Sweet potatoes are pure bliss to me. Straight from the oven - all steamy, sticky and sweet - I'll gladly eat them as simple as can be.
Glam it Up. However, a plain sweet potato doesn't really count as a "meal" - so it usually gets served alongside other meal-type things like leafy salads, hearty veggies, tempeh, tofu, beans, grains. But what if instead of giving it side dish status, we made the potato the centerpiece of mealtime?..
Time to give the luscious baked sweet potato the treatment it deserves..
Sweet Potatoes. Baked. Stuffed. And over-stuffed.
Two recipes for you: Skinny Style. And Fully Loaded Style. So pop a sweet potato in the oven and stuff it in a flash!..
The canvas..
..and my edible art..
Tender kale salad, shiitake mushroom quinoa, spicy vegan refried beans, chipotle sauce and chopped chives - stuff this potato..
Any shape will work..
Stuffing or Re-Stuffing a Sweet Potato? Many "stuffed" or "loaded" sweet potato recipes I have seen online call for scooping and re-stuffing the potato flesh (usually after mashing it with some seasonings and accent ingredients or spices). Yummy, yes, but I prefer a more minimalist route.
To me, scooping and re-stuffing them seems unnecessary when that flesh is so darn delish all on its own. So instead, I have chosen to crack those golden babies open and simply load 'em up! No scooping, mashing and re-loading required.
Two recipes for you today:
1) Simple Stuffed. Skinny Style.
2) Over-Stuffed. Fully Loaded.
Simple Stuffed. Skinny Style..
Over-Stuffed...
Stuffings.. Today I used (among other fillings)..
Shiitake Mushroom Quinoa (quinoa + sauteed mushrooms):
Kale Salad (recipe below):
But really, you can stuff sweet potatoes with a very wide array of toppings..
Topping ideas:
* grains (quinoa, brown rice, barley, couscous..)
* beans (hummus, re-fried beans, whole beans..)
* chopped veggies
* seeds (hemp, sunflower, chia..)
* salsa
* salads
* plain soy yogurt or vegan sour cream
* dressings/dips/sauces galore (BBQ, vegan chipotle mayo..)
* Slaws, sauerkraut
* Tempeh bacon bits
And on and on..
Recipe One: Simple Stuffed. Skinny Style.
1 sweet potato, oven-baked/slit down middle
¾ cup plain soy yogurt
⅓ cup tomatoes, diced
sprinkle of chopped cilantro
chopped chives
a few dashes of chipotle spice
salt/pepper to taste
The simple-stuffed result..
Recipe Two: Over-Stuffed. Fully Loaded.
1 sweet potato, oven-baked/slit down middle
½ cup vegan refried beans (spicy flavor for me)
⅓ cup mushroom quinoa (basic quinoa tossed with sauteed shiitake mushrooms + optional nutritional yeast)
¼ cup marinated kale salad (recipe below)
2 tablespoon vegan chipotle sweet potato sauce (recipe below)
chopped chives
pepper to taste
Directions for stuffing potatoes: Simply pile on the toppings! Sticky or heavy items are best layered first. For the loaded potato I did beans, quinoa, salad, dressing, chives/pepper on top.
Kale Salad
2 cups kale, chopped
1 tomato, diced
2 tablespoon sliced almonds
2 scallions, chopped
tossed in Miso Dressing - recipe in this post
Chipotle Sweet Potato Sauce
1 tablespoon baked sweet potato (scoop from potato)
1 tablespoon vegan mayo (Vegenaise)
a few dashes chipotle powder
1 teaspoon maple or agave syrup
(thin out with a splash of liquid if desired - water, vinegar, oil works)
Dive into sweet potato comfort food..
Gus Alk says
This was delicious. Well done. Balanced and healthy and fairly easy to make. We love sweet potato so it was a great Sunday treat. Instead of quinoa used some wild rice and the result was very good.
Jenny says
What brilliant ideas only one drawback for me and this is a big beef I cannot eat anything spicy or herbal, have banned tomatoes and acidic from my diet (due to arthritis,and it works) this leaves me with a lot of problems as most recipes call for additions of spices and herbs, please could cooks note this I cannot be the only person who suffers this way.
anna says
did i miss the instructions on how to bake it? in foil? time? etc?
Kathy Patalsky says
Bake 400 for about an hour. No foil needed
anna says
thank you!!
Elisabetta Silvestro says
I made the loaded one for lunch, soo good!!! I was really surprised of the great result. I just omitted kale in the salad and I used barley and nutritional yeast instead of quinoa and mushrooms. Now I'm soo full though!
