Let’s talk about layers. Flavor layers. Texture layers. Bacon layers. These sweet potato bowls have it all going on. Sweet, fluffy mashed sweet potatoes. Crispy, cajun-seasoned roasted chick peas. Tender sautéed kale. All layered and topped off with crispy crumbled bacon. Hello, happy dinner! You could certainly skip the bacon and have this be a delicious vegetarian meal. You’ll get plenty of protein from the chickpeas. (They make an excellent snack all on their own, if you’ve never tried them seasoned and roasted like this. Very crunchy and pop-able - and very addictive! Check out my BBQ roasted chickpeas for a different twist.) I sometimes serve these sweet potato bowls for our meatless Monday dinner, even though it technically isn’t meatless. But if you aren’t vegetarian, I highly recommend the bacon. It’s still a very healthy dinner. And let’s face it, bacon makes things taste better! I also love how very, very budget-friendly this dinner is. Basic ingredients made into a delicious, well-rounded meal. Each part of the meal gets a little love on its own and then they all come together for a yummy, wholesome dinner bowl. I particularly like being able to get a little bit of everything all in one bite. YUM! OK, let’s cover a few quick recipe tips for these sweet potato bowls. If you just want the recipe, keep scrolling down to the recipe card. It’s at the end of the post, just above the comments section.
Ingredient Notes:
Sweet potatoes: I prefer a simple base of mashed sweet potatoes with just salt and pepper. Feel free to add some butter. Or you could just cube and roast your sweet potatoes for a different texture. Chickpeas: Use some homemade cooked chickpeas or a rinsed and drained can of chickpeas. They need to be cooked before they go into the oven to roast. Also, feel free to change up the seasonings on them if you’d like. Kale: I like how hearty this green is in the recipe; it can stand up to the other flavors and ingredients. However, you could try this with spinach if you prefer. Bacon: Highly recommend, but as mentioned, you can leave it off if you need this recipe to be vegetarian. You could also use a plant-based bacon swap if you want. Cook it in the skillet to use the grease for the kale or you could make oven bacon or microwave bacon.
Also, you can certainly meal prep this for a delicious lunch or to have ready to go for dinner. I recommend keeping the components separate so the chickpeas and bacon remain crispy. Hope you love these sweet potato bowls as much as we do! Enjoy! XO, Kathryn Sweet potatoes: I prefer a simple base of mashed sweet potatoes with just salt and pepper. Feel free to add some butter. Or you could just cube and roast your sweet potatoes for a different texture. Chickpeas: Use some homemade cooked chickpeas or a rinsed and drained can of chickpeas. They need to be cooked before they go into the oven to roast and should be patted dry so they can crisp up. Feel free to change up the seasonings on them if you’d like. Kale: I like how hearty this green is in the recipe; it can stand up to the other flavors and ingredients. However, you could try this with spinach if you prefer. Bacon: Highly recommend, but as mentioned, you can leave it off if you need this recipe to be vegetarian. You could also use a plant-based bacon swap if you want. Cook it in the skillet to use the grease for the kale or you could make oven bacon or microwave bacon. Meal prep: You can meal prep this but I recommend storing the components separately so the chickpeas and bacon remain crisp.
