Mexican Sweet Potato Chicken Poppers (Paleo, Whole30, AIP) (2024)

Jump To Recipe // April 23, 2018 // 37 Comments »

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These Mexican sweet potato chicken poppers are the perfect easy meal with some extra flair to serve on a weeknight or pack for lunch! They’re paleo, whole30, and AIP.

Chicken poppers have been a game changer for me, and I’m constantly looking for more ways to spice them up. With Cinco De Mayo on the way, and Tex Mex food being a way of live where I live in Dallas, TX, I knew I had to try and give them a Mexican cuisines inspired flair!

Seeing as most Mexican dishes feature some sort of nightshade spice, it can be challenging to create the same flavors without it. However, these chicken poppers have an amazing flavor and a fun dip ties it altogether.

What I love so much about these chicken poppers is that they’re super simple to make, they require fairly minimal ingredients, and everyone loves them! Regardless on whether or not you’re paleo, we can all appreciate a chicken nugget inspired dish.

Ground chicken

Ground chicken is what I typically use for these poppers, which is easy to find at a butcher counter and most grocery stores. However, you can also use ground turkey.

Shredded sweet potato

I use a large cheese grater to shred sweet potato, however, you can also use a food processor.

Red onion

Diced red onion adds some spice to the dish while remaining nightshade free.

Cilantro

If you’re not a cilantro fan, I would tone it back, but it really amps up the flavor!

Fresh lime

A little bit of fresh lime juice really adds to the dish.

Avocado oil & coconut flour

These help bind the poppers together and make them a bit more crispy. You can sub other oils or flours.

Garlic, oregano, cumin and chili powder

These are the herbs and spices needed for the poppers. The cumin and chili powder are optional and should be omitted for AIP, but they do add an extra kick.

Dipping sauce

These are perfect for dipping in this cilantro avocado lime sauce, guacamole, or a tomato based salsa if you tolerate nightshades!

Mexican Chicken Poppers (Paleo, Whole30, AIP)

★★★★★5 from 5 reviews

Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 1x

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

1 lb ground chicken (sub turkey)
2 cups sweet potato, shredded (using a grater or food processor)
1/3 cup red onion, diced
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano powder
2 tsp cumin (omit for AIP)
optional – 1 tsp chili powder (omit for AIP)
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper (omit for AIP)
2 tbsp avocado oil
2 tbsp coconut flour
Juice of 1/2 lime

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and thoroughly mix until well combined.
Scoop the poppers (you should have 20-25) out using a small scoop, or just your hand, and place them evenly spaced on the baking sheet. Slightly flatten them by pushing them down with your hand.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, flipping once. Remove from the baking sheet and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.
Serve with cilantro avocado lime sauce, guacamole, or a tomato based salsa if you tolerate nightshades.

Notes

All nutritional information are estimations and will vary. Estimations do not include optional ingredients.

Prep Time: 5
Cook Time: 25

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 164
Fat: 7.9g
Carbohydrates: 20.8g
Fiber: 4.4g
Protein: 3.7g

‘If you like this recipe, you may also like…

Sweet Potato Chicken Poppers
Bacon Ranch Chicken Poppers
Orange Chicken Poppers
Turkey Cranberry Chicken Poppers

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37 comments on “Mexican Sweet Potato Chicken Poppers (Paleo, Whole30, AIP)”

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Christine Day — June 17, 2018 @ 11:30 pm Reply

Loved it! I don’t use social media or I’d hashtag it! Delish. Lots of clean up from prep but worth it! I made meatball size poppers so it made over 40!
★★★★★
- Michelle — June 20, 2018 @ 3:08 pm Reply
  
  Thank you so much Christine!!
Christine Carrillo — June 29, 2018 @ 11:49 pm Reply

Do you shred the sweet potatoes first?
- Michelle — July 6, 2018 @ 3:33 pm Reply
  
  Yup! 🙂
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Paula Johnson — August 26, 2018 @ 11:07 pm Reply

