Bacon Cups with BBQ Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

Wow your guests with these Bacon Cups with BBQ Chipotle Sweet Potatoes. A fun and festive holiday appetizer that is easy to make and irresistible to eat.

What You’ll Love About Bacon Cups with BBQ Chipotle Sweet Potatoes:

I have waited far too long to share this fantastic appetizer idea that my bestie created several years ago. If you love bacon anything, this recipe is for you.

Bacon Cups with BBQ Chipotle Sweet Potatoes make the best finger food snack for any party, but especially during the holidays. They are not only beautiful and a little fancy, you are likely to eat more than you should because they’re that good!

Even if you don’t like sweet potatoes I would bet my life you’ll love them this way.

This is a simple recipe using pancetta rounds to form bacon cups in a muffin pan. Then each cup is filled with smoky, BBQ chipotle sweet potatoes, and finished with sour cream and chives. My mouth is watering just describing it!

Make sure you double the recipe because these go super fast! Check out all the details, tips and questions below.

Another hit are my Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts. These are awesome for holiday parties and everyone will devour them.

Simple Ingredients:

• Pancetta- I use uncured pancetta for this recipe. If you can’t find either, use thin bacon to form cups using your muffin tin. Here’s a great step by step for how to use bacon.
• Olive oil- This will be used to help caramelize the sweet potatoes.
• Sweet potato- I like to find orange sweet potatoes because it looks beautiful in the bacon cups. You can also use a regular white potato such as russet.
• BBQ chipotle sauce- Use your favorite bbq sauce, real maple syrup, and chipotle peppers in adobo.
• Sour cream- This is used as garnish over the cups and adds a coolness with the spicy chipotle sauce. If you prefer, use full-fat Greek yogurt or crème fraîche instead of sour cream.
• Chives or green onions- Use for garnish to add color and a touch of onion flavor.

What Is Pancetta?

Pancetta comes from Italy and is a type of pork belly that is similar to bacon only it’s typically cured not smoked. You can often find cured and uncured pancetta in the specialty meat section at your grocery store.

The difference between uncured pancetta and cured is uncured uses natural preservatives like celery powder and sea salt, while cured uses chemicals like nitrate. Not to get nerdy on you, but it’s nice to know the difference.

I like to use pancetta because it’s thin and cooks fast, plus, you can find rounds that are already shaped for you making it easier to form the cups.

How To Make Bacon Cups with BBQ Chipotle Sweet Potatoes:

See full instructions in recipe card below

Step One. Heat oven to 400℉. Take two muffin pans and spray the inside of one-pan with non-stick spray, then spray the underside of the other pan.

Step Two. Take one pancetta round and carefully place it in the inside of the muffin tin making sure to press it in like you would dough. Repeat with the rest of the rounds until all the muffin cups are filled.

Step Three. Next, take the second muffin pan and place it carefully on top of the first tin to secure the pancetta cups. Keeping the two muffin tins together, turn upside down and place on a sheet pan lined with foil. Bake in preheated oven for 15-18 minutes.

Step Four. Meanwhile, heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat and sauté sweet potatoes with olive oil until golden brown and potatoes are fork tender.

Step Five. Make BBQ chipotle sauce by combining BBQ sauce, maple syrup, and chipotles. Pour mixture over cooked sweet potatoes. Continue to stir until sauce is thick and sticky. Set aside.

Step Six. When pancetta is cooked, remove from the oven and gently pull the top muffin pan off. Allow pancetta cups to cool a few minutes before transferring to a plate lined with paper towels, then cool completely.

Step Seven. When pancetta cups are completely cooled add a small spoon full of the sweet potatoes and dollop the top with sour cream and garnish with chives.

Important Tips:

Common Questions:

Other Recipes You Might Enjoy:

• Mini Taco Bites
• Oven Baked Chex Party Mix
• Cranberry Salsa
• Cocktail Sweet and Sour Meatballs
• Cranberry Pecan Cheeseball

MORE APPETIZERS HERE!

Bacon Cups with BBQ Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

Wow your guests with these Bacon Cups with BBQ Chipotle Sweet Potatoes. A fun and festive holiday appetizer that is easy to make and irresistible to eat.

