Cranberry Goat Cheese Sweet Potato Bites

Roasted Sweet Potato Appetizer

These simple but elegant appetizer recipe with roasted sweet potatoes is the perfect addition to your spread of healthy finger foods. Cranberry Goat Cheese Sweet Potato Bites only require 6 ingredients and take less than 10 minutes of prep work.

Sweet Potato coins are roasted to perfection so the outside is crispy and golden while the insides are soft and tender. They are topped with whipped goat cheese mixed with salt, black pepper, thyme and Italian herbs. Finish them off with sweetened dried cranberries and a tiny sprig of thyme for a beautiful and delicious appetizer!

• healthy finger foods

Sweet Potato and Goat Cheese Bite

The combination of sweetness from the potatoes and cranberries is the perfect compliment to the savory herb seasoned goat cheese. I love goat cheese all on it’s own, but it is particularly amazing when sweetened, much like with these Honey Goat Cheese Balls or Blueberry Balsamic Goat Cheese Dip.

If you really want to sweeten up this sweet potato and goat cheese bite, you could use honey goat cheese. The possibilities are endless when it comes to choosing the perfect goat cheese for these sweet potato appetizers. A log of cranberry goat cheese will allow you to skip chopping the dried cranberries all together. Or a log of soft herb goat cheese means you don’t need to buy fresh thyme and Italian herbs.

Be creative with your goat cheese selections for an abundance of variety!

• Honey Goat Cheese Balls
• Blueberry Balsamic Goat Cheese Dip

How to make Sweet Potato Bites

To get started, you will need to grab your 6 simple ingredients along with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Here is what you will need

2 large narrow sweet potatoes

4 ounces goat cheese

fresh thyme

dried Italian herb mix

Heavy cream

Dried sweetened cranberries

Roasted Sweet Potato Coins

It’s important to grab the narrow sweet potatoes from the product section so your sweet potato coins aren’t too wide. If you use a thick sweet potato you will end up with a huge coin which won’t hold it’s shape so well and will not work as well for a nice finger food.

Scrub the sweet potatoes and pat them dry. Do not peel them. Slice the potatoes into 1/2 inch coins and place on a baking sheet. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and spread them at least 1 inch apart. If they are piled too close together, they will tend to steam instead of roast into a beautiful crisp outside.

Bake at 425°F for 15-20 minutes. Flip them over and bake an additional 5-10 minutes until they are perfectly roasted and crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Let the potatoes cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to the cooling rack.

Can I make the sweet potatoes in my Air Fryer

If you hate turning your oven on or it is already full from other holiday or party dishes, then your Air Fryer is a great way to cook your sweet potato coins for this appetizer.

To be as efficient as possible, grab an Air Fryer Rack so you can layer lots of sweet potatoes and still get the same great air circulation. If you try cook all your sweet potatoes at one time in your Air Fryer without a rack, they won’t crisp up nicely.

Toss the sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper and cook at 425°F for 15 minutes. Check on the potatoes and cook an additional 5-10 minutes until they are done. Keep in mind that they will cook a little faster than they would in the oven, so they won’t need quite as much cooking time.

Whipped Thyme Goat Cheese

Meanwhile, add the goat cheese to a small bowl and microwave for 15-20 seconds until it is softened. Mix in fresh thyme leaves, Italian herbs and the heavy cream one Tablespoon at a time.

Add up to 4 Tablespoons of cream, depending on how thick you want your goat cheese. Just keep in mind that you are putting it on warm roasted sweet potatoes, so it will tend to spread out some. If you don’t have heavy cream, you can use milk in a pinch, but just use a little less as it will thin the goat cheese faster.

Once the sweet potatoes have cooled for about 10 minutes, add a generous dollop of 1-2 tablespoons of herbed goat cheese and garnish with chopped dried cranberries.

What can I substitute for goat cheese?

If you don’t have access to soft goat cheese or you have someone who just don’t like it, there are a couple of options that will work well. If I have people who proclaim they don’t like goat cheese, I tend to believe they don’t like the strong goat cheese flavor, but if you cut the goat cheese with equal parts whipped cream cheese, it tends to go over more universally for all guests.

If you absolutely don’t want to involve goat cheese in this dish you could make some whipped feta by mixing cream cheese, feta and a little cream in a food processor.

If soft cheeses aren’t your jam, then you could just use plain whipped goat cheese. This won’t be quite as flavorful as the soft cheese as they add a nice tangy bite to the flavor, but it will still be a great appetizer.

Alternative garnishes for sweet potato bites

This sweet potato bite recipe calls for dried cranberries, but you could also use dried cherries or blueberries.

In addition to the dried fruit, some chopped nuts would add another bit of crunch and saltiness to the sweet potato bites. Chopped roasted pecans or shelled pistachios would be a fantastic addition.

Can I make Sweet Potato Bites in advance?

I don’t recommend storing these for more than an hour. Potatoes will lose their texture and the skin will separate. If you are wanting to do as much prep work ahead of time for your party, the goat cheese mixture can be prepared a day or two ahead of time.

When you are baking your sweet potatoes, remove the goat cheese mixture from the refrigerator so it warms to room temperature and is easier to spread.

If you have leftovers, you can certainly enjoy them as a side dish to your lunch the next day, but the sweet potatoes will soften and they won’t look so hot. They will still taste great though!

More healthy sweet potato appetizer recipes!

Sweet potatoes are packed with Potassium and Vitamin C and so good for you. If you love them as much as we do and want to transform them into lots o healthy appetizers, we’ve got you covered! Check out some more of these great appetizer recipes.

Air Fryer BBQ Pork Sweet Potato Skins – This is one of my favorite recipes for sweet potatoes. It makes a great dinner or appetizer when using smaller sweet potatoes.

Spicy Roasted Sweet Potato Spirals with Guacamole – It doesn’t get much better than crispy sweet potato spirals topped with creamy avocado!

Crispy Sweet Potato Nachos – All the flavors of nachos on thinly sliced roasted sweet potatoes for a healthier alternative to the classic appetizer.

• Air Fryer BBQ Pork Sweet Potato Skins
• Spicy Roasted Sweet Potato Spirals

Notes

AIR FRYER Sweet Potatoes To cook the sweet potatoes in the Air Fryer, add them to an Air Fryer rack and cook at 425°F for 15 minutes. Check the potatoes and add an additional 5-10 minutes until they are cooked through. Serving Make within an hour of serving, ideally right before guests arrive. They can be served at room temperature, but sweet potatoes won't hold their nice roasted texture for that long.

Serving: 1 g | Calories: 82 kcal | Carbohydrates: 7 g | Protein: 2 g | Fat: 5 g | Saturated Fat: 2 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3 g | Cholesterol: 7 mg | Sodium: 79 mg | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 3 g