My husband and I had a stuffed sweet potato-off earlier this week. 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 shredded chicken and toppings-packed stuffed sweet potatoes in your life!
Easy Stuffed Baked Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are roasted until tender on the inside and roasty-toasty on the outside, then split open and stuffed with shredded BBQ chicken, smoked cheddar cheese, and toppings including minced red onion, pickled peppers, and chopped cilantro. The combination of sweet potato and BBQ sauce, smoky cheese, spicy onion, sour peppers, and herby 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 in the “easy dinner” category because everything can be prepped or made ahead of time then reheated and assembled.
How to Make this Recipe
Start by scrubbing then drying small sweet potatoes. 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.
While the potatoes are baking, make the BBQ chicken. Season chicken breasts that have been pounded to an even thickness with homemade 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 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 like 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 do — enjoy!
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