This Vegan Stuffed Sweet Potato Is Loaded With Protein

The following post was originally featured on Eating Bird Food and written by Brittany Mullins, who is part of POPSUGAR Select Fitness.

These stuffed sweet potatoes are packed with a variety of flavors and loaded with protein, healthy fat, and fiber. They're easy to whip up and make for a nutritious, gluten-free, and vegan weeknight meal.

I have always been a potato lover. Growing up french fries and my mom's fried potatoes were my favorite, but I also loved baked potatoes - loaded with butter, of course. Do you know who had the best baked potatoes? Outback. The regular ones with the course-grain salt on the skin and/or the sweet potato with the honey butter and brown sugar. Not sure if they still have them, but oh man, they were so good!

The awesome thing about baked potatoes is that they're pretty much a blank canvas, so you can add just about anything to them. Lately I've been on a stuffed sweet potato kick and enjoying them Mexican style with a variety of toppings. The version I'm sharing today is the ultimate! It's got black beans, sautéed onions, peppers, spinach, tomatoes, spring onion, cilantro, avocado, and a garlicky-tahini dressing. So, so good and super easy to whip up.

The only part that takes a little patience is baking the sweet potatoes. Luckily you can pop them in the oven and do other things while they bake to perfection. Once they're cooked you can have dinner on the table in a matter of minutes.

If you're looking for a meal packed with healthy fats and fiber, this recipe is great as is! That said, the toppings are super easy to tweak based on your needs. Skip the dressing or avocado for less fat, and add a lean protein option if you feel like you need more. I've made them several ways - vegan-style with just the black beans, carnivore-style with chopped chicken, and breakfast-for-dinner style with an egg on top. They all tasted great!

To learn more about this recipe (and Brittany's love of Outback Steakhouse), check out her blog post on Eating Bird Food.

From Eating Bird Food

Mexicali-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

2 sweet potatoes
1/2 cup cooked black beans
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup yellow or red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
5 ounces baby spinach
10 cherry tomatoes
1/2 avocado, sliced
2 spring onions (green part only), chopped
Fresh cilantro, to taste
Sriracha or hot sauce, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Pierce potatoes with a fork several times, and bake for about 1 hour or until tender.
2. While potatoes are baking, blend together the zesty tahini dressing. Set aside.
3. Sauté onion, mushrooms and peppers in a skillet until soft, about 3 minutes. Add in the spinach, and cook until just wilted. Remove from heat.
4. Remove potatoes from oven, cut open sweet potatoes, mash each side with a fork and sprinkle on a little sea salt and pepper to season.
5. Load on the toppings: start with the sautéed onion and spinach mixture, then add black beans, tomatoes, avocado, spring onions, and cilantro. Drizzle desired amount of zesty tahini dressing over each potato. Serve immediately.

Information

Category

Main Dishes

Yield

2 servings

Cook Time

60 min

Nutrition

Calories per serving

436

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