Easy and Festive Sweet Potato Goat Cheese Appetizer with Cranberries & Honey Balsamic Glaze, finished with a blood orange infused olive oil and fresh basil!
I have the best sweet potato rounds with goat cheese appetizer for us!
Because I wasn’t kidding when I said I couldn’t stop baking sweet potatoes!
I had the creamiest, honey goat cheese in the fridge, so I crumbled some on my baked sweet potato rounds, whatever I had left of my Sicilian honey, a few candied walnuts or pecans for crunch, a handful of cranberries and a nice drizzle of balsamic glaze.
Let’s not forget the fresh basil leaves of course! Oh, and a light drizzle of blood orange olive oil to finish, because it’s just magical you guys!
I call these my Goddess sweet potato goat cheese appetizers!
Easy technique happening here:
A really nice hot oven, well oiled sweet potato rounds so they don’t stick, a good pinch of sea salt and sweet paprika for a nice golden presentation.
They will look so good on the Thanksgiving table with that fall orange color! And for Christmas too: red cranberries, white goat cheese and green basil leaves: Falalalalalalalalala
I’m clearly having a full-blown sweet potato obsession at this moment in time.
So much so, that my brain cells are trying to figure out yet another recipe as we speak.
I just can’t help my sweet potato dreams kids! I’m thinking:
- sweet potato goat cheese and fried sage, yummy!
- sprinkled with parmesan cheese
- herbed ricotta and walnuts
- roasted with brown sugar and cinnamon
- black beans and guacamole
- roasted sweet potato mash
- 2 sweet potatoes large
- 5 oz goat cheese
- 1/3 c candied walnuts or pecans
- 1/3 c cranberries dried
- 2 tbsp balsamic reduction
- 1 tsp sea salt + more to taste
- 1/2 tsp paprika sweet
- 2 tbsp olive oil + more as needed
- 1 tbsp blood orange olive oil
- 3 tbsp wild honey
- Zest from 1 lemon
- 15 leaves basil small, for garnish
- Preheat your oven to 500”F
- In a small bowl combine the olive oil, sea salt and paprika.
- Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into 1 inch thick rounds.
- Take each sweet potato round and coat it in the olive oil mixture all over. Place them on a large baking tray without touching each other.
- Bake the sweet potato rounds for 8 to 10 minutes on each side until golden.
- Transfer to a serving tray and top with the goat cheese, candied walnuts, and cranberries. Spoon a little bit of wild honey on top of each potato round and sprinkle with the lemon zest.
- Just before serving finish with a light drizzle of orange infused olive oil, the balsamic glaze and garnish with the fresh basil leaves.
You’ll Also Love:
Roasted Sweet Potato Rounds
Cranberry Bread
Antipasto Platter
Brussel Sprout Chips
Sarah
November 3, 2015 at 3:11 amOh my goodness, I am in love with this recipe! This would make for such an amazing Thanksgiving side!
Florentina
November 3, 2015 at 9:36 pmI swear this is what i’m making Sarah ! Two trays off into the oven they got while i have a glass of wine 😉
Tina Marie
November 6, 2015 at 10:39 amThese wound delicious! My family is going to love these!
Florentina
November 7, 2015 at 1:05 pmI wanna hear all about it Tina, please report back!
Donna
November 6, 2015 at 12:33 pmOh wow, these look simply delicious! And I totally agree – very festive 🙂 We are loving sweet potatoes around here lately as well….must be the change in weather (finally) 🙂
Florentina
November 7, 2015 at 1:04 pmI think so Donna. It cooled off a bit and I caught the baking bug.
Whitney @ That
November 6, 2015 at 9:33 pmThis is freakin beautiful! And the flavors all are making my mouth water. I LOVE goat cheese, and the combo with the sweet potatoes sounds totally up my alley. Bravo! 🙂
Florentina
November 7, 2015 at 1:04 pmThanks Whitney, the combo with the goat cheese really works great here, I hope you give them a try soon xo’s
Helen @ Fuss Free Flavours
November 7, 2015 at 4:18 amI am loving your sweet potato obsession! These look wonderful, very seasonal and perfect for a dinner party!
Florentina
November 7, 2015 at 1:03 pmIt’s all about those rounds this fall! 😉
Kelly Hutchinson
November 7, 2015 at 11:13 amWow! THis little nugget is just layered in so many floavors. I would eat a whole an of them!
