• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Oh My Veggies logo

  • Recipes
    • Vegetarian Recipes
    • Vegan Recipes
    • Vegetarian Main Dishes
    • Vegetarian Appetizers
    • Vegetarian Breakfast Recipes
    • Vegetarian Side Dishes
    • Dessert Recipes
    • Snack Recipes
    • Drinks
    • Sauces, Spreads and Condiments
    • Holiday Recipes
    • From our Readers
  • Cooking Tips & Hints
    • Cooking Tips
    • Plant-Based Nutrition
    • Product Reviews
  • Shop Cookbooks
  • About Us
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Find Recipes
  • Cookbooks
  • About Us
  • Freebies!
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Find Recipes
    • Cookbooks
    • About Us
    • Freebies!
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×
    Oh My Veggies » Vegetarian Recipes » Vegetarian Appetizers

    Baked Sweet Potato Nuggets

    Published: Dec 10, 2018 · by Nicole · Updated: Aug 2, 2021 · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

    Baked Sweet Potato NuggetsPhotos by Emily Caruso

    When I was growing up, I was quite the Chicken McNugget aficionado. Other fast food restaurants had their versions of nuggets, but I liked the McDonald's version the best — probably because of the mild flavor. I'd dip half of them in ketchup and the other half in honey. Who came up with the idea to serve fried pieces of processed chicken with honey?! It kind of makes my teeth hurt to think about it now.

    Because I love making meatless versions of foods I enjoyed before I stopped eating meat, I decided to tackle this childhood favorite — and tackle it with sweet potatoes. So no, these are not something you're going to eat and think, "Oh, these are just like the real thing!" But they do take the shape of the original and the dippability. (Dippability is not a word, but it should be.) The secret to forming nuggets with sweet potatoes is to let the mashed sweet potatoes chill in the fridge for a while before you start working with them. I've made several iterations of this recipe, trying to get the nuggets just right and this is the one that works the best — adding the egg to the sweet potatoes helps the nuggets keep their nuggety shape and not fall apart when you're eating them.

    Baked Sweet Potato Nuggets
    With cinnamon and maple syrup, these nuggets are just a little bit sweet and very kid-friendly. If you're not serving these to kids and you want a bolder flavor, I've also made these with sriracha and chipotle seasoning instead, and they tasted great.

    Half the fun of serving nuggets is having a variety of sauces to dip them in — in this case, instead of honey and ketchup, I'd suggest a simple apple cider reduction for those of you with a sweet tooth and Cranberry Chipotle Ketchup for those of you who want to class things up with something a little fancier.

    This December, we're republishing updated recipes from Oh My Veggies' first year. This post was originally published on March 18, 2011.

    Recipe

    Sweet Potato Nuggets Recipe

    Baked Sweet Potato Nuggets

    Serve these kid-friendly sweet potato nuggets with your favorite dipping sauces!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Email Recipe
    Prep Time: 3 hours hours 30 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 3 hours hours 50 minutes minutes
    Course: Main Course, Side Dish, Snack
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Vegetarian
    Keyword: Baked Sweet Potato Nuggets, Sweet Potato Nuggets, vegetarian nuggets
    Servings: 20 nuggets
    Calories: 24kcal
    Author: Oh My Veggies

    Ingredients

    • 1 large sweet potato about 20 ounces
    • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • 2 teaspoons maple syrup
    • Salt to taste
    • 1 egg lightly beaten
    • ¾ cup panko more if needed
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
    • Pierce the sweet potato in several places with a fork. Place it on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until it’s softened and just beginning to caramelize, 45-60 minutes. Cool potato completely.
    • Discard the skin and transfer the insides of the potato to a small bowl. Mash and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
    • After the refrigeration period, preheat the oven again to 400ºF.
    • Remove sweet potato from refrigerator. Stir in the cinnamon and maple syrup. Add salt to taste, if desired. Fold in the egg.
    • Pour the panko onto a small plate. Form nugget shapes with the sweet potato mixture (it will be wet, but don't worry, it will hold together!), coat the nuggets with panko, and place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. If the nuggets are a little messy looking, you can press them into nice shapes on the baking sheet. Spray each side of the nuggets with an oil mister -- this is optional, but it helps the exterior get crispy and brown.
    • Bake the nuggets for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking time, until they're golden brown and warmed through.

