Sweet Potato Beef Pockets

One dough, any filling, and a crust that does most of the talking.

Quick answer: Mash soft sweet potatoes with egg whites and flour until you have a loose dough, wrap it around a cooked filling, seal it, and pan fry it until the outside is properly crisp. My version, with lean ground beef, spinach and a little fat-free cheese, comes out around 440 calories and 36 grams of protein per pocket. The filling is up to you, which is the whole point.

The Template Matters More Than the Recipe

I made these for dinner and they turned out well enough that I stopped thinking of them as a recipe. They're a template. Make the dough once, then change the filling every time. Beef and spinach tonight, something completely different next week, and nobody at the table has to know it's the same dough.

It's basically a stuffed potato pancake that eats like dinner. If you've ever wished a baked potato had a crust and a personality, this is that.

The Dough

Four medium sweet potatoes. Any medium potato works too, so use what you've got.

Roast or steam them until they are completely, totally soft all the way through. This is the one step where I'd ask you not to cut corners. If the center is even a little firm, the dough fights you the whole way. You can leave the skin on or take it off, your call.

Mash them, then let them cool until they're close to room temperature but still a little warm. Stir in half a cup of egg whites and a cup of the flour of your choice. Mash and stir until it comes together as a loose dough, a bit looser than bread or pizza dough.

Start with about a cup of flour and go from there. Different potatoes hold different amounts of water, so you may need more. If the dough is wet and sticky, add flour a little at a time until you can shape it in your palm.

The Filling

There's really no wrong way here. Meat, vegetables, a mix of both, whatever you'd be happy to eat out of a skillet.

Mine was herb-spiced lean ground beef cooked down with spinach, plus a small amount of fat-free cheese tucked inside. Cook the filling first and let it cool a bit so it doesn't melt the dough on contact.

Stuff, Seal, Fry

Scoop some dough into the palm of your hand and flatten it out. Add the filling, then flatten a second piece of dough in your other palm and lay it over the top. Pinch the edges shut so nothing leaks.

Pan fry on medium for 3 minutes per side. Then bump the heat to medium high and give each side another 3 to 5 minutes to build a deeper crust. Flip with some patience and a wide spatula.

If you want a cheese crust, put more cheese on one side while it fries. It's optional, and yes, it's on purpose.

What You Get

Per pocket, my version lands around 440 calories, 36 grams of protein, 52 grams of carbs and 9 grams of fat. That's an estimate based on four pockets from the batch above, about 4 ounces of raw 93% lean beef in each, all-purpose flour, and fat-free cheese inside only. Your potatoes, flour, filling and any cheese on top will move those numbers, so weigh yours and log yours.

Quick Questions

What if my dough is too wet?

Add more flour a little at a time. Wet potatoes need more, and the dough should stay looser than bread or pizza dough.

Can I use regular potatoes?

Yes. Any medium potato works, as long as it's cooked completely soft before you mash it.

What can I stuff them with?

Any meat or vegetable mixture you like. Cook it first, let it cool a little, and keep it from being too wet.

(Sweet Potato Beef Pockets was also my nickname in high school.)