Print Pin Rate

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes minutes

Total Time: 38 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 cups

Calories: 97kcal

Equipment

• 2 12 cup non-stick muffin pans
• 1 non-stick skillet

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 ounces pancetta rounds, you'll want 12 rounds total see ingredients list image in post
• 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large sweet potato, diced small, about 1/4 inch cubes
• 3 tbsp prepared BBQ sauce
• 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1 tbsp diced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce you can often find these in a jar already diced in the Mexican aisle of the grocery store
• sour cream for topping
• chopped chives for garnish

Instructions

• Heat oven to 400℉. Take two non-stick muffin pans and spray the inside of one-pan with non-stick spray, then spray the underside of the other pan.
• Take one pancetta round and carefully place it in the inside of the muffin tin making sure to press it in like you would dough. It should fit snug in the muffin cup. Repeat with the rest of the rounds until all the muffin cups are filled. See post for image.
• Next, take the second muffin pan and place it carefully on top of the first tin to secure the pancetta cups, as if you were storing the two pans together. Keeping the two muffin tins together, gently turn upside down and place on a sheet pan lined with foil. Also see image in post. This will help the grease drain off and the cups form easily. Bake in preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or until set and slightly crisp. They will continue to crisp up as they cool.
• While pancetta bakes, heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat and sauté sweet potatoes with olive oil until golden brown and potatoes are fork tender.
• While potatoes are cooking make BBQ chipotle sauce by combining BBQ sauce, maple syrup, and chipotles. Pour this mixture over the cooked sweet potatoes, stirring constantly until sauce is thick and sticky. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• When pancetta is cooked, remove from the oven and gently pull the top muffin pan off using a pair of tongs or oven mitt. Allow pancetta cups to cool a few minutes before transferring to a plate lined with paper towels, then cool completely.
• When pancetta cups are completely cooled add a small spoon full, about 1 heaping tablespoon, of the sweet potatoes to each cup. Then dollop the top with sour cream and garnish with chives. Serve right away.

Notes

Tips:

 

• Allow pancetta to rest before removing from the muffin pan. Once you remove the top muffin pan, give the pancetta time to set. As it cools it will crisp up and be easier to assemble.
• Pancetta will be fragile after it cools. Pancetta is very thin so be careful when handling so you don’t break apart the cups.
• Use non-stick muffin pans. If possible use non-stick muffin pans so the bacon comes off easily.
• Don’t overfill the bacon cups. Be careful to not overfill the cups so they hold together nicely and easy to pick up without breaking apart.

 

What is pancetta?

 

Pancetta comes from Italy and is a type of pork belly that is similar to bacon only it’s typically cured not smoked. You can often find cured and uncured pancetta in the specialty meat section at your grocery store.

The difference between uncured pancetta and cured is uncured uses natural preservatives like celery powder and sea salt, while cured uses chemicals like nitrate. Not to get nerdy on you, but it’s nice to know the difference.

I like to use pancetta because it’s thin and cooks fast, plus, you can find rounds that are already shaped for you making it easier to form the cups.

 

Common Questions:

 

How far in advance can I make these ahead of time?

These are best served right away, however, they can be enjoyed at room temperature as well.

Are these spicy?

The spice level is medium. The BBQ chipotle sauce does have some heat to it so if you want less spice use less chipotles. The coolness of the sour cream also helps cut through some of the spice.

Why isn’t my pancetta cups getting crispy in the oven?

The pancetta cups should take no longer than about 18-minutes in the oven. They should still be slightly pliable after baking but as they continue to cool, they will firm and crisp up.

Are these good leftover?

Any leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator in a sealed container. To reheat, make sure there isn’t any sour cream on top. Place in the oven on sheet pan at 375℉ until heated through and cups are crisp, about 6-8 minutes.

 

Nutritional facts are for one assembled bacon cup.

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be understood as an estimate rather than a guarantee. The Menu Maid makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.

Nutrition

Calories: 97kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 126mg | Potassium: 106mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 2686IU | Vitamin C: 0.5mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 0.2mg

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