Sweet potatoes are such a versatile vegetable. You can fry them, mash them and best of all, stuff them! Sweet potatoes are good for breakfast, lunch and dinner PLUS super simple to make. If you bake the sweet potatoes, and chop a variety of toppings, you can make a Sweet Potato Bar to allow everyone to create their own stuffed sweet potato creation - which puts a fun spin on things, especially for children. Below are my two favourite stuffed sweet potato recipes.
This first one is a true representation of my daily cravings. I am constantly craving Mexican food, specifically burritos. This is my version of a healthy burrito in form of stuffed sweet potato. It helps my cravings and is nutritious + healthy.
BURRITO STUFFED SWEET POTATO Ingredients:
4 sweet potatoes
½ cup uncooked rainbow quinoa, rinsed
1 cup cooked black beans
1/2 cup cooked corn nibblets
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 green onions, chopped
½ garlic clove, minced
½ teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon tomato paste
Pinch of salt
*optional* lime
*optional* guacamole, sour cream, salsa
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line a baking dish with parchment paper.
Place the sweet potatoes in the baking dish, and prick each one a couple of times with a fork.
Place the sweet potatoes into the oven and bake until very tender, approx 45 minutes, depending on size.
In a medium saucepan, combine the quinoa, black beans, corn, cumin, garlic, olive oil, tomato paste and salt.
Pour 1 ¼ cups water into the saucepan.
Cover and bring the saucepan to a boil over medium heat. Lower the heat to a simmer, and cook until all of the liquid is absorbed, about 40 minutes.
Cover and set aside to keep warm.
Once the sweet potatoes are cooked to tender, cut either in half (for a smaller portion) or along the top of the sweet potato and pull back the skin. Spilt the sweet potatoes a little bit to make room for the fillings.
Divide the quinoa and bean mixture among the sweet potatoes, until they are heaping.
Top each potato with green onions and any optional toppings.
GREEK STUFFED SWEET POTATO
Ingredients:
4 sweet potatoes
6 cups of baby spinach – roughly chopped
1 clove of garlic – minced
1 tbs olive oil
1 1/2 cups of cooked quinoa
1/4 cup of pecan pieces
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 red onion - diced
Pinch of salt + 6 twists of black pepper
*optional* 1/2 a pack of tofu - diced OR 1 to 2 ounces of feta cheese – diced
*optional * 1/2 cup of hummus for topping
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line a baking dish with parchment paper.
Place the sweet potatoes in the baking dish, and prick each one a couple of times with a fork.
Place the sweet potatoes into the oven and bake until very tender, approx 45 minutes, depending on size.
While the sweet potatoes are baking, add olive oil to a large sauté pan and heat over medium heat.
Add garlic and half the spinach and cook until wilted and then add the rest of the spinach to the pan and cook until it’s wilted – about 4 minutes.
Remove from heat.
Stir in pecans, sun-dried tomatoes, red onion, black pepper and salt into spinach mixture.
Gently toss tofu (or feta) into spinach mixture
Cover and set aside to keep warm.
Once the sweet potatoes are cooked to tender, cut either in half (for a smaller portion) or along the top of the sweet potato and pull back the skin. Split the sweet potatoes a little bit to make room for the fillings.
Divide the spinach mixture among the sweet potatoes, until they are heaping.
Top each potato with any optional toppings, hummus is great on it.