These delicious Maple Walnut Sweet Potato Skins are the perfect appetizer recipe or side dish this fall! Oven roasted sweet potatoes with brown sugar, walnuts, and spices!
If I'm being completely honest here, my love for sweet potatoes is about equal to my love of pumpkins. Only, I think I enjoy sweet potatoes just a notch more because no one takes a second thought to having sweet potatoes at any time of the year. Pumpkin anything is weird in the spring and summer, but not sweet potatoes!
We pretty regularly have roasted sweet potato wedges as a side dish here for dinner - year round. Sweet potatoes go so well with sandwiches of any kind! And when I say "we" I mean me, Silas, and Wesley. Actually Reuben, too! He loves his sweet potato baby food and in less than a month, he'll be primarily eating mashed up/diced up versions of what we're having for dinner each night. Toddler-hood, here we come!
For reasons I can't quite understand, Paul can't stand sweet potatoes. When he came home and saw these amazing, delicious, mouth-watering sweet potato skins cooling on the stove, he flinched. FLINCHED I tell you!
Needless to say, I purposefully plan on cooking sweet potatoes during nights when I know he has a late meeting or he'll be in class. He loves all things pumpkin, but can't stand sweet potato - I know, it's a real head-scratcher.
Of course you know where I stand! Add in brown sugar, spices, and chopped California Walnuts to top them off... no main dish needed for me!
Maple Walnut Sweet Potato Skins
By Kelly Miller
Roasted sweet potatoes, mixed with sour cream and cream cheese, and topped with brown sugar, walnuts, and maple syrup.
Ingredients: 6 medium sweet potatoes 1/2 cup cream cheese, softened 1/3 cup sour cream 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar, divided 1 teaspoon cinnamon, divided 1 teaspoon nutmeg, divided 1 teaspoon ground cloves, divided 2 tablespoons butter, melted 3/4 cup chopped walnuts maple syrup to drizzle Instructions:
Prick sweet potatoes several times with a fork. Place on a lined cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes - 1 hour, or until tender. Cool.
Slice sweet potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop potatoes into the bowl of a stand mixer, being careful to keep skins in tact.
Mix sweet potatoes on medium speed until creamy. Add in cream cheese, sour cream, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
Scoop filling back into skins evenly.
In a small bowl, stir together butter, reminaining 1/4 cup brown sugar, walnuts, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon each of spices.
Sprinkle evenly over filling in skins.
Return to oven and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Allow to cool slightly. Serve with a drizzle of maple syrup, if desired.
I really, really love this recipe because it's so versatile and I could see these being served at many different occasions. I wouldn't hesitate to serve this along with a roast for a weeknight dinner, they would be a great fall party appetizer, and I could certainly see these on a Thanksgiving table as an alternative to the sweet potato casserole. Oh who am I kidding, I'd want both these AND the sweet potato casserole! ;)
I really love getting the opportunity to include California walnuts in recipes that I make here at home - the added flavor, crunch, and depth is perfect in both sweet and savory dishes. They are a significant source of omega-3 fatty acids as well as 4 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber per ounce. They just taste amazing, especially topping these delicious sweet potato skins!
What's your favorite way to include California walnuts in your recipes? Leave me your ideas in the comments below!
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
