Sweet potatoes, pumpkins, apples and pears all sit on CSPI’s November produce guide as still in season (it’s a US list, so glance at what your own greengrocer has piled up). That makes this week a good one for snacks built from cheap, sturdy autumn produce, plus a banana or two.
Below are three ideas that share a shopping list: sweet potato wedges with a chaat-style yoghurt and chutney topping, a pumpkin-spice banana smoothie, and apple peanut butter toast. Two of them take about five minutes of prep; the wedges need 10 minutes of prep and 25 to 30 in the oven.
The three ideas at a glance
| Idea | Prep | Cook | Serves | Allergens |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chaat-style sweet potato wedges | 10 min | 25 to 30 min | 2 as a light bite, 4 to share | Dairy (swap in plant-based yoghurt if you like) |
| Pumpkin-spice banana smoothie | 5 min (banana frozen ahead) | None | 1 tall glass | Dairy if you use cow’s milk |
| Apple peanut butter toast | 5 min | 2 to 3 min toasting | 1 | Peanuts, gluten |
Sweet potato wedges, chaat style
The idea comes from Rachel Gurjar’s Japanese sweet potato chaat, an excerpt from her 2026 book East to East that Today ran this month. Her version tops roasted sweet potatoes with tamarind concentrate, green chutney, fresh onions, tomatoes and cilantro. The full recipe has you make your own chutney, which is a weekend project; this version leans on a jar from the shop.
Chaat is a loose category of savoury street snacks, and it’s built on contrast: hot and cool, sweet and sharp, soft and crunchy. Roasted sweet potato supplies the sweet and soft; yoghurt, chutney and a squeeze of lime do the rest.
What you need
- 2 medium sweet potatoes (about 500 g), scrubbed, skins left on
- 2 tbsp neutral or olive oil
- 1 tsp chaat masala, split in two, plus 1/2 tsp fine salt
- 100 g plain yoghurt, with a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar stirred in
- 1 tbsp green (mint or coriander) chutney
- 1 tbsp tamarind chutney
- A handful of chopped coriander, a little finely chopped red onion and a few pomegranate seeds, if you have them
How to make it
- Heat the oven to 200C and line a tray with baking paper.
- Cut the sweet potatoes into wedges about 1.5 cm thick. Toss with the oil, the salt and half the chaat masala.
- Spread the wedges on the tray so they’re not touching. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, turning them halfway, until the edges are browned and a knife slides in easily.
- Pile the hot wedges on a plate. Spoon over the yoghurt, drizzle with both chutneys, then scatter the coriander, onion, pomegranate and the rest of the chaat masala.
Roasting times vary with how thick you cut. One Food Network recipe bakes its wedges, tossing occasionally, for 25 to 30 minutes, which matches the range above.
No chaat masala? Use 1/2 tsp ground cumin and finish with lime juice. Leftover wedges keep well: the NSW Government’s Good for Kids recipe points out that cold sweet potato wedges suit a lunchbox and can be cooked the night before and kept in the fridge. Eat them cold with a spoonful of yoghurt, or warm them in a hot oven for a few minutes.
A pumpkin-spice banana smoothie
This is the smoothie for people who want a pumpkin spice latte feeling without the café price. The base is a frozen banana, which does two jobs: it chills the drink and makes it thick. Chelsea’s Messy Apron notes that freezing the banana ahead means you don’t need ice, which can water the smoothie down.
To freeze bananas, arrange the pieces on a parchment-lined tray and freeze until solid, at least 2 hours; the Kitchn says they keep up to 3 months. Once they’re solid, tip them into a bag so you can grab a handful whenever you want one.
What you need (1 tall glass)
- 1 frozen banana, in chunks
- 80 g pumpkin purée
- 250 ml milk (any kind you like)
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- A few drops of vanilla extract
- 1 tsp maple syrup or brown sugar, only if your banana wasn’t very ripe
The ratio is a scaled-down version of the one in Budget Bytes’ pumpkin smoothie, which blends a frozen banana with a third of a cup of pumpkin purée and a cup of milk, plus spice and vanilla.
How to make it
Pour the milk into the blender first and add everything else on top. Putting the liquids in first helps the blender run easily and prevents lumps. Blend for about a minute until smooth, then taste and add the sweetener if it needs it.
If it’s thicker than you’d like, loosen it with a splash more milk. Drink it straight away while it’s cold.
Read the tin when you buy pumpkin purée. Some cans labelled pumpkin purée can contain squash or even sweet potato, so look for one where pumpkin is the only ingredient. A few spoonfuls of mashed roasted sweet potato from the wedges above is a fine stand-in if you can’t find a tin.
Apple peanut butter toast
This one is barely a recipe. It works because the apple stays cold and crisp against warm toast and a spoonful of something rich.
What you need (1 slice)
- 1 slice of sturdy bread (seeded, sourdough or wholemeal all work)
- 1 tbsp peanut butter
- Half a crisp eating apple, sliced thinly
- A pinch of cinnamon and a tiny pinch of flaky salt
How to make it
Toast the bread and spread the peanut butter on while it’s still hot. The warmth makes the peanut butter slightly melty and more luscious, which also helps the apple slices stay put.
Fan the apple over the top, then add the cinnamon and the salt. A tiny pinch of salt on the peanut butter sharpens the sweetness; that tip comes from The Feedfeed’s apple peanut butter toast.
Pick an apple you’d happily eat raw. Claire Aucella recommends eating apples rather than baking varieties for this. If you want a warm version, cook diced apple with cinnamon and maple syrup in a pan, and let it cool slightly before spooning it on so the toast doesn’t go soggy.
Swaps and ways to stretch it
| If you have or need | Try | Works in |
|---|---|---|
| No pumpkin purée | Mashed roasted sweet potato | Smoothie |
| No chaat masala | Ground cumin, salt and lime juice | Wedges |
| Dairy-free | Plant-based yoghurt and plant milk | Wedges, smoothie |
| Peanut allergy or no jar | Almond or cashew butter, or another nut or seed butter | Toast |
| Pears instead of apples | Thinly sliced ripe pear | Toast |
The dairy-free swap has backing: one wedge recipe notes you can make a vegan version of its dip using your favourite plant-based yoghurt. The almond or cashew swap comes from Jar of Lemons, which suggests a natural peanut butter and says almond or cashew butter works too.
On a budget, the fruit and sweet potatoes do most of the work. Buy a bag of bananas, freeze half the day they turn spotty, and roast a double tray of wedges on Sunday so Monday’s and Tuesday’s snacks are ready. If you don’t own a blender, a second-hand one from a charity shop or a swap group will handle a banana smoothie.
Sources
- CSPI: What’s in season: November produce guide
- Today: This Chaat-Inspired Appetizer Uses Japanese Sweet Potatoes as a Base
- Food Network: Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges with Cilantro Yogurt
- NSW Government Good for Kids: Sweet potato wedges
- Cinnamon Glow: Golden Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges with Tangy Yogurt Dip
- The Kitchn: Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie Recipe
- Chelsea’s Messy Apron: Banana Smoothie Recipe
- Budget Bytes: Pumpkin Smoothie
- Natalie’s Health: Pumpkin Smoothie
- Simple Green Smoothies: Low-Sugar Pumpkin Smoothie
- 5 Min Cook: Peanut Butter Apple Toast Recipe
- The Feedfeed: Apple Peanut Butter Toast Recipe
- Claire Aucella: Apple Toast with Peanut Butter and Cinnamon Sugar
- Jar of Lemons: Apple Cinnamon Peanut Butter Breakfast Toast
Header image: illustration, AI-generated.