Buffalo chicken stuffed sweet potatoes
Rule number one in cooking is to follow a new recipe faithfully the first time, then make adjustments next time. I always remind myself of this rule when I start to bake or cook, usually right before I break it, and often after I taste the results. Today was no exception.
I started with Danielle Walker’s Primal Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes recipe from her website againstallgrain.com. As I mentioned in my first post, I never thought I would go out of my way to try paleo recipes (much less buy a book), but it turns out that they often contain no, or few, allergens, and so can be easy to adapt. One of my concerns with the Paleo diet in general, however, is that with its emphasis on meat, butter, and coconut oil, it tends to be very high in saturated fat, and diets high in saturated fat are linked to a dramatically higher risk of heart disease. So my first step was to replace the coconut oil called for in the recipe with much-healthier olive oil. I also reduced the amount of oil, salt, and chicken used in the recipe. I didn’t calculate the nutrition information for my adjusted recipe as I was making it, so we’ll both be surprised to see what happens.
One of the more nutritious aspects of this recipe is its use of sweet potatoes. A single medium sweet potato provides 23.6% of a day’s healthy carbohydrates, over 100% of a day’s vitamin A, and a hefty 500+mg of potassium. It also adds amazingly to the flavor of this dish: the sweetness of the potato flesh balances out the heat of the chicken and onion of the dressing wonderfully. The dressing used in the original recipe contains blue (or similar) cheese to mimic the much-loved chicken wings and blue cheese combo. I was concerned about removing the cheese and not adding anything to compensate for its loss, but upon tasting the result I was pleased to discover that it reminded me of French onion dip. Delicious.
Serves 4 (at least)
Ingredients:
4 medium (2” diameter, 5” long) sweet potatoes, scrubbed
Filling:
3/4 pound (12 ounces) skinless, boneless chicken breast
1/4 cup safe cayenne pepper hot sauce*** (preferably low sodium)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup light flavored olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I used less)
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup celery, diced
1/4 cup carrots, diced
Dressing:
1/2 cup safe mayo (I used my aquafaba mayo, which was thin, and didn’t add the liquid)
1/4 cup rice milk, or as needed to thin mayo to desired consistency
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Prick potatoes with a fork a few times and place them on a baking sheet lines with foil or parchment paper. Bake about 40 minutes or until soft.
While potatoes bake, prepare the filling: Place chicken, hot sauce, water, olive oil, cayenne pepper, and vinegar in a pot and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer on low heat until for about 25 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.
While chicken is cooking, whisk together dressing ingredients until combined.
Shred the cooked chicken breasts with a fork, add the celery and carrots to the pot with the chicken and sauce, and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.
To serve, split one sweet potato in half and mush the potato a bit with a fork. Spoon on about ½ cup of chicken mixture and drizzle with 1 tablespoon dressing.
**Not being a fan of hot sauce and knowing very little about it, I used a local favorite, Frank’s Red Hot. I later discovered that Frank’s is extremely high in sodium for a hot sauce, and there are numerous other brands with almost no sodium (including Dave’s and McIlhenny’s Tabasco***). Using a lower-sodium variety will reduce the total sodium of the recipe, which would be a good thing.
***Every hot sauce I looked at contained vinegar, and many contained other possible allergens. It is my understanding that the single word “vinegar” on a label means that the ingredient used was apple cider vinegar, which is safe (unless you’re allergic to apples). The words “white vinegar” on an ingredient label indicate that grain- or corn-based vinegar was used. According to my sources, “distilled white vinegar” is safe for people with celiac disease, because the gluten is removed during the distillation process. I was unable to find any information suggesting whether or not distilled white vinegar is safe for those with grain or corn allergies, however. If you’re allergic to grain or corn, please check with your allergist before consuming white vinegar.
Nutrition Information:
Each serving provides 500 calories, 37g protein, 29g carbohydrates, 28g fat (19g monounsaturated, 2.5g polyunsaturated, 4g saturated), 97.5mg cholesterol, 1026g sodium, 487g potassium, 4.2g fiber, 5.9g sugar, 411% of DRI for Vitamin A
For a healthy non-athlete non-pregnant-or-lactating adult requiring 2000 calories per day, this is equivalent to:
25% (1/4) of the day’s calories
~37% of the day’s protein
~12% of the day’s carbohydrates
~42% of the day’s fat (mostly “good” fat)
Over 2/3 of the adequate intake (and recommended limit for adults over age 50) for sodium if using Frank’s Red Hot sauce
My recommendation now that I’ve tried this (altered) recipe?
Make this recipe only occasionally
Find or make a safe low-sodium hot sauce
Experiment with reducing the oil a little bit more
Serve 1/2 sweet potato with about 3 oz chicken, a drizzle of dressing, a large green salad, and one serving of whole grain for a balanced meal