These roasted sweet potato crostini are topped with vegan friendly jalapeno havarti style cheese, roasted grapes and caramelized onions. Finished with sea salt and micro greens, they’re an appetizer everyone can enjoy!
I write this sitting on the couch in my family room watching about 6 workers put the finishing touches on the patio (and simultaneously destroy our backyard grass that had finally started to look good this year after spending more money on fertilizer than I care to think about) I’ve wanted ever since we moved in here almost 8 years ago.
*This post is sponsored by partner, Daiya. All content and opinions are my own.
I can’t complain for the most part, but the builder did some really dumb things when it came to this house and building the deck into the nook created by the back of our house and the garage which gets like 5% sun at best on the summer solstice is one of them.
Having no where to sunbathe but your front yard on a beach towel in the grass gets old real quick. 1- because there isn’t a day that goes by without Fed Ex, UPS or USPS coming to my front door and 2- because I last about 30 seconds before some ant/bug or other creature is on said beach towel or crawling on my body making for a less than comfortable experience.
So, needless to say, this patio has been long anticipated. Not only for my sunbathing life but so we can finally have something other than a small, shaded deck space that struggled to fit 4 people comfortably for entertaining purposes.
And now I sound like I should be on HGTV.
It’s true, I hardly “entertain”. The thought of cooking and cleaning up more than I already do every single day since it sort of comes with the territory of being a food blogger isn’t super appealing but, with a brand new outdoor space (fire-pit and all!), dare I say that I’m actually looking forward to doing a bit of it this summer?!
Every summer grilling get together needs some appetizers. It’s a fact. You can’t (although my husband fails to understand this) invite people over and just feed them dinner. No, no.
They expect drinks and noshing before all that and if you’re just throwing some chips on the table with jarred salsa, you’re embarrassing yourself.
Don’t worry, I got you. These sweet potato crostini are the answer.
First of all, they’re the kind of appetizer anyone will be able to eat. Vegan – check. Gluten-free – check. No nuts, no soy, you name the allergy and (I *think*) we’ve avoided it with this recipe thanks to Daiya and their cheese alternatives which are dairy, gluten and soy-free.
They’re a plant-based little bite exploding with both sweet (roasted grapes) and savory (caramelized onions) flavors perfectly offset with a hint of spice from the Daiya jalapeno havarti style block.
While I’ve had the Daiya shreds before (we love them in breakfast scrambles!) I’d never tried the farmhouse block varieties and was amazed at how true to texture and flavor the jalapeno havarti was. It crumbles perfectly and the taste is spot on, a great option for enjoying delicious food in a plant-based way.
One of Daiya’s main goals is to show health-minded consumers how to incorporate plant-based foods into their every day lives and if that means a sweet potato crostini (or two), I’m thinking that’s not too hard of a task.
The sprinkling of sea salt and pop of fresh micro-greens finishes these sweet potato crostini off perfectly.
A couple of these and people will actually be looking forward to what’s to come off the grill for dinner!
Love this roasted grape and jalapeno sweet potato crostini recipe?
Try plantain chips and salsa or salt and vinegar popcorn cauliflower for more plant-based appetizers perfect for a crowd!
Want more vegetarian crostini recipes? Try Balsamic Pickled Shiitake Crostini or, Cheesy Edamame Crostini – both delicious!
Roasted Grape and Jalapeno Sweet Potato Crostini
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet potato, sliced into thin (about 1/8" thick) rounds
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 cups red seedless grapes
- 1 large yellow onion, sliced
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- salt & pepper
- sea salt and micro-greens for garnish
- 3 ounces Daiya jalapeno havarti style farmhouse block, crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250°F degrees convection roast.
- Toss sweet potato slices with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, salt and pepper and spread out onto a baking sheet. Bake for about 1 hour, flipping half way through until crispy on the edges.
- Toss the grapes with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper and spread out onto another baking sheet. Bake for about 45 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally to roast grapes evenly on all sides.
- While sweet potatoes and grapes roast, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for about 25-30 minutes, stirring every 2-3 minutes so that the onions don't burn but slowly caramelize instead. If onions start to dry out towards the end, add a splash of water to the pan. Add the balsamic vinegar during the last 2-3 minutes of cook time to coat onions.
- To assemble, place the crumbled jalapeno havarti style cheese on top of each sweet potato round then the caramelized onions on top of that and finish with 1-2 roasted grapes.
- Sprinkle with sea salt and garnish with micro-greens before serving. Best served warm but these reheat nicely in a toaster oven as well.
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.
250 in Celsius or F?
F. Thanks for pointing that out, recipe is updated.
I’m okay entertaining for one with these – cause I would eat a whole plate myself!
These look sooo good and I am back off the dairy so I’m all over this!
You had me at roasted grapes, and then it just kept getting better! I’m enamored.