Black Bean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes is a quick, flavor-packed dinner perfect for busy nights and meal prep alike. Roasted sweet potatoes are stuffed with cheese, saucy seasoned black beans and more cheese, then briefly baked again to melty perfection. Top with guacamole, sour cream, green onions, or any of your favorite toppings, it’s ready in about 40 minutes! This recipe is vegetarian and easily gluten free.
Black Bean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Highlights
Dinner doesn’t get any easier—or less fussy. With minimal ingredients, you can whip up a hearty and satisfying vegetarian meal in no time.
Black beans and sweet potato make a classic pairing, just like in these Black Bean Sweet Potato Tacos thanks to their contrasting savory and sweet flavors. That delicious combo shines again in this Mexican-Style Black Bean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes recipe, perfect for busy weeknights or meal prep.
Serve with your favorite Mexican food toppings like Avocado Cream Sauce (it balances the spice of the black beans), Salsa Verde, or Mexican Corn Salsa and a simple green salad and dinner is done!
This Recipe Is
- cheesy
- naturally sweet and savory
- ideal for meal prep
If you enjoy making inspired homemade Mexican food, you’ll love these tasty vegetarian stuffed sweet potatoes.
About the Key Ingredients
- Sweet Potatoes – there’s quiet a variety of sweet potatoes to choose from. Look for the variety that has deep orange flesh. For this recipe, you’ll need Jewel or Beauregard sweet potatoes. Beauregards have purplish-red skin and a deep orange interior, while Jewel have a copperish skin color and deep orange flesh. Both varieties are pretty standard in grocery stores. When cooked, they have a soft texture and naturally sweet flavor.
- Poblano Pepper – a mild and flavorful chili pepper that’s not generally spicy. They add so much interest and flavor for recipes they’re enjoyed in. Use green bell pepper if a substitute is needed.
- Seasonings – I include individual seasonings in this recipe like chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika and garlic granules, but, if needed, you can substitute prepared taco seasoning in equal measure.
- Cooked Black Beans – follow my How to Cook Black Beans recipe for tasty home cooked black beans from scratch to use in this recipe, or you can make it with canned black beans.
- Cheese – adds creamy texture and cheesy flavor. I like a mix medium cheddar and pepper jack for a little extra spice. Sharp cheddar is quite nice too.
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How to Make Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
step by step
Cutting the sweet potatoes in half not only helps them cook faster, but also gives you those crispy, caramelized edges that make them SO good.
Traci’s Tips
- The Cheese: buy block cