These Taco-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes are one of my favorite meals lately! Hearty sweet potatoes, taco filling, cheese, and toppings go deliciously together in a fun, flexible, and fast meal.
Fluffy baked sweet potatoes are cut in half and topped with your taco filling of choice and some cheese, then baked for a bit until bubbly and melty. Then, just top with your taco favorite fixings like lettuce, tomatoes, olives, sour cream, guacamole, salsa … you name it!
These taco sweet potatoes make an easy and filling lunch or dinner, and they’re perfect for mixed-diet households. I love lentil walnut taco filling or vegan chorizo on mine while my guy is partial to taco-seasoned ground beef. Perfect for one-dish-two-ways life!
Table of Contents
The Story Behind the Recipe
Why You’ll Love Taco-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
Adaptations/Variations
How to Make Taco Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Tips for Success
What to Serve with Taco Sweet Potatoes
More Sweet Potato Recipes
Jump to the Full, Printable Recipe
Read Reviews & Comments
The Story Behind the Recipe
I’ve been making these Mexican stuffed sweet potatoes for quite awhile now, and I thought it was high time I shared them! I love that they’re super hearty and full of protein, plus, sweet potatoes bring some added nutrition over standard baked potatoes.
Also, they taste really, really good.
Why You’ll Love Taco-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
I think the best thing about these taco sweet potatoes, other than the fact that they’re easy and delicious, is that they’re super customizable. They’re already gluten-free, so yay! They’re easily made meaty, vegetarian, or vegan, and everyone can grab their favorite toppings.
Taco Sweet Potato bar, anyone?! I’m immediately adding that one to my game-day list!
Ingredients
Baked sweet potatoes – I like to use medium-to-large sweet potatoes for these Mexican stuffed sweet potatoes. That way, one half tends to be just right for one generous serving. I make baked sweet potatoes just for these taco-stuffed sweet potatoes, or sometimes I’ll make them for another meal and throw in a couple extra sweet potatoes for this meal later on.
Taco meat – Whether you choose ground beef with taco seasoning, vegetarian crumbles or chorizo, lentil taco filling, or simply some black beans or pinto beans, you’ll want about 1/2 cup per sweet potato half.
Cheese – I use medium cheddar, but you can use Jack or even pepper Jack for a bit of a spicy kick. Or sub in a vegan cheese, or you can even skip the cheese altogether if you prefer. These taco stuffed sweet potatoes are still good without it!
Lettuce – I like to use curly lettuce or romaine lettuce, sliced into shreds. Any crisp, mildly flavored lettuce will do.
Cherry tomatoes – I like the juicy burst of flavor and color that they add. Diced larger tomatoes work, too.
Salsa – For drizzling over the top. Use your favorite kind and heat-level.
Sour cream – Adds a creamy, tangy touch that’s so good with everything else! If you’re eating vegan or dairy-free, try this vegan sour cream recipe.
Toppings – Add any other taco-y toppings you’d like! Sliced or pickled jalapeños, fresh onions or scallions, pickled red onions, sliced black olives, micro-greens, cilantro, pico de gallo – sky’s the limit!
Adaptations/Variations
Vegan Taco-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes: Use a vegetarian taco meat or beans, vegan cheese, and vegan sour cream.
Taco-Stuffed Potatoes: If you’re craving a fluffy white potato instead of a sweet potato, just bake up some Russet potatoes and use those instead.
How to Make Taco Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
First, bake your sweet potatoes. For fluffy interiors and crispy interiors, I rub cleaned and dried potatoes with olive oil and add a sprinkle of salt for good measure, then prick them with a fork and bake them at 400°F for about 40 minutes until they pierce easily with a fork.
While your potatoes are baking, prepare your taco filling. I tend to make my lentil walnut taco filling ahead of time and have it in the fridge, while my guy often has frozen leftover taco-seasoned ground beef that we can use. Easy!
Slice the baked potatoes in half lengthwise, and fluff them a bit with a fork, moving the potato over to the sides a bit while leaving some room in the center for filling.
Then add the filling to the sweet potato and top with cheese.
Bake until the filling is warmed through and the cheese has melted.
From there, it’s just a matter of topping them with all your goodies like lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and more, and serve ’em up!
Tips for Success
Prep ahead: Bake the sweet potatoes, chop up your toppings, shred your cheese, and prep your taco filling ahead of time. Store them separately in the fridge in airtight containers for up to 3 days. Then, when you’re ready to eat, it’s just a few minutes prep time and you’re ready to go!
If you’re short on time, you don’t strictly have to bake the filling and cheese in the sweet potatoes. This just helps to melt the cheese and really warm the filling, but these taco sweet potatoes are still plenty yummy if you skip that second baking step.
What to Serve with Taco Sweet Potatoes
Because these Mexican stuffed sweet potatoes have protein, fiber, carbs, and veggies, I often consider them a meal-in-one. But sometimes it’s nice to round out the meal with a bit more. I also love to make homemade toppings. Here are a few ideas.
Sliced avocado or guacamole
Black beans or vegetarian refried beans
Brown rice or Mexican rice
Salsa, salsa verde, or pico de gallo
Steamed, sautéed, or roasted vegetables like these roasted Brussels sprouts or sautéed green beans
More Sweet Potato Recipes
Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Quinoa Chili
Whipped Sweet Potatoes
Creamy Sweet Potato Soup
Print
Taco Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potato halves stuffed with taco filling and cheese, plus an assortment of fresh toppings. These Mexican stuffed sweet potatoes are so versatile and easy, this is more of a method than a recipe! Perfect for mixed-diet families.
2cupstaco meatoptions include: black beans, taco-seasoned lentils, chorizo, vegan chorizo, vegetarian crumbles, or taco-seasoned ground beef; 1/2 cup per sweet potato
1cupshredded cheddar cheese
2cupsshredded lettuceI like romaine or curly
1/2cupcherry tomatoeshalved
1/2cupsalsa
1/2cupSour creamor vegan sour cream
Topping ideas
guacamole
sliced jalapeños
avocado
corn
sliced black olives
scallions
pickled red onions
pico de gallo
Instructions
Bake sweet potatoes and set them aside to cool for a bit. To bake them, scrub and dry sweet potatoes and prick them with a fork. Rub them all over with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, then place on a parchment lined sheet pan. Bake at 400°F until easily pierced with a fork, about 40 minutes.
Cut the sweet potatoes in half and use a fork to fluff up the insides a bit, moving some of the sweet potato to the edges so that there is an indent for fillings in the center.
Lower the temperature of the oven to 350°F. Top each half with 1/2 cup of the taco filling of choice. Divide the cheese between the four halves. Bake for about 15 minutes until warmed through and the cheese is melted.
Remove from oven. Transfer to a plate and divide the lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, and sour cream between the four halves. Add any other toppings as desired. Serve.
Notes
Recipe time includes time to bake the sweet potatoes. If you have already-baked sweet potatoes, the prep and cooking time should be more like 25 minutes. Nutrition information assumes ground beef, green leaf lettuce, salsa, and sour cream, but does not include any other suggested toppings.
