Bacon Potato Nests

Bacon Potato Nests: Crispy bacon shaped into a basket, filled with creamy potatoes topped with a small dab of salsa, the perfect appetizer to prep the night before then assemble as your guests are arriving!

I love this recipe for Bacon Potato Nests.   Like most people I’m really watching what I eat ~ translation: summer is coming and I am trying to drop a few pounds!  

I’m trying to get back to being healthier/lighter and find when I eat less carbs but still get great flavor I actually stick with a healthy plan.

Honest confession, I am a yo-yo when it comes to eating correctly.  Finding an exercise program that I like and stick to makes all the difference in the world to me.  It really makes no sense, if I exercise regularly, I eat less.  

If I’m not exercising I show no restraint either in the food or drinking area.  When I’m working out you can put a plate of fries in front of me and I can just eat a few of them.  In my head, I literally think “I did not just get abused by my trainer so I could blow it all in one meal.”  Does anyone else do that?

With the crazy growth of my blog at the beginning of the year, I gave up my Bootcamp.  I’m back to it now so I’m trying to make up for the 3 months I was really bad.  I LOVE food, so I don’t completely give up anything, instead try to just eat smaller portions.

This recipe for Bacon Potato Nests is the epitome of that philosophy.  I can eat 3 of these and satisfy my craving for bacon and potatoes! Its only 1.5 pieces of bacon and a small bite of potatoes.  Top with a little sour cream and a healthy salsa and you have a very satisfying, low carb/calorie item that fits in at any social occasion!  Don’t you love it when you can eat the same things as you are serving at a party and not feel like you are blowing your diet?

Tip to cut down on calories:

You roll the bacon out with a rolling pin so it doubles in length then mold into a muffin tin with 2 pieces like I have done here.  Rolling the bacon thinly allows for less bacon per piece (less calories, but still packed with flavor!)  You wrap the bacon around the side edge, then cut a smaller piece to go across the bottom to create the basket.

Once the basket is crisped, spoon in your potato and top with a bit of sour cream, salsa or both and you will have a bite-sized bacon treat.

Breakdown of Bacon Potato Nest Bites:

Easy/Hard?  Personally I thought the hardest part of the Bacon Potato Nest Bites recipe was not eating all of the bacon when it was made into nests?  The bacon can be fragile after rolling it thinner, but you can still mold it into shape in the tin so that it works.

Planning:  Make the bacon basket and mashed potatoes up to 24 hours ahead and then just assemble and pop in the oven to warm when your guests arrive.  The aroma of the bacon will have their mouth’s watering.

Cocktail Pairing:  These would go great with any red wine… I am really into Grenache’s right now.  These pair equally well with  Bloody Mary’s or for something a little out of the norm try them with a Saketini.

Give them a try and let me know what you think?  We enjoyed these so much I’m already working on other things to put in the Bacon Nests for a future post!

Enjoy!

Yield: 24 bacon filled cups

Bacon Potato Nests

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Bacon Potato Nests: Crispy bacon shaped into a basket, filled with creamy potatoes topped with a small dab of salsa, the perfect appetizer to prep the night before then assemble as your guests are arriving!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 12 slices thick cut bacon
• 1/2 cup mashed potatoes
• 1/4 cup salsa or 1/4 cup sour cream, (or both)
• green onions for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°
2. Using a rolling pin, roll the bacon to twice its size.
3. Then cut bacon into smaller pieces, each piece of bacon will yield 2 bacon nests. I cut the bacon into thirds. Then cut one of the pieces in half. For a total of 2 longer pieces and 2 shorter pieces.
4. Referring to diagram in blog post, place longer piece of bacon around edge of muffin tin, then using smaller piece cover center to create a nest.
5. Place in hot oven and cook for 15 minutes, then flip the pan and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
6. All ovens are slightly different. You want bacon to be fully crisped, and browned, but not burnt.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
8. Remove from muffin tin and blot away any excess bacon fat.
9. If making bacon nests ahead of time for later use, store nests in plastic container in the fridge at this point. (Be sure to allow nests to cool completely before sealing the container.[/i]
10. Place one tablespoon of mashed potatoes in each nest. (or enough that the potato is coming just over the edge of the bacon)
11. Reduce oven to 300°,place each potato filled nest onto parchment lined baking sheet.
12. Bake for 15 minutes until potatoes are warmed though-out.
13. Top with sour cream, salsa and or green onions and serve.

Notes

All recipe calorie information was calculated on what I purchased to make this recipe in My Fitness Pal. When you make the recipe, the calorie content could vary depending on what specific ingredients/brands you actually use. Please take that into consideration if you are following a strict diet.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

24

Serving Size:

24 bacon filled cups
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 57Carbohydrates: 3gProtein: 3g

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