EvelynBarney says
SURE! Try any spice that would go in pumpkin pie, a little butter or coconut oil, some chopped nuts and some dry fruit. Mix those with the sweet potato you've scooped out of the skin (leave a bit on the edges to hold it together) add some vanilla if you like and re stuff the potato I top that with plain greek yogurt but if that's too tart for dessert a bit of coconut palm sugar or maple syrup will sweeten it up.
lon says
Is there a way to make a stuffed sweet potato but with sweet ingredients (as in for a desert), but still keep it healthy?
Chrissy Maun says
I was so curious to make this because it had so many different toppings. Let me just say, wow! This was one of the tastiest, most satisfying meals I've made in a while. My husband had seconds, and he never has seconds!!! It was so flavorful and yummy. Will definitely be adding this to my repertoire!
Momadler says
I made the fully loaded sweet potato and my husband said I looked like the cat who ate the canary after I finished my dinner. Yum yum!
olive bit abby says
It’s a sad reality when I’m too excited for cooking tomorrow’s
dinner to get to sleep tonight. But this
looks so good, and much more inventive than its classic baked potato brethren.
FBFDirector says
I fail to see how this could not be a satisfying meal. Oh it looks SO delicious! Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait!
Gena Hamshaw says
These are off. The. Hook.
Kathy Patalsky says
Thanks Bree!
Dawn says
Really great idea... I sincerely love the idea of using the sweet potato as the base for a nutritious light meal... Thank you...
Kathy Patalsky says
Thanks! Yup, it is a great new "dinner option" for me which is great to add something new to my rotation of favorite dinner recipes.
Bree says
Oh my gosh these ALL look amazing!
Roxanne says
I like sweet potatoes, they're creamy on their own. You made these sweet potatoes go to a Cinderella ball!
Kathy Patalsky says
🙂
Kathleen Richardson says
Your photos are absolutely gorgeous. You're right, sweet potatoes on their own are delicious, but stuffing them as you suggest is a welcome change.
Keep writing...
Kathy Patalsky says
Thanks Kathleen!
Alaine @ My GF & DF Living says
I want this now! I love sweet potatoes. I love the idea of stuffing them with soy yogurt. Can't wait to try it.
Kathy Patalsky says
I was afraid the soy yogurt would taste weird, but it was shockingly REALLY GOOD! I actually ate one warm and one straight from the fridge - chilled - both ways were delish!!
Kathy Patalsky says
ps .. use PLAIN soy or almond yogurt. Kind of resemble sour cream .. without the dairy or added fat.
The Raw Serenity says
This looks so dam good! love it!
Kathy Patalsky says
Thanks!
Jessica says
Do you have a baking "routine" (I hesitate to call it a recipe haha) but I have never actually baked one, so any tips are appreciated 🙂
Kathy Patalsky says
GOOD QUESTION! It is easy. i basically pump up the oven to 400 degrees. Wash the skin of my potato (well). Then do a few fork stabs over its surface. You can wrap n foil o do what I do and just throw it right on thr oven rack! I put a sheet of foil on the lower rack to catch the sticky sweet juices that ooze out. Then bake until tender. For a medium potato 30-45 minutes is usually good. For a small potato - shorter will do it. Larger, longer. And if you are in a hurry but want that oven-baked caramelization still - "half-bake" your potato int he microwave and allow to finish baking in the oven!
Crystal says
I love the miso dressing and kale salad...I can't wait to try this! Yum!
Kathy Patalsky says
Thanks - it is yummy all on its own!
hihorosie says
Yum! I love sweet potatoes and especially love them with black beans. Thanks for all these wonderful ideas!
Kathy Patalsky says
you are very welcome!
RAW PASSION (Viola Woolcott) says
DELICIOUS!!!
Kathy Patalsky says
🙂
GlutenFreeHappyTummy says
how gorgeous! i agree, sweet potatoes are bliss!
Kathy Patalsky says
bliss indeed. 🙂
alexandra at sweet betweens says
love it! the sweet potato is a perfect canvas for jazzing up leftovers - layer 'em up on a sweet + hot potato, and voila! dinner is served!
Kathy Patalsky says
exactly!
Wendy Polisi says
This looks great! I make stuffed sweet potatoes all the time but have never thought to put kale in them. I can't wait to give this one a try!
Kathy Patalsky says
The kale is yummy in the warm potato because it hold up the the heat and steam. Spinach would work too - any green that wilts well.
Warm Vanilla Sugar says
All of these look fabulous. Sweet potatoes are the best!
Kathy Patalsky says
Thanks!! 🙂