I don’t know about you, but before Paleo I was a pretty big potato eater. French fries, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, potatoes au gratin, it didn’t matter what it was, as long as it was potatoes I was happy. So when I first was looking at Paleo and what you could and couldn’t have, I was bummed to see potatoes on the list.
But with so many sweet potato recipes available my potato cravings have been completely satisfied. I’m able to have all of my old favorites, I just make sweet potato fries, baked sweet potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, and sweet potatoes au gratin. Plus it’s nice to know that I’m getting extra fiber and antioxidants from the sweet potatoes, and that my body is processing it better.
So I just had to swap out white potatoes for sweet potatoes in one of my favorite potato dishes ever: scalloped potatoes. These scalloped sweet potatoes are sure to satisfy thanks to a nice serving of bacon that goes along with them. This gives them a savoriness that would otherwise be lacking, and really establishes this as the sort of side dish that you’ll end up making at least once a week.
When it comes down to it I recommend going with full-fat coconut milk over the low fat versions you see on store shelves. That’s more for the low-fat crowd, and there’s just no comparing the two in terms of flavor and texture. The full-fat version means you’ll get more flavor and a creamier texture for these scrumptious sweet potatoes.
The key here is getting your slices nice and thin and even. I like to use a mandolin slicer but you may be able to pull it off with just a knife if you’re an aspiring chef. The more even you get the slices the better it will turn out because it will cook more evenly. For some things, like sweet potato chips, it’s imperative that you get the slices the same size, but for the scalloped sweet potatoes you have a larger margin of error. If there are some that are a bit uneven or thicker than others it will still turn out great.
In my experience these taste best without the skins on so I always peel them. But if you like a little more texture you could leave them on. You’ll also be getting more fiber by leaving them on, so that’s an added bonus.
Some of the best dishes to serve this next to would be any style of chicken, a roast that is lacking in vegetables, and pork chops. It’s one of those side dishes that can accompany a range of main dishes and will seem like just the right fit.
Ingredients
- 3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled
- 1 ½ cups full fat coconut milk
- 1 small serrano chili pepper, minced
- 2 tbsp chopped spring onions
- 1 oz bacon, chopped
- ½ tsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper to taste
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Slice the sweet potatoes into about 1/8'' thick slices.
- In a medium bowl combine the coconut milk, chili, salt and black pepper. In a 10'' cast iron skillet or baking dish arrange the potatoes in even layer. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the coconut milk mixture . Repeat the process until you used all the potatoes and coconut milk mixture.
- Cover with an aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and continue cooking for 45 minutes. Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat and cook the bacon until crisp.
- Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven, top with bacon, chopped spring onions and a pinch of crushed black pepper and serve.
OMG!!!! Awesome recipe!!! Could you use slices of cauliflower instead of the sweet potato… or maybe even parsnip????? That might be fun too! Thanks so much for the inspiration.
Isn’t there a way to have cream or milk dishes without a coconut flavor? Please tell.
Im following Ruths question above. I have trouble tolerating coconut milk or cream.
I’ve found a couple places online that have you make your own nut milks and then you heart them up after squeezing through nut milk bag and it thickens it up to like coffee cream. You might try that.
I was thinking just that same thing reading the recipe and thought that I would use 1 cup chicken broth and half a cup of homemade mayo instead of the coconut milk. I’m gonna try that and see how that works. Sounds tastier to me. Because I’m not a huge fan of coconut milk in everything. Just a thought.
These were decadent, flavorful, rich and delicious! For those concerned about the flavor of coconut milk, it completely enhances the flavor of the spices (I did add a pinch of thyme and sage) and doesn’t overpower the dish whatsoever. I’d really reccomend trying with the coconut milk first before altering the cream/liquid ratio.