Chicken and Pesto Stuffed Sweet Potatoes from Real Food Every Day
This Chicken and Pesto Stuffed Sweet Potatoes recipe is a sneak peek from Michelle’s up coming book, The Whole Smiths Real Food Every Day. This easy to assemble recipe will soon become a weekly go-to in your meal rotations and a family favorite in kitchens.
With exactly two weeks left until my next cookbook, The Whole Smiths Real Food Every Day, drops, I wanted to give my loyal readers a sneak peek of one of my favorite, and easiest, recipes in the book. These Chicken and Pesto Sweet Potatoes are a darn breeze and sure to make your weeknight meal prep that much easier.
Rotisserie chicken makes the world go round.
Do you know how many times a rotisserie chicken has saved my butt when trying to figure out what’s for dinner? More times than I can count. In fact, there are nights we simply have a rotisserie chicken and baby carrots with my Dairy-Free Bacon Ranch. And you know what? It’s downright delightful.
I use rotisserie chicken regularly in cooking, it makes easy week night recipes even easier. And this Chicken and Pesto Stuffed Sweet Potato recipe is no exception. You don’t get extra points for cooking every component of a meal yourself so why not integrate a bit more ease into cooking?
I will say however, make sure to read the ingredients in your rotisserie chickens as some have a lot of additives and unsavory ingredients included. I know, it would appear to be a harmless chicken but maker sure to scan the ingredients for any you may be uncomfortable with.
Pesto, the perfect condiment?
Could it be true? Is pesto indeed, the perfect condiment? It’s salt, it’s nutty, it’s fresh and it adds pizzaz to any dish you make with it. I love adding pesto to anything. But did you know it is an amazing match up along the flavor of sweet potatoes? It’s in fact one of my favorite flavor combinations. As evidenced by some of my earliest recipes, Roasted Sweet Potato “Chips” + Pesto Aioli and Chicken Pesto Bites.
Now you can enjoy all of those flavors in one beautiful meal. I use the Paleo Pesto I created for this website in the book as well. It’s the perfect pesto recipe if you’re looking to eliminate dairy and the perfect recipe even if you’re not. I promise you really can’t tell much of a difference.
Real Food Every Day was made for easy.
When I came up with the concept of Real Food Every Day, I wanted to create a cookbook that was accessible to anyone looking to incorporate wholesome, healthy foods. I wanted any level of home cook to be able to replicate the recipes with ease and source the ingredients with minimal fuss. Therefore, you’ll find the recipes empty easy cooking techniques and minimal ingredient lists.
What you won’t find however are lackluster flavor profiles. I made sure that each of the recipes in Real Food Every Day were packed with flavors both familiar and new. Like in this Chicken and Pesto Stuffed Sweet Potato! It was also important for me that the flavors were family friendly. As a mom, I know the struggle it can be to get your children to enjoy some healthier foods. I also know making a second menu item for the kids when they don’t like the first is off the table.
If you’re looking for more recipes that are as easy and easy as these Chicken and Pesto Stuffed Sweet Potatoes are, make sure to purchase out Real Food Every Day. It’s is available anywhere you buy books on December 29th.
Chicken and Pesto Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 large sweet potatoes
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 4 tablespoons butter or ghee
- 2 teaspoons flaky sea salt
- 2 cups chopped leftover cooked chicken (rotisserie chicken is a great option)
- 1 cup Paleo Pesto (see link in post above)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Pierce the sweet potatoes several times with a fork and place them on the baking sheet. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until soft and tender.
- While the sweet potatoes are baking, in a skillet over high heat, heat the avocado oil. When the oil is hot, add the cherry tomatoes and sear them on one side for 1 to 2 minutes. Gently shake the pan and sear the other side for 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside.
- Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven and let cool slightly. When cool enough to handle, slice each sweet potato in half lengthwise and score crosshatches into the flesh. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter to each sweet potato half and sprinkle each with ½ teaspoon of the flaky sea salt.
- Top each sweet potato half with ½ cup of the chicken and ¼ cup of the pesto. Divide the tomatoes evenly on top and serve.