Sweet Potato Nachos with Avocado Lime Cream {gf}

Happy May!

It just doesn’t feel like the start of May is upon us unless I’ve seen at least a few Justin Timberlake “It’s gonna be May” memes across social media. Am I right?

And speaking of said month, this weekend is Cinco de Mayo! I enjoy any excuse to eat Mexican food, and while this Saturday I’m going to be flying to the east coast for most of the day, I have a Cinco de Mayo inspired recipe to share with you guys today.

Nachos are one of my favorite Mexican inspired dinners, but they can easily be super high in calories. In my experience, it’s not hard to eat three servings of tortilla chips (Have you ever measured out one serving of tortilla chips? It’s depressing!). But for this recipe, we swap out the usual chips for homemade sweet potato chips.

Sweet potatoes are full of anti-inflammatory nutrients. They’re high in Vitamin A, fiber, Vitamin C, and manganese, among other goodness.

To bake them into chips, I use my food processor’s thin slicing blade, which slices those babies up in a matter of seconds. You can also use a mandolin. If you don’t have either of those, you can use a vegetable peeler or sharp knife to cut them as thin as you can. In my experience, the thinner the chip, the easier it is to get them nice and crispy.

Then we toss the sweet potato slices in a bit of oil, sea salt, and paprika, and pop em in the oven to bake.

While waiting for the sweet potato chips to bake, prep the rest of the nacho ingredients. These chips are topped with a mixture of black beans, grated cheddar cheese, chopped tomato, red onion, romaine lettuce and cilantro.

And then there’s the avocado cream that we spoon on top of the nachos once they’re done baking. Made with avocado, salsa, fresh lime, sour cream and sea salt, we whip it up by throwing everything in the food processor to blend together into a smooth, creamy mixture.

You can easily customize these nachos to your liking. Hate tomatoes? Leave em out. Don’t eat dairy? Use vegan cheese and sour cream. Not a fan of cheddar but love feta? Go for it. Hate sweet potatoes? Uh yea nevermind, in that case this recipe probably isn’t for you! 😉

This recipe is a healthier way to enjoy nachos. Not only is one nice sized serving have just a little over 400 calories, you’re also packing in the servings of produce & getting in 10 grams of fiber, along with 580% of the daily recommended Vitamin A amount, 30% calcium, 20% Vitamin C and 16% iron. That’s not too shabby in my book!

Sweet Potato Nachos with Avocado Lime Cream {gf}

Foodie Loves Fitness

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Prep Time 25 mins

Cook Time 40 mins

Total Time 1 hr 5 mins

Servings 6 -8

Calories 430 kcal

Ingredients

  

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For the nachos:

• 3 large sweet potatoes or yams
• 6 oz cheddar cheese grated
• 1-15 oz can black beans
• 2 Roma tomatoes
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1/4-1/2 red onion
• 1 TSP fine sea salt
• 1 TSP paprika or chili powder
• Optional toppings: shredded romaine lettuce cilantro, chives, jalapeños, etc.

For the avocado cream:

• 1 medium pitted avocado
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup salsa
• Zest from 1/2 lime
• Juice from 1 lime
• 1-2 TBSP water
• 1 TSP fine sea salt

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel the sweet potatoes.
• Using your food processor's thin slicing blade, a mandolin, vegetable peeler, or sharp knife, thinly slice the sweet potatoes.
• Toss the slices in a large bowl with the olive oil.
• Coat two large baking sheets with cooking spray. Arrange the sweet potato slices on the sheets, trying to keep everything spread out in a single layer (or as close to it as you can). Sprinkle the paprika and sea salt on top.
• Bake the potatoes for 10 minutes. Toss, then bake for another 15 minutes, or until the chips are slightly crispy. The key is to get them lightly browned, but not burnt since we're going to throw them back in the oven to bake with the toppings.
• While the chips are baking, prep the other nacho ingredients: Drain and rinse the beans, then place in the mixing bowl. Chop the tomatoes and mince the red onion, then add them to the bowl. Grate the cheddar cheese. Also chop your toppings - the lettuce, cilantro, chives, etc.
• Once the chips are done baking, remove from the oven and use a spatula to arrange all of the chips on one large baking sheet, forming a few layers if you'd like. Spoon the bean/tomato mixture onto the chips. Sprinkle the cheese evenly around.
• Place the nachos back in the oven to cook for another 12-15 minutes, or until the cheese is lightly browned and the chips are cooked to your satisfaction.
• While the nachos are baking, make the avocado lime cream: Combine the avocado, salsa, sour cream, lime juice, lime zest and sea salt in a food processor. Blend together well. Add in a bit of water to get the desired consistency that you'd like.
• Once the nachos are ready, remove from the oven. Spoon the avocado lime cream over the nachos, and sprinkle your other toppings in. Enjoy while they're warm!

Notes

*Leftover avocado lime cream is great as a dressing for Mexican salads!

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 430kcalCarbohydrates: 55gProtein: 14gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 30mgFiber: 10gSugar: 11g

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

I’m linking up to Deborah and Sarah‘s Meatless Monday party this week! Check out their blogs for more meatless meal inspiration.

Tell me… Are you a Mexican food lover? What’s your favorite type of cuisine? 

I make Mexican dinners all the time, but my all-time favorite cuisine is definitely Italian. Give me some pasta with fresh tomato sauce, some bread for dipping, and a glass of wine, and I’m a happy girl!