Healthy Poblano Goat Cheese Sweet Potato Cakes with Avocado Crema

Healthy Poblano Goat Cheese Sweet Potato Cakes with Avocado Crema are savory, smoky and sweet, with soft, fluffy insides and crispy baked outsides. Served with a healthy avocado crema, they're a delicious southwest-inspired side dish, appetizer or snack! (gluten-free, vegetarian)

I've been on a sweet potato kick lately. Which means I've been stocking up on them at the store. While a baked or roasted sweet potato is always an easy and delicious bet, I like to make things a little more interesting sometimes. Which is why I love these roasted poblano goat cheese sweet potato cakes! They're such a fun change up from plain sweet potatoes, and they make a delicious side dish, snack or appetizer!

Why You'll Love These Poblano Goat Cheese Sweet Potato Cakes

These tender, fluffy cakes filled with roasted poblano peppers and creamy goat cheese are the ultimate blend of savory, smoky and sweet. A dreamy poblano avocado dipping crema made with Greek yogurt makes these sweet potato cakes irresistible! They are baked to perfection in the oven, so they're good for you, and much easier to make than standing over the stove flipping cakes in a pan of oil.

How To Make Poblano Goat Cheese Sweet Potato Cakes

1. Roast the poblano in the oven until it's blistered on both sides, flipping it once halfway through. Then you'll let it cool, covered for about 10 minutes. Once it's cool, slip the skin off with your fingers, remove the stem and seeds, and dice half of it. You'll save the other half for the crema.
2. Cook the sweet potato while the poblano is roasting. I like to cut it into cubes and boil it in a pot of water until tender. Then drain and mash the sweet potato in a large bowl.
3. Mix the 'dough' by adding the egg, cornmeal, chipotle powder and salt to the bowl with the sweet potato. Mix it well, then gently stir in the diced poblano and goat cheese.
4. Form into cakes by scooping the dough into 2 tablespoon balls onto a lined baking sheet. Gently press each down to form a little patty.
5. Bake at 375°F for 10 minutes, then flip the cakes with a spatula and bake for another 10 minutes. Then broil for 1-2 minutes for a nice golden exterior.
6. Make the avocado crema while the sweet potato cakes bake by blending everything in the food processor until smooth. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time as needed to get a smooth dipping consistency.

Tips For Making Healthy Poblano Goat Cheese Sweet Potato Cakes

• This recipe is great for leftover sweet potatoes! Mash a leftover baked sweet potato if you have it. You can also cook a sweet potato in the microwave, if you'd like, by piercing the skin with a fork a few times, then microwaving on a plate for about 5 minutes.
• Lining your baking sheet with parchment paper is the best way to keep the sweet potato cakes from sticking. It makes them easier to flip halfway through baking. You can also use a silicone baking mat if you have one.
• Don't worry too much about getting all of the skin off of the roasted poblano. Most of it should easily slip off after it cools, but if it doesn't, just leave it!
• If you have leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge. They taste great crisped up in a skillet the next day! Leftovers can also be frozen.
• You can make the dough ahead of time up to a day in advance. Store in the refrigerator covered tightly until you're ready to use it. You can also just cook the poblano and sweet potato in advance and store in the fridge up to 3 days. I don't recommend making the crema too far in advance because the avocado will brown.

Ingredient Substitutions

• If you don't have a poblano pepper, or just want to skip the roasting, you can use canned green chiles instead.
• If you don't like goat cheese, leave it out or use queso fresco instead.
• Make these your own! Try adding corn kernels, black beans, or cooked diced onion to the dough.

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the comments!

Roasted Poblano and Goat Cheese Sweet Potato Cakes with Poblano Avocado Crema

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★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

Healthy Poblano and Goat Cheese Sweet Potato Cakes with Avocado Crema are savory, smoky and sweet, with soft, fluffy insides and crispy baked outsides. Served with a healthy avocado crema, they're a delicious southwest-inspired side dish, appetizer or snack! (gluten-free, vegetarian)

• Author: Kaleigh
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
• Yield: about 9 cakes 1x
• Category: side dish
• Method: baked
• Cuisine: Southwest

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Sweet Potato Cakes

• 1 poblano pepper
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed (about 1 ½ cups)
• 2 tbsp cornmeal
• ½ tsp chipotle powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 large egg, beaten
• ¼ cup crumbled goat cheese

Roasted Poblano Avocado Crema

• remaining ½ roasted poblano pepper
• 1 small avocado (or ½ large)
• ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro leaves
• cold water as needed

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 425°F. Place poblano pepper on a small sheet pan lined with foil or parchment. Roast in the oven, turning the pepper halfway through until blistered on the outside, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool, covered. Turn oven down to 350°F.
2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, cover sweet potato cubes with water and bring to a boil. Boil until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain and let cool.
3. Once pepper is cool enough to handle, gently rub skin to remove it. Cut in half and discard the stem and seeds. Dice one half of the pepper and set aside the other half for the crema.
4. In a large bowl, mash the sweet potatoes with a potato masher or fork.
5. Add cornmeal, chipotle powder, salt and egg. Mix until combined. Gently stir in goat cheese crumbles and diced poblano.
6. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment. Scoop sweet potato mixture into balls (about 2 tablespoon each) onto the cookie sheet and gently flatten into cakes, repeating until all of the mixture is used up.
7. Bake sweet potato cakes 20 minutes, gently flipping halfway though with a spatula.
8. Turn the oven up to broil and broil for 1-2 minutes, watching carefully so that they do not burn. Remove from oven and serve warm with the avocado crema.

To make the crema:

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender, blending until smooth.
2. Add cold water by the tablespoon as needed to reach a dipping consistency.
3. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

• This recipe is great for leftover sweet potatoes! Mash a leftover baked sweet potato if you have it. You can also cook a sweet potato in the microwave.
• Lining your baking sheet with parchment paper is the best way to keep the sweet potato cakes from sticking. You can also use a silicone baking mat if you have one.
• Don't worry too much about getting all of the skin off of the roasted poblano. Most of it should easily slip off after it cools, but if it doesn't, just leave it!
• If you have leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge. They taste great crisped up in a skillet the next day! Leftovers can also be frozen.
• You can make the dough ahead of time up to a day in advance. Store in the refrigerator covered tightly until you're ready to use it. You can also just cook the poblano and sweet potato in advance and store in the fridge up to 3 days. I don't recommend making the crema too far in advance because the avocado will brown.

Ingredient Substitutions

• If you don't have a poblano pepper, or just want to skip the roasting, you can use canned green chiles instead.
• If you don't like goat cheese, leave it out or use queso fresco instead.
• Make these your own! Try adding corn kernels, black beans, or cooked diced onion to the dough.

Keywords: southwest sweet potato cakes, poblano goat cheese sweet potato cakes, baked sweet potato cakes, avocado crema