Vegan Scalloped Sweet Potatoes with Chipotle

This comfort-y side dish (or main dish, more on that below) is vibrant with the flavors of smoky chipotle, offset almost perfectly by sweet potatoes...but without any dairy.  I use cashew cream mixed with a touch of extra virgin olive oil, to create a rich sauce that will have you hooked in no time. 

If you're more of a dairy-fan, then by all means, use regular cream and knock yourself out. Not sure about cashew cream?  It's easy to make, just click here for the easy-peasy Cashew Cream recipe.

Vegan Scalloped Sweet Potatoes with Chipotle

2 medium sweet potatoes
1 cup cashew cream (*if you haven't soaked your cashews overnight, place them in boiling water for about 10 minutes and then puree)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1-2 whole chipotles, from canned chipotles with adobo sauce
salt and pepper to taste
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Thinly slice the sweet potatoes, either with a mandolin or vegetable peeler. 

In a blender, puree the cashew cream, olive oil and 1 chipotle.  Taste and add more chipotle, if desired.  Salt and pepper the sauce to taste.

In a oven safe dish (I used a dutch oven, but you could use a 9x9 glass baking dish or something about the same size), drizzle the olive oil on the bottom of the pan.

Layer sweet potatoes until there is a double layer.  Add 2-3 tablespoons of the chipotle sauce.  Spread on top, then layer more sweet potatoes and repeat the process until you run out of ingredients, ending with some chipotle sauce on top.

Bake, covered for 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake another 30 minutes.

Serves 4-6.

You can also serve this over black beans, add some salsa verde and red onion (avocado and lime would be divine too!).  Voila, an easy powerfully healthy dinner or lunch!

Life is sweet,
SPC