    Notes

    To make a sweet Apple Cider Dipping Sauce, boil 1 cup of refrigerated (not shelf-stable!) apple cider in a small saucepan over high heat until it's reduced by half. Combine 2 teaspoons of water and 1 teaspoon of cornstarch in a pinch bowl until no lumps remain, then whisk the mixture into the apple cider until thickened. Remove from heat and serve.
    The prep time includes hands-off time baking the sweet potato and letting it chill in the refrigerator. To reduce this time, bake the sweet potato the day before and let the mashed sweet potato chill overnight.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 24kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 26mgPotassium: 47mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 1615IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 10mgIron: 1mg
    Craving more veg-friendly recipes? Shop our collection of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks, including our new Vegan Thanksgiving and Vegan Christmas cookbooks!
    « 56 Christmas Cocktails for Your Next Holiday Party
    White Chocolate and Coconut Cookies »

    Snack Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes, Vegetarian Side Dishes fall, Make it Meatless Series, sweet potatoes

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Trisha says

      March 18, 2011 at 2:36 am

      Sounds so yummy! I know I'd love this & I bet my kids will too 🙂

      Reply
    2. Carol @ There's Always Thyme to Cook says

      March 18, 2011 at 3:43 am

      They look so good! Love sweet potatoes, so nuggets would be perfect.

      Reply
    3. Stacy says

      March 18, 2011 at 4:40 am

      That looks and sounds really good!! But, and sorry if this sounds dumb, what is panko and bulgar?

      Reply
    4. kristen says

      March 18, 2011 at 6:55 pm

      I'm so trying this recipe out on my uber picky 17 month old!

      Reply
    5. kristen says

      March 18, 2011 at 6:55 pm

      I'm so trying this recipe out on my uber picky 17 month old!

      Reply
    6. kristen says

      March 18, 2011 at 6:55 pm

      I'm so trying this recipe out on my uber picky 17 month old!

      Reply
    7. screwbdoo says

      March 19, 2011 at 2:37 am

      yum sweet potatos will definitely be trying this recipe. Ever tried sweet potato fries in the oven? NO deep frying and no oil but just like french fries.

      SOOOOOO good & GOOOD for ya

      Reply
    8. Nina says

      April 27, 2013 at 9:16 pm

      I wanted to like this, I really did. I've loved every other recipe that I've tried from this blog and I was determined to like this one too. But something about it just turned me off. The sauce was too bitter, even after I added some brown sugar, and the nuggets themselves just didn't turn out. They were almost TOO starchy and the texture really threw me off. The taste itself was just... strange. I really expected these to be better, but I will still continue to try other recipes from this blog!

      Reply
      • Kiersten says

        April 29, 2013 at 10:26 am

        Thank you for your feedback. The sauce definitely shouldn't have been bitter, but I can totally see how the texture of the nuggets with the sweet potato & bulgur together might be an issue for some people. I'm actually working on a version of these for my book without the bulgur and I might update the recipe here too. I'm so sorry they didn't turn out for you!

        Reply
    9. Kelly @ Nosh and Nourish says

      December 03, 2014 at 12:12 pm

      I love these... and that cranberry chipotle ketchup?!?! YES PLEASE.

      Reply
    10. Becky | The Cookie Rookie says

      December 04, 2014 at 12:12 pm

      Your photos are so gorgeous! Can't wait to try this recipe 🙂

      Reply
    11. Ilene says

      December 04, 2014 at 11:46 pm

      What would you recommend in place of the eggs? I'm thinking these would be good with a smoky bag sauce.

      Reply
    12. Joanne says

      December 06, 2014 at 10:11 pm

      I DO have some leftover cranberry sauce in the fridge that is basically begging for these. BEGGING.

      Reply
    13. rachel says

      December 08, 2014 at 3:39 pm

      such a good idea! i love sweet tators!

      Reply
    14. Melissa says

      December 10, 2014 at 2:29 pm

      Oh my goodness, this look amazing! I absolutely have to try this!

      Reply
    15. Val - Life Of A Vegaholic says

      January 03, 2015 at 11:23 pm

      The photos are gorg! I've never seen anything like this before. I would have never thought of making sweet potato nuggets but I'm kind of intrigued! 🙂

      Reply
    5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

    Something to say? Leave a comment. Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    image of the author

    Nicole is a life long vegetarian and the author of the popular vegan cookbook, Weeknight One Pot Vegan Cooking. She loves sharing her recipes and showing the world just how easy and delicious meatless meals can be!
    Learn more here.

    signature of author

    get a free 5 day vegetarian meal plan

    shop our vegetarian and vegan cookbooks

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    • Shop Cookbooks
    • About Us
    • Work with Me
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use

    Still hungry? Check out our delicious family of blogs.

    veg kitchen
    step away from the carbs
    all she cooks
    midlife rambler
    wandertooth logo

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2023 Hook & Porter Media

    357 shares

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.