium sized bowl (keep the skins intact!).
- Fold in ¾ of the pecan/blueberry mixture into the sweet potato flesh. Add cinnamon and nutmeg, as you like.
- Take a large spoon and scoop the new mixture of sweet potato back into the potato skin halves. Place them back in the oven for 7-10 minutes, or until slightly crispy on top.
- Top the sweet potato halves with the remaining pecan/blueberry mixture. (Optional: toss the remaining ¼ of pecan/blueberry mixture with brown sugar and cinnamon for a sweeter version).
Nutrition Information:
Per serving: 150 calories, 10 g fat (1.5 g saturated fat), 35 mg sodium, 16 g carbohydrate (4 g sugar), 3 g fiber, 2 g protein
