You Won’t Even Miss the Bread with These Sweet Potato Crostini

photography by ashleigh amoroso

Raise your hand if you could happily eat sweet potatoes for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. (anyone? anyone?) I’ve been craving them so much this fall and winter that I’m starting to think I might have some sort of condition. The happy result? Aside from my sky high levels of beta carotene, I’ve come up with all sorts of creative recipes to satisfy my cravings. Like these “faux-tini” (don’t worry, I’ll get to that.)

This recipe was born from my love of crostini, which is my go-to appetizer for dinner parties. I love the way you can get really creative with the toppings based on what’s in season, and what happens to be in your fridge on a given night.

I even devoted an entire section of my book to my favorite crostini recipes, and though I still love them, I’ve got to admit that this holiday season I’m on the hunt for appetizer ideas with maximum flavor but fewer refined carbs.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m still fully planning to enjoy a few carb-filled indulgences through the holiday season and am already dreaming about the sticky toffee cake at our annual holiday dinner and my mom’s almond kringle that makes an appearance every Christmas morning. But I know that I’ll feel better if I don’t indulge in loads of bread before a rich meal, and thankfully, these little “toasts” made of roasted sweet potato rounds are the perfect bread-free vessels for all my favorite crostini toppings.

Now for the real question. Faux-tini: is it a do or a don’t? I thought the name was pretty clever when I dubbed these babies at our photo shoot, but the groans coming from the rest of the team convinced me that maybe it was too cheesy to use in the title of this post. But if y’all are fans, it is totally not too late to re-name these.

So here’s how these work: sweet potatoes get sliced up into thin little discs, then coated with olive oil and sea salt before baking them until crispy. And there you go! The most full-of-flavor vessels for whatever cravings strike. And aren’t they pretty? I approached each one like a little canvas and got creative with smoked salmon, pears, pomegranate seeds, nuts, and honey. And hey, you could even set out all the ingredients and let guests build their own! #FauxtiniParty

These were the topping combinations I loved:

Start with herbed goat cheese, then:

• smoked salmon + chive
• pear + honey + thyme
• pomegranate seeds + candied pecans

Of course, one of the best things about these is that you can work with whatever ingredients you have on hand to create your own topping combinations. No pecans? Use walnuts or almonds instead. Swap in dried cranberries for pomegranate seeds, and avocado would be a great stand-in for the smoked salmon. Heck, I even love the idea of a creamy blue cheese instead of the goat. Get creative!And if you share my sweet potato obsession, then you’ll love some of these others from our recipe archives:

How to Make the Perfect Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet Potato Poblano Soup

Savory Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Sweet Potato & Pomegranate Salad

Jerk Chicken & Sweet Potatoes