BBQ Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Ben and I had a stuffed sweet potato-off earlier this week.

Related: someone should make a show about 30 somethings because— OH WAIT NO THEY SHOULDN’T. Unless shopping on Amazon Prime, trying new face creams, convincing your toddler that learning to write the alphabet is super fun, and inventing new stuffed sweet potato combinations sounds like it has mass appeal. In case it does, call me, Bravo!

Anyway, I’m so pumped about the BBQ Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes that won the aforementioned super interesting competition. Trust me when I tell you that you need these flavor and toppings-packed stuffed sweet potatoes in your life!

Stuffed Baked Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are roasted until tender on the inside and roasty-toasty on the outside, then cracked open, stuffed with shredded BBQ chicken and smoked cheddar cheese, then sprinkled with the toppings of your choice. I went with diced red onion, tangy pickled peppers, and freshly chopped cilantro. The combination of sweet potato and BBQ sauce, smoky cheese, spicy onion, sour peppers, and savory cilantro is a match made in heaven, and made every single one of my taste buds happy.

I’m filing BBQ Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes under the “easy dinner” category because they’re truly simple. Toss scrubbed sweet potatoes into the oven to bake when you get home from work then let them roast for an hour. 20 minutes before they’re done, saute a couple chicken breasts then shred and mix with BBQ sauce. Stuff the sweet potatoes with the chicken then add cheese, broil, and sprinkle with toppings.

Presto = stuffed sweet potatoes!

This recipe hits the spot for dinner but it is the PERFECT leftover lunch too. Just combine everything in a dish then reheat for a couple minutes in the microwave before eating. Tastes just as good as fresh, plus it’s hearty yet healthy and a great meal to power you through the afternoon.

How to Make this Recipe

Start by scrubbing then drying 4 medium-sized sweet potatoes (10-12oz each.) Pierce the potatoes a few times with a fork then place on a cooling rack set atop a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes, depending on how big your potatoes are, or until a knife can be easily inserted into the centers.

Normally it’s recommended you place potatoes directly on an oven rack to bake, but oven racks can be a hot spot for gluten cross contamination. For example, before I got sick we used to bake regular pizzas directly on the racks, so they’re now covered in gluten. This cooling rack/baking sheet setup not only mimics the oven rack baking method but keeps everything gluten-free, too.

When the potatoes have 20 minutes left to bake, get the BBQ chicken going. Season 2 chicken breasts with homemade GF seasoned salt and pepper then saute until cooked through. Once the chicken breasts are cool enough to handle, shred with two forks then mix with enough of your favorite BBQ sauce to generously coat.

Once the potatoes are soft, slice them open lengthwise then use tongs to press both ends together and open the potatoes up. Stuff each potato with 1/4 of the shredded BBQ chicken and freshly shredded smoked cheddar cheese. The smokiness of the cheese really cuts through the sweetness of the potato and BBQ sauce.

Pop the potatoes under the broiler for a couple minutes, just until the cheese melts.

Last step is to top the potatoes with all your favorite fixins’ – I chose lots of diced red onion, chopped cilantro, and about 10x the amount of pickled peppers you see here. Like I said, the combination of sweet, spicy, tangy, and fresh is out of this world delicious. Hope you love these stuffed sweet potatoes as much as we did – enjoy!

BBQ Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

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gluten free

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5/5 (2 REVIEWS)

Description

BBQ Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes are fresh and healthy, yet craveable and mouthwatering. This gorgeous, gluten free dish totally satisfies!

Ingredients

serves 4

• 4 medium-sized sweet potatoes (10-12oz each,) scrubbed and dried
• 2 large chicken breasts
• homemade seasoned salt (or regular salt) and pepper
• BBQ sauce
• 4oz smoked cheddar cheese, shredded
• Toppings: minced red onion, chopped cilantro, chopped avocado, mild pepper rings

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees then pierce sweet potatoes several times with a fork. Line a baking sheet with foil then place a cooling rack on top, and then place the sweet potatoes on top of the cooling rack. Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes, depending on how big your sweet potatoes are, or until a knife can be easily inserted into the center.
2. When sweet potatoes have 20 minutes left, season chicken breasts with seasoned salt and pepper then saute in a large skillet until cooked through. Once cool enough to handle, shred chicken with two forks then mix with enough BBQ sauce to coat.
3. Slice sweet potatoes in half lengthwise then use tongs to press the ends towards each other to help open them up. Fill the openings with shredded BBQ chicken then top with a quarter of the shredded cheese and place back onto the cooling rack. Broil until the cheese has melted then serve with toppings.

Notes

• Click here for my Homemade Gluten-Free Seasoned Salt recipe >

This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.