Sweet potato is an often-overlooked vegetable in many homes, with people preferring to reach for the starchy white potato varieties instead. However, the sweet potato is chock full of nutrients and vitamins that a growing family needs, and they have their own naturally delicious flavour that kids just seem to love.
One of the best ways to use sweet potato is with bakes, and there’s no limit to what you can combine into a dish and put in the oven. This recipe is a creamy sweet potato and chicken bake with plenty of delicious cheese in between, so you’re using more than just one nutritious ingredient.
Because sweet potato cooks a lot quicker than regular potato, you’re able to save preparation time. This is one of those great meals that you can prepare in minutes, place in the oven, and go about whatever it is you have to do before dinner without needing to give it a second thought.
This recipe is simple and easy to prepare and gives your family a mix of protein-rich chicken, flavoursome sweet potato, and tasty cheddar cheese to make a meal that everyone will be sure to enjoy. With vitamin A, vitamin C, fibre, vitamins B1 and B2, magnesium, and more, there isn’t much that the sweet potato can’t bring in the way of nutrition, and this decadent dish will fool the family into thinking it’s all about the naughty stuff.
Ingredients
- 1 kg of sweet potatoes, washed, peeled and cut into thin slices
- 125ml of light cream
- 300ml of crème fraiche
- 100g grated cheddar cheese
- 200g of cooked shredded chicken breast
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed or minced
- 2 green shallots, thinly chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped tarragon
Method
1. Preheat your oven to 180C/200C for fan forced. Lightly grease a 30cm x 20cm baking dish. Place your chopped sweet potato into boiling water and cook until slightly tender, or cook in a microwave safe dish covered in water for around eight minutes on high.
2. While the sweet potato cooks, combine the cream, crème fraiche, tarragon, and garlic in a small bowl.
3. Begin layering the dish, starting with the cooked sweet potato, then cooked chicken breast, shallots, and 80g of the shredded cheese, pouring a layer of your cream mixture in between each.
4. Pour the rest of the cream mixture over the top and sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese. Place in the oven for 30 minutes or until the cheese has started to bubble and turn golden. Once cooked, set aside for 10 minutes before serving.
This is quite a versatile dish that could do just as well served on its own, or alongside some additional vegetables, pasta or meat. It comes with all the decadence of cream, but with some of the good stuff thrown in as well, so you’ll be pretty much guaranteed that the kids will be asking for a second serving.
For those mums who have some extra time on their hands, you might consider making a double batch and freezing it one step before you’d usually put it in the oven. This saves you from cooking on another night, and all you need to do is pop it into the oven for a little longer than usual when you’re ready to use it again.
If there are any leftovers from this sweet potato bake, it can be easily reheated the following day, and the flavours will be even better.
For more inspiration on quick and nutritious meals for the family or simple tips to make motherhood a little less stressful, head to the Peachymama blog to see what else we have on offer.