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Keeping things comforting, but healthy with my Healthy Chipotle Chicken Sweet Potato Skins. Kind of like cheesy nachos, but instead of chips, we’re substituting crisp sweet potatoes skins…so better! Made simply with sweet potatoes, chicken, chipotle chilies, spices, a touch of lime, spinach, and a generous amount of sharp cheddar cheese. Each homemade, oven-baked, sweet potato skin is delicious…and pretty healthy too. Think crisp on the outside, soft on the inside. Stuffed with sweet and spicy chicken that’s full of protein and perfectly balanced. Each sweet potato skin makes for the perfect weeknight dinner that easily doubles as lunch the next day.
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What I love so much about fall food is that it’s comforting, cozy, warming, and typically on the heartier side. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE a good salad (though I do prefer warm, roasted salads over cold salads). But I think it’s obvious that I really shine when it comes to cozy, comfort food. In fact, I want one of my upcoming cookbook titles to be Half Baked Harvest Cozy. What do you think…cookbook #3…before cookbook #2 even rolls out? Yeah, I have issues.
Point is, I love cozy recipes. I even love the word cozy. And I really just love fall food.
BUT, sometimes fall recipes can get to be a bit on the heavy side. I prefer to lighten them up a little and get back to a more balanced, healthy dinner. To me, that still includes cheese, but also includes plenty of vegetables, lean chicken, and flavorful spices to keep us warm and our metabolism running quickly.
Enter in my go-to, healthy yet comforting, fall dinner – Healthy Chipotle Chicken Sweet Potato Skins
These are SO GOOD.
I’ve been making a version of these for years and years, but this year I added a few things. Things like crunchy chickpeas (because I’m obsessed with them), a touch of onion, and I also kicked up the spices.
I could not love these skins more. And? They are so simple and easy to make. They do take some time, because baking sweet potatoes just takes patience. But all the prep and hands-on time is under 20 minutes. Easy.
To make these sweet potato skins
Start with the sweet potatoes themselves. I like to bake the sweet potato whole, directly on the oven grates. Cooking the potatoes this way allows them to soften in the center, but also keeps the skins from getting soggy.
While the skins are baking, also bake the chicken and the chickpeas together in the same baking dish. As the chicken cooks, the chickpeas crisp. I do want to note two things here…
First, if you don’t like chickpeas, you can very easily omit these from the recipe entirely. Most of my family really dislikes any kind of bean, so I never even add the chickpeas when they’re around.
Second, if you are vegetarian, you can leave out the chicken and use double the amount of chickpeas. The cooking times will be the same. Also? Black beans would be equally delicious, but they will not crisp like chickpeas.
Now, and this is key, the chicken is where all the flavor is at. It’s seasoned with chipotle chiles, garlic, and spices like oregano, cumin, and chili powder. I also threw in some lime zest for a little citrus zing.
It’s that sweet and spicy combo that I love so much.
During the last few minutes of cooking, toss some baby spinach in with the chicken. I love the added greens and the spinach pairs well with the flavors happening in these sweet potato skins.
Next, scoop some of the sweet potato flesh out of the skin. Bake another 10 minutes until the skins become crisp, and then stuff the chicken into the sweet potatoes. Then add as little or as much sharp cheddar cheese as you’d like and bake. About 10 or so minutes later your kitchen will smell heavenly and your skins will be ready for eating. The smell of sweet potatoes baking is truly the most comforting smell and so very “fall”.
These are best enjoyed warm. Preferably with cilantro and a dollop of plain Greek yogurt. Super simple, but so delicious. Between the sweet potatoes and the cheese, this is one of the coziest fall dinners. And it just so happens to be healthy, score!
Kind of like cheesy nachos, but instead of chips, we’re substituting crisp sweet potatoes skins…so better!
These skins are great any night of the week. But they feel especially great for Thursday, Sunday…or Monday night football.
And the biggest bonus…the leftovers. They make for such a delicious lunch the following day.
Love a two for one recipe!
