It’s that time of year when the air gets crisp and we start craving all the tastes of fall: cinnamon, maple, nuts and, of course, sweet potatoes. So let’s put them together! We have the perfect dish to do it, too: Hasselback Maple Pecan Sweet Potatoes.
The hasselback method is one of our favorites – remember our Smoky Hasselback Potatoes, Hasselback Chicken and Easy Hasselback Baked Apples?! – and it’s the perfect way of getting all that flavor mixed in with the delicious orange spud. Plus, the slicing and baking method gives the sweet potatoes a fantastic combination of creamy and crispy that’s the epitome of fall food. We can’t praise this one enough, so let’s stop talking and start cooking! Watch us make it, then read on for the recipe.
HASSELBACK MAPLE PECAN SWEET POTATOES
Serves 2
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
INGREDIENTS
2 medium sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Salt and black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup chopped pecans
¼ cup maple syrup
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon kosher salt
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (218 degrees Celsius).
Place a sweet potato between two chopsticks for stability and knife guidance. Every ¼-inch along the length of the sweet potato, slice ⅞ of the way through, or until the knife hits the chopsticks. (The chopsticks will help prevent the knife from cutting all the way through the sweet potato.) Repeat with the second potato.
Brush the sweet potatoes with the vegetable oil. Place in a small baking dish and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Bake the sweet potatoes for 30 to 40 minutes, or until soft.
Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven, and increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (230 degrees Celsius).
In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, ground cinnamon, chopped pecans, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and kosher salt. Stir to mix.
Spoon the maple syrup mixture over and in between the baked sweet potato slices, pushing the pecan pieces in between each slice.
Return the filled sweet potatoes to the oven and bake an additional 8 to 10 minutes.
Remove the baked sweet potatoes from the oven and spoon any cooking liquid over the potatoes. Allow them to cool slightly before serving.
How perfect for autumn are these sweet potatoes? Not only are the root veggies just about to come into season, they pair so well with every dish we start craving around this time of year— and in turn, this maple pecan butter pairs so perfectly with them. Brilliant and delicious!
So what do YOU think? Have you jumped on the hasselback bandwagon yet, or ever made anything similar to this dish? What are your favorite ways to enjoy sweet potatoes? Will you be giving this one a try? What other flavors might work with it? Tell us if you attempt it, and how it turns out for you