The Mexican Sweet Potato Chicken poppers are amazing! Thank you so much. I’ve been following an AIP diet for a few months now do to issues with gluten, nightshades…. My family loved them too. It has been so hard finding recipes that I can eat and that my family likes too. The Cilantro, Avocado, Lime sauce is great too. I’ll be using it for everything, topping burgers tonight and dipping the poppers in it for lunch tomorrow. I’ll be trying many of your recipes.
★★★★★
- Michelle — August 28, 2018 @ 7:38 pm Reply
  
  Thank you so, so much Paula!! I am so happy that you liked them! 🙂
Cindi Poole — August 27, 2018 @ 3:20 pm Reply
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My baking sheet does not have sides. Will there be a lot of grease from the ground chicken?
I am making them this afternoon, and can’t wait to try them
- Michelle — August 28, 2018 @ 7:37 pm Reply
  
  I would use a baking sheet with sides for sure. There isn’t a ton of grease, but enough that I would use one with sides.
Kimberly — September 2, 2018 @ 12:32 am Reply

Can you freeze these to eat later after cooking?
- Michelle — September 5, 2018 @ 6:13 pm Reply
  
  You can! 🙂
Sara — September 4, 2018 @ 1:16 pm Reply

Do they still taste OK without the Cuman and chilli powder?
- Michelle — September 5, 2018 @ 6:12 pm Reply
  
  They do!! 🙂
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Tina T — January 16, 2019 @ 3:23 am Reply

Just made these exactly as the written and loved them!
- Michelle — January 17, 2019 @ 8:19 pm Reply
  
  YAY! Thank you so much, Tina!
Theresa — February 13, 2019 @ 1:04 am Reply

Do we have an idea of how many calories etc is in this recipe?
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Nina Stark — February 27, 2019 @ 6:41 pm Reply

looks great…im going to try it in my air fryer…
Susan — March 5, 2019 @ 1:27 am Reply

I’ve made your “plain” sweet potato chicken poppers at least 20 times. These did not disappoint. Now I have to try all the other variations.
★★★★★
- Michelle — March 5, 2019 @ 5:14 pm Reply
  
  Thank you so mcuh!!
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Lori Bandi — October 24, 2019 @ 5:56 pm Reply

I was wondering how this would be with butternut squash (or some other hard squash) to replace the sweet potatoes. Thoughts?
- Michelle — October 27, 2019 @ 4:50 pm Reply
  
  I do have a recipe for butternut squash poppers that’s just as yummy! 🙂
Katie — November 1, 2019 @ 8:42 pm Reply

These are so good! I normally try to limit bacon, but we have made these with and without bacon and either way they are so good! Not the best option if you are looking for AIP, so if that’s the case I’d recommend Michelle’s sweet potato chicken popper recipe.
★★★★★
Martha — December 6, 2019 @ 7:05 pm Reply

These are crazy good and pleased everyone’s palate while fulfilling all our dietary needs. That’s a tough role to fill!
Do you mind if I share a link to my IG?
- Michelle — December 6, 2019 @ 7:28 pm Reply
  
  Sure!! Thank you so much 🙂
Krosto — February 11, 2021 @ 8:48 pm Reply

Can you sub zucchini for the sweet potato?
- Unbound Wellness — June 28, 2022 @ 5:20 pm Reply
  
  Sure!
Sam — February 16, 2023 @ 9:14 pm Reply

Is a serving size one popper?
- Unbound Wellness — February 17, 2023 @ 7:28 pm Reply
  
  This recipe should make 20-25 poppers, which is 4 servings. So serving size is about 5-6 poppers.
Lisa — February 13, 2024 @ 3:18 am Reply

So good! The whole family Loves them
★★★★★
- Unbound Wellness — February 14, 2024 @ 4:48 pm Reply
  
  Yay, so glad!!