These goat cheese and spinach mashed sweet potatoes are the perfect healthy side dish for dinner.
Yesterday while starring at a PowerPoint presentation about capital spending on college campuses, I started thinking about sweet potatoes.
Because obviously there’s a correlation between $/gross square foot spent on college buildings and my side dish for dinner.
Duh.
There are certain things that I always have on hand.
Wrinkly sweet potatoes on the verge of going soft (ha!), baby spinach (which my little Asian produce market spells “spinage” on the plastic box it comes in), goat cheese and this plastic baggy of dried thyme that I’ve had well over a year for the sole reason that I have severe issues throwing things out.
I eat them all individually, but why not mashed together to make a creamy, veggie filled side dish?
Add in some sautéed shallots for some extra flavor and this was the perfect side to the filet mignon we ate last night for dinner.
Basically, I did a Valentine’s dinner a day late and I think it tasted even better than it would’ve on Valentine’s Day simply because I spent 24 hours dreaming about it after seeing too many pictures of other people’s delicious filet dinners.
A juicy, medium rare filet (or balsamic dijon crusted tenderloin) is exactly why I could absolutely never be a vegetarian.
It’s all that’s right in this world in one perfect forkful.
These mashed sweet potatoes are creamy from the goat cheese and yet sweet from the shallots.
You don’t even know the spinach is there except for it’s texture so it’s a great way to sneak in some extra greenery.
Could you eat this alongside tofu or tempeh?
Sure…I guess.
But if you eat meat, go splurge on the best cut you can find and get this on your dinner table with it.
Or, go the comfort food route and serve this alongside the best bomb meatloaf recipe.
Wine is mandatory optional.
Prefer white potatoes? These garlic Greek yogurt mashed potatoes are excellent too. Goat cheese is also great stirred into some creamy grits for another side dish option.
How about purple potatoes? Try these stunning mashed purple sweet potatoes with the easy herb butter sauce that comes with them. Delicious!
Or, mashed rutabaga, creamy cauliflower pumpkin mash and carrot parsnip puree are all great lower-carb options with the same mashed comfort food vibe.
Goat Cheese Spinach Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 1 ounce goat cheese
- 1 cup baby spinach, finely chopped
- 1 shallot, sliced
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup milk
- salt & pepper
- 2-3 sprigs of dried, or fresh thyme
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil with sweet potatoes in it and cook for about 15 minutes until fork tender. Drain and set aside.
- While potatoes cook, saute shallots with olive oil in a medium pan over medium heat until softened and just starting the brown (about 5-7 minutes).
- Combine cooked potatoes, sauteed shallots, spinach, goat cheese, milk and thyme if using in a medium bowl.
- Mash together with a potato masher or fork until well combined.
- Add salt & pepper to taste and mash again.
- Serve warm.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
I was wondering what the side dish was last night from your Instagram pics! Yet another Gina recipe that I MUST try out. Sweet potato and goat cheese in one dish?! Who would’ve thought?!!
I’m so hungry and this did not help the situation. These sound so. freaking. good! And I agree with every word about the medium rare filet (which I was also drooling over when I looked at the pic through twitter last night!).
Mmmm…anything with goat cheese and sweet potatoes automatically wins in my book :-)
goat cheese + sweet potatoes are an amazing combo. Can’t wait to try these!
Yum. Looks creamy and with the spinach and sweet potato- practically a health food :) I always mash in cheddar but goat cheese is a nice twist.
Looks tasty! ha I always think of what I’m cooking for dinner while at work!
woah, great idea for this!! i like the soft sweet potatoes hahaha ;) this is a really healthy rendition of mashed potatoes.. i feel like it’s good for your digestive system too LOL..god, this really would be good atop steak or something like that.
Now these are interesting! And perfect for me – I hate spinach, so I have to “hide” it amongst other ingredients :)
#Swooning.
These sound & look so good I don’t think you’d need to eat them alongside ANYTHING. That bowl is a single serving, right?