If you make these healthy chipotle chicken sweet potatoes skins be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Healthy Chipotle Chicken Sweet Potato Skins
Ingredients
- 3 medium sweet potatoes
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 can (14 ounce) chickpeas, drained , (optional)
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 2-3 chipotle chilies in adobo, chopped, (more or less, to your taste)
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- zest of 1 lime
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
- 1 cup shredded white cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Prick the sweet potatoes all over with a fork. Bake directly on the rack until tender, 50-60 minutes. Allow to cool.2. At the same time, cook the chicken. Place the chicken, and chickpeas – if using, in a baking dish. Add the olive oil, garlic, chipotle chiles, chili powder, onion powder, oregano, cumin, lime zest, and a pinch each of salt and pepper, gently toss to coat. Transfer to the oven and bake 20-25 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, scatter the spinach over the chicken and cook 5 minutes, until wilted.3. Shred the chicken using 2 forks, then toss with the chickpeas, spinach and any oil left in the baking dish. 4. Scrape the sweet potato flesh out of the peel, leaving 1/2 inch thick layer of sweet potatoes. Brush the skins with a little olive oil and bake for 5 minutes, until crisping. Remove skins from the oven and stuff with the chicken. Top with shredded cheese. Return to the oven and bake for 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Serve with fresh cilantro and greek yogurt, if desired.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Hi, I was just wondering Can I use arugula instead of spinach? I have it on hand And didn’t want it to go to waste.
Hi Amanda! Yes, of course you can! I hope you love this recipe! xTieghan
Made these last night – SO delicious! Minus the sweet potatoes it was super easy. Even if you aren’t huge on chickpeas I really recommend trying it – they absorbed the adobo flavor so well. 10/10 will be making again!
Love to hear that! Thank you so much Claire! xTieghan
I preferred the previous recipe. It was very disappointing to pull up this recipe as I am making it tonight and see that it has been completely changed. Could you repost the previous recipe?
Hey Katie, this recipe has not changed. The only thing that is different are the photos and the addition of the chickpeas, which are optional. May I ask what the issue is? Or is there a question I can Answer for you? Please let me know. Thank you! xTieghan
The sweet potato and chipotle chicken somewhat clash because of the sweetness and the spiciness. Also the white cheddar blended in with the flavors too much I might suggest a sharper cheese. And yes everyone, they LOOK delicious!
Hi Sabrina! Plase let me know if there are any questions I could help you with! xTieghan
I have a question … what do you do w/the Sweet potato stuffs that you removed to make room for the Chicken/chickpea/spinach mixture??
Hi Barbara! I recommend my sweet potato tater tots. Linked below. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/sweet-potato-parmesan-tater-tots/
Hi! Just made these last nite. YUMMY! I was alittle skeptical about eating the skins because I never have eaten sweet potato skins before. Mine did get alittle too crisp!
Thanks for sharing Tina! X Kelly
This was fabulous ?
Thanks Kelly! Happy to hear you loved it!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious. Tastes sinful but it’s healthy!!
Hooray! It’s great when food that is good for you is so good! Thanks Holly!
Made these last night and they were sooooo delicious. We could only find small sweet potatoes, so we left out the chickpeas, but didn’t miss them. Bonus meal for the dog since she loves the flesh of sweet potatoes 🙂
Awh so amazing! I am so glad you enjoyed these potato skins! xTieghan
I made these last night, so delicious! Will be making these again
Thank you Joanna! I am so glad you loved these! xTieghan
I made a version of this but subbed sautéed mushrooms, onions, garlic for the chicken, used manchego cheese, and just used the seasonings I had in my cabinet (paprika, chili powder etc.) topped with avocado and it was delish! A perfect fall meal!
Thank you so much Jessica! I am so glad you loved this one! xTieghan
I made this for dinner tonight and it was incredible!!! Love the crispy chick peas with the wilted spinach. Thanks for posting recipes that can be vegetarian and have a meat option. My family is half vegetarian so recipes like this are perfect for us. Thanks again for all your amazing recipes.
Yes that is so amazing! Thank you so much for trying this Heather! xTieghan
Made these last night, rave reviews from the kiddos, & one of them isn’t a spicy food lover, absolutely delicious! I also made the roasted garlic spaghetti squash lasagna, another dinner hit! Thanks Tieghan for wonderful recipes, that translate seamlessly to my kitchen & for such a beautiful website. Looking forward to discovering more of your recipes.
Hi Kellie! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe and I hope you continue to enjoy others of mine! Thank you so much! xTieghan
Any recommendations for what to do with the scooped out sweet potato? I hate food waste!
Hi Sarah! I recommend my sweet potato tater tots. Linked below. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/sweet-potato-parmesan-tater-tots/
What do you do with the sweet potato that you scoop out? Save it or mix it in with the chicken mixture?
Hi Sarah! The sweet potato flesh should be reserved for another recipe. It’s not needed for the filling. I would recommend using the sweet potato flesh for my sweet potato tater tots. Linked below. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/sweet-potato-parmesan-tater-tots/