Florentina
November 7, 2015 at 12:56 pmI know what you mean Kelly, I ate an entire tray hehe
Cindy (Vegetarian Mamma)
November 9, 2015 at 5:51 amOh I love sweet potatoes! This looks amazing for the upcoming holidays!
J at Bless Her Heart Y'all
November 9, 2015 at 6:40 amYou had me at goat cheese and balsamic glaze! These absolutely wonderful! I need these in my life and especially this weekend when company comes into town. hanks for sharing!
Florentina
November 9, 2015 at 9:28 pmThanks Jess, they really were killer, let me know what your guests think 🙂
Jessica Wood
November 10, 2015 at 2:40 pmThese are so, so fun!! I love the combination of colors and flavors. These would be a fun little appetizer to have sitting out at Thanksgiving when your guests arrive.
Katalina @ Peas & Peonies
November 11, 2015 at 9:12 pmThese definitely look very, very festive and so full of flavor. The cheese and the cranberries are the perfect additions.
Florentina
November 11, 2015 at 10:54 pmFestive because this is as fancy as it gets at the shack hehe
Molly Kumar
November 13, 2015 at 1:08 amI love sweet potatoes and this looks like a perfect bite size appetizer.
Joy @ Joy Love Food
November 13, 2015 at 1:20 pmI love sweet potatoes too, this sounds like a delicious combination and so pretty too!
Dawn Chura
November 24, 2015 at 7:57 amThese were delicious. And beautiful in presentation. Lot’s of flavors the meld deliciously. Big hit at my party. I suggest using skinny potatoes so that you can make them bite-size to pop in your mouth and get all flavors. Can be a bit messy when more than one bite.
The taste is a five. I rate this a four only because of the number of ingredients – but worth it. (I entirely skipped the 1 tbsp blood orange olive oil and they were still great.)
Florentina
November 24, 2015 at 2:00 pmThanks Dawn! Great idea for using skinny potatoes If you can find them. I usually have fork laying around even for appetizers to make things easier. So happy you enjoyed them 🙂
Alison @ ingredients, Inc.
December 24, 2015 at 11:03 amlooks so good! Happy holidays!
Florentina
December 26, 2015 at 3:06 pmHappy Holidays Alison, enjoy the sweet potato rounds 🙂
Monica
October 31, 2016 at 2:43 pmThese look wonderful, and I can’t wait to make them as an appetizer for this Thanksgiving. But I will not have the oven available that day. Can I bake the potatoes the night before and serve them room temperature the next day? Or if they need to be warm, can I reheat for a minute or two in microwave before adding toppings and serving? Or will they get soggy/greasy? Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Florentina
October 31, 2016 at 6:36 pmHi Monica, they wouldn’t get soggy or greasy but they won’t keep that little crispy crust you can only get by roasting them in the oven. They really are quick to bake, so If you can somehow manage to bake them that day and just keep them at room temperature would be better. Load up the goat cheese and the toppings just before serving. ~ Florentina
Melissa
November 22, 2016 at 7:25 amI had these at a party a few weeks ago. AMAZING!! So, I’m making them for thanksgiving. So glad I found this recipe! Thank you!
Florentina
November 22, 2016 at 3:37 pmHi Melissa, so happy you found them too. Was it at a grocery store demo you had them by any chance ..?
Sandra
October 23, 2017 at 10:17 amThis sounds delicious however I need to make ahead. How long can they sit out at room temperature?
Do they need to be warm when adding the toppings?
Florentina
October 25, 2017 at 10:52 amHi Sandra, these are best warm, so maybe you can keep them in the oven until ready to serve or reheat and add the toppings. This is just one of those recipes that it is best straight out of the oven.
Irina
November 20, 2017 at 6:13 amDo you purchase the balsamic reduction pre made or make it yourself? And if you make it, could you give me instructions? Thanks! Looks delicious and I’d like to make this for Thanksgiving.
Florentina
November 20, 2017 at 9:24 pmHi Irina, usually for the holidays I use an organic store bough reduction from Italy. If you want to make your own simply reduce aged balsamic vinegar with a touch of brown sugar or maple syrup until thick and it coats the back of a spoon. Allow to cool and store at room temperature until needed. Enjoy!
Dawn
November 10, 2018 at 7:17 pmI made a simplified version of this (no nuts, didn’t reduce the balsamic, no blood orange, no basil) for a party. I was worried these might not work at room temperature. They were a smashing success! Thanks!