Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Southwestern Toppings are the BEST! Black beans, corn, peppers, and creamy queso fresco make this a colorful and filling entree on its own. Score!
BE PICTURED IN; CHARACTERIZED IN:
Sometimes meals can be stressful because you have to have multiple things on your plate. A piece of chicken is not a meal. This requires a salad or other side dishes. This full plate problem is exacerbated with kids because they may reject the stuff you’ve worked hard for!
Of course, if your kids are picky about touching food or foods stuffed with other foods (mine seem to be – see testimonial below) then you can keep the stuffing and sweet potato separate or break them apart for them. Ideally, they’d just dive in and see how wonderful these savory ingredients paired with sweet potatoes.
Two Baked Potatoes: Roast or Microwave
There’s an ideal way to prepare these sweet potatoes: roast them in the oven.
However, this takes about an hour. If you have the time (or can plan ahead) I recommend it because it cooks a lot of the water in the potatoes and concentrates the flavors. In addition, the skin of the potatoes will be crispy and delicious!
Of course, I believe that perfection is the enemy of goodness in the kitchen, and that’s why you can heat these up in the microwave too!
A vegetarian Tex-Mex filling
This is a very simple veggie Tex-Mex filling with corn, black beans, and red peppers, but I think the flavors pair really well with the slightly sweet potato flesh and creamy queso fresco. If you can’t find a queso fresco, you can substitute shredded Monterey Jack cheese. Kids also tend to be okay with all the stuff in this filling (or you can give their taste buds a little bit, which is always good).
Of course, you could spice up the filling even more if you like. A sprinkling of mild chili powder is a good idea, or you could add some browned meat like ground beef if you’d like it to be more of a taco filling. If you did, you’d probably have leftover filling to eat as a taco salad for lunch!
But you can’t go wrong with the basic vegetarian approach. It’s healthy, fast, and the flavors work well together.
Do these in advance
These are sturdy things, and they can easily be made in advance, in whole or in part. Roasting the potatoes and preparing the filling can be done a day or two in advance. Then you can assemble them right away, or refrigerate the potatoes and filling separately and then assemble while your oven preheats.
If you’re reheating these from the fridge, add 10 minutes to the baking time, or bring to room temperature beforehand if you have time.
I think these are best eaten within four to five days and we have no problem processing a batch in that time.
freezer instructions
These would freeze well too, but they’re dense, and you’d have to wrap them in foil fully assembled and bake at 350F for about 45-60 minutes to fully thaw and reheat.
The father adds: Primo Tex-Mex toppings!
These sweet potatoes are already quite stuffed, but I like to reduce some of the bean and corn mixture and add a few other flavors in my version.
If you have the time, some browned chorizo goes well with it. Otherwise, I also like to garnish them with pickled jalapeños, sour cream, and scallions when they come out of the oven.
In all honesty, one of these stuffed to the max is a COMPLETE MEAL, even for a dad.
The children’s certificate
While the flavors in these sweet potatoes were everything my kids had eaten (and eaten!) before, stacking them all together was a step too far for my little one. Even after I suggested they cut them up for the kids, the damage was done and they looked down at their plates like, well, damaged goods.
If you anticipate this problem, you can keep all the fillings separate in small bowls for your kids so they can mix and match as they please!
We’re all friends here, so I can admit that at one point I bribed my four-year-old with an M&M when he tried the sweet potato. You can see the skepticism on his face. Of course, once he tasted it, he agreed that it was indeed something he had eaten before and continued to eat more bites. I would venture that he even liked it!
My two year old looked down at her plate like it came straight from another planet. She is stubborn and no amount of bribe would get her to touch this situation.
Fine. It’s a tube of yogurt for dinner.
More great sweet potato recipes!
- Sweet potatoes stuffed with chorizo
- Pressure Cooker BBQ Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Hash Browns
- Roasted Sweet Potato Quinoa Bowls
- Tacos with sweet potatoes and black beans
Twice Baked Southwestern Sweet Potatoes
The sweet potatoes and stuffing can be made ahead of time and refrigerated separately, or they can be stuffed and then refrigerated for a later meal. If you’re reheating these from the fridge, add 10 minutes to the baking time, or bring to room temperature beforehand if you have time.
ingredients
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4 Middle sweet potatoesabout 1/2 pound each
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1 tablespoon olive oil
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1/2 Middle Red onionrolled
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1/2 green paprikarolled
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1 Cup black beansrinsed well
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1/2 Cup Cornfresh or frozen
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1 Cup crumbles Quark
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1/4 teaspoon Salt
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1/4 teaspoon black pepper
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Fresh corianderchopped for garnish
ADD DAD: Primo Tex-Mex ingredients
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Browned chorizo
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Pickled jalapenos
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sour cream
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Diced green onions
method
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Cook sweet potatoes:
If you have time, bake the sweet potatoes in the oven. Prick a few holes with a fork and bake at 375°F for 45 to 60 minutes until very tender and easily pierced with a fork. In addition, the skin should become dry and cracked.
Option two, if you’re in a hurry, is to microwave the sweet potatoes. Pierce with a fork and heat on high for two 5 minute intervals. They’ll be very hot after they come out and the skin won’t be quite as good as the baked version, but it works fine for this recipe.
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make filling:
In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil, followed by onions, peppers, black beans, and corn. Season with salt and pepper and cook 4 to 5 minutes until the vegetables are tender but not browned at all. Remove from stove.
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Stuff the sweet potatoes:
When the sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, split them open with a knife and mash the sweet potato flesh with a fork. I recommend opening the sweet potatoes by cutting horizontal slits near each end of the sweet potato, which will make them easier to spread out.
Once the sweet potato flesh is mashed, add some queso fresco to each potato and divide the sautéed filling among the potatoes. Fill them up! Sprinkle cheese on top if you like.
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Bake the sweet potatoes:
Bake the sweet potatoes at 350°F for 20 minutes.
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Surcharge:
Serve sweet potatoes with Dad Add ingredients or simply with a sprinkling of freshly chopped cilantro.
Leftover stuffed sweet potatoes can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 to 5 days and are best reheated in the oven.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 313 | calories |
| 11g | Fat |
| 42g | carbohydrates |
| 13g | protein |
