Loaded Southwest Sweet Potatoes

Go savory with your sweet potato by trying this recipe for Loaded Southwest Sweet Potatoes! 

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Topping your sweet potato with savory ingredients like black beans, avocado, and cheese might sound like a wild idea but I promise the results are absolutely delicious. I’ve been combining black beans and sweet potatoes since I did a culinary demo back in 2014 for Glory Foods where I made tacos. The audience was a bit hesitant, but they were pleasantly surprised! Have you tried this combo before? 

While the recipe below is for only one serving, you can easily quantify this recipe to serve as many people as you need to. One 15-ounce can of black beans will be enough to top 3-4 sweet potatoes. Talk about a very economical meal! Total cost for one serving is $1.45.

Making Healthy Loaded Sweet Potatoes

In this recipe, the sweet potato is the star since it serves as the base. Before adding all of my toppings, I like to sprinkle on some cayenne pepper for a little heat. Next, throw on the shredded cheese! Add your black beans, avocado, cilantro, and any other toppings you’d like (maybe some salsa or sour cream?) and dig in!

This recipe featured in my book, Eat To Sleep, for it's sleep-promoting ingredients!

This is a simple weeknight meal option, whether you’re trying to get food on the table for just yourself or an entire family. I often hear people express how it’s difficult to cook healthy meals for one because they have too much leftover. This is a perfect meal for one, though! Sure, you’ll have some black beans leftover, but those can easily be used in a variety of ways to create a new meal. Try my Butternut Squash & Fajita Veggie Frittata as either breakfast or maybe even dinner! You can also add some black beans to this Grilled Hoisin Steak Salad.

I decided to grow cilantro this year along with basil, rosemary, and a couple of tomato plants. Here’s my little cilantro plant I planted a couple of days ago. It’s incredible how much more flavorful herbs straight from the garden can be, and I like being able to walk out my back door when I need them for recipes like this one!

MEAL PREP PRO TIP

You can easily batch cook however many sweet potatoes you need for the week all at one time. Roast in the oven following the directions in the recipe below, then allow the sweet potatoes to cool before storing in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to serve them, cut in half and reheat in a microwave. Add all of your toppings and voila! Lunch or dinner is ready in a flash.