Sweet Potato Rounds Appetizer
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Sweet Potato Rounds is an easy Thanksgiving appetizer, with a seasonal flavor and texture that is out of this world delicious!! Sweet and tangy, creamy and crunchy, rich and bold, these scrumptious sweet potato bites are the perfect start to your Thanksgiving meal!
Tired of the usual sweet potato recipes like cheesecake and casserole? Take a shot at something new!
This gorgeous sweet potato appetizer mixes sweet and savory in the most tantalizing, mouthwatering way!
Sweet Potato Rounds
Nothing shouts “perfect Thanksgiving appetizer” like one made with sweet potatoes!
This refreshing starter brings new life to our favorite fall veggie with a dollop of creamy, tangy cheese and sweet, crunchy nuts.
A handful of herbs and a spoonful of cranberry sauce really sell the holiday atmosphere and bring it all together!
These sweet potato bites are wonderful, but they won’t satisfy dessert cravings – that’s what my ultimate Thanksgiving desserts are for!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Sweet Potatoes – Did you know that the color of the potato skin says everything about their flavor?
The best sweet potatoes for roasting are the red and orange skinned variations. They’re extra sweet! - Olive Oil – Extra virgin for extra flavor! Canola, sunflower, or vegetable oil are fine to substitute for roasting, but they won’t add the same depth of flavor.
- Coarse Salt – Iodized table salt isn’t what we’re looking for here. Sea salt, kosher salt, or even Himalayan pink salt would be perfect!
- Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce – I recommend making homemade cranberry sauce – it’s tangier and brighter than the store bought stuff!
But, really, canned sauce works too – just not the jellied stuff. - Goat Cheese – So creamy and so tangy, it’s just what we need to tone down the sweetness in the spuds and walnuts. Your best substitutes are feta or bleu cheese.
- Walnuts – Pecans add a similar sugary crunch, so don’t hesitate to swap them out in a pinch!
Almonds are also super tasty, and candied nuts would make things even sweeter!
Recipe Notes
- Fully preheat your oven. A hot oven is crucial for making sure the spuds roast rather than soaking up the oil, which will just leave them soggy and greasy.
Choosing the Best Sweet Potato
Take a look at them, and pick the ones that are smooth, evenly shaped, and small or medium sized. Avoid any with black spots, bruises or cracks!
Want a Sweet Treat?
If you want, you can turn this sweet potato appetizer into a bite-sized dessert!
Replace the goat cheese with marshmallow fluff and swap out the rosemary topping for a bit of cinnamon sugar.
Leave out the cranberry sauce and pepper, but keep the salt when you roast!
Serving and Storing Leftover Sweet Potato Bites
You definitely want to serve the sweet potato rounds right away because they get soggy pretty quickly.
If you do end up having some leftovers, the roasted sweet potato rounds will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge.
However, they don’t reheat well, so it’s best to gobble them up right away!
Prep Ahead Instructions
If you need to get a jump start on your holiday meal prep, then slice the potatoes and gather all of the other ingredients, but wait until the day of serving to assemble and roast the rounds.
Sweet Potato Rounds FAQ
You may have noticed that sweet potatoes are a bit more difficult to chop than your average potato! They’re pretty dense, so they take a bit more effort to slice through.
You’ll need a good, sharp knife. Leave the skins on so that you can get a good grip on the spud without slipping and slicing yourself in the process – plus, it just tastes good!
Finally, don’t cut them too thin. Somewhere between ⅓“ and ½” is the sweet spot.
You sure can! Use a lower heat, around 375°F. Preheat and roast for 10 minutes or so on one side. Flip them, brush on the remaining oil and seasonings, and air fry for another 5 minutes or so, until the bottoms are nice and crisp.
Don’t use extra virgin olive oil if you’re going the air fryer route – use extra light instead. Then, add all of the toppings as you would if you had roasted them in the oven!
It takes roughly 30 minutes to roast 20 sweet potato rounds.
Timing will vary depending on the variety of potato and the thickness of the slices, so keep an eye on how quickly each is browning to determine exactly when to flip.
Enjoy!
With love, from our simple kitchen to yours.
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Other Easy Thanksgiving Appetizers
Sweet Potato Rounds Appetizer
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 sweet potatoes, sliced into ½-inch thick rounds
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper, divided
- 1/4 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
- 1/4 cup goat cheese
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, or pecans
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- Place the sliced sweet potatoes on a parchment paper-lined 9 x 13 baking sheet.
- Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over the sweet potato slices; season with half of the salt and pepper.
- Transfer pan to the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and flip the sweet potatoes over. Drizzle remainder of olive oil, salt, and pepper over the sweet potatoes.
- Return to the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the bottoms are crispy.
- Remove from the oven and top with the cranberry sauce, goat cheese, and walnuts.
- Finish it off by drizzling with honey and garnishing with chopped rosemary.
- Serve immediately
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.
Originally published October 2022
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I love sweet potatoes. Can’t wait to try this.
Robin
Thus sounds really good, but you have to do it exactly just before the guests arrive so you can’t make it ahead of time. Or you wait until the guests arrive and spend your whole time in the kitchen making the appetizers as you have to serve them immediately after finishing so they are still warm. No thanks.
When I saw this I couldn’t wait for Thanksgiving to try it. This will be on our table because I am just in love with these. They are so flavorful and the tang from the goat cheese is just perfect! So yummy and everyone will love them!
Hi Camille,
We couldn’t wait either! They are incredible! Thank you!
TSRI Team Member,
Holli
I love your recipes, but how do I post them on my Pinterest page? I do not see an icon to do so, only to subscribe to your Pinterest. Help, my email is getting full of recipes I want to keep and make. Thanks.
Hi Kim,
There is a button at the top of each post and in the recipe at the bottom, just click Pin. Hope this helps.
TSRI Team Member,
Holli