Print

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

Roasted poblano sweet potato cakes on a plate with a green sauce.

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)

Ingredients

Scale

Sweet Potato Cakes

  • 1 poblano pepper
  • 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 2 tbsp cornmeal
  • 1/2 tsp chipotle powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese

Roasted Poblano Avocado Crema

  • remaining 1/2 roasted poblano pepper
  • 1 small avocado (or 1/2 large)
  • 1/4 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 tbsp 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