Sweet Potato Crostinis with Roasted Cranberries

These sweet potato crostinis are topped with nutmeg-spiced ricotta and roasted cranberries. Pretty, healthy and a delicious appetizer for your holiday party!

I love appetizers so much I could make a whole meal out of them! While traditional holiday appetizers are often unhealthy and fried, I love a good healthy appetizer. Our favorites include these strawberry spinach spring rolls, these grilled mushrooms with bruschetta and goat cheese, and these tasty little sweet potato crostini!

Sweet potato rounds are the perfect healthier vessel for the spiced ricotta and roasted cranberries. Not only are these crostinis healthy, but they are delicious and filled with holiday flavors like cranberries and nutmeg.

They also happen to be easy peasy to make.

How to make a crostini

Translated from Italian, crostini means 'little toasts'. Traditional crostinis are made with thinly sliced baguette, which is brushed generously with olive oil, toasted, and topped with a variety of things such as meats, cheeses, vegetables and more.

We are taking this tradition and putting our little spin on it, swapping the bread for sweet potatoes, and reducing the amount of oil used. This significantly lightens the recipe up!

The toppings

On top of our roasted sweet potato rounds, we are adding a nutmeg-spiced ricotta mixture, which adds a delicious creamy texture to the sweet potatoes. On top of this is a roasted cranberry mixture, which tastes a lot like cranberry sauce: tart and slightly sweet.

Finish it off with some lemon zest and fresh thyme leaves, and you have yourselves a healthy appetizer that also happens to be easy on the eyes 😉

Variations

Consider this a base recipe that you can play around with to get your perfect crostini!

Cheese alternatives

• cream cheese or goat cheese
• melted brie (add during the last 1-2 minutes of cook time)
• blue cheese
• pesto
• roasted garlic white bean hummus

Cranberry alternatives

• pomegranate seeds
• caramelized onions
• roasted tomatoes
• pear slices
• smoked salmon

Prep ahead for easy assembly

No one wants to be slaving over the stove when their guests are arriving. You can avoid spending all your time in the kitchen prepping these sweet potato crostinis by prepping certain components ahead, then assembling just before serving:

• roast your sweet potatoes + cranberries the day before
• stir together the spiced ricotta mixture the day before

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Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!

Sweet Potato Crostinis with Spiced Ricotta and Roasted Cranberries

5 from 3 votes

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 40 minutes mins

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These sweet potato crostinis are topped with nutmeg-spiced ricotta and roasted cranberries. Pretty, healthy and a delicious appetizer for your holiday party!

24

Ingredients

Sweet Potato Crostini

• ▢ Sweet potatoes cut into 24 ¼ inch rounds
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ salt and pepper

Roasted Cranberries

• ▢ 2 ½ cups cranberries fresh or frozen
• ▢ 2 tablespoons sugar
• ▢ 4 springs fresh thyme
• ▢ 2 teaspoons lemon zest

Spiced Ricotta

• ▢ 1 cup ricotta cheese
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon salt

Instructions 

• Pre-heat oven to 425°F.
• Toss the sweet potatoes with the olive oil. Arrange on cookie sheets. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Roast for 15 minutes.
• While sweet potatoes are cooking, prepare the cranberries: in a medium baking dish, toss the cranberries with the sugar, lemon zest and thyme. *you may want to line the baking dish with foil, as these cranberries get sticky as they cool!*
• After 15 minutes of cooking, turn the sweet potato rounds over and return to the oven, along with the cranberries.
• Cook for another 10-15 minutes, until sweet potatoes are cooked through (this will depend on how big they are, mine were ready after 10 minutes) and cranberries are soft (for frozen cranberries you will probably need at least another 5 minutes).
• While they are cooking, stir together the ricotta with the nutmeg, cinnamon and salt.
• Serve immediately.

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Tips:

• These appetizers can be made the day ahead with each component stored separately.
• Just prior to serving, crisp up the sweet potatoes for 10 or so minutes in a 350°F oven!

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1crostini, Calories: 43kcal, Carbohydrates: 5g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 2g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 5mg, Sodium: 27mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 3g

Author: Denise Bustard

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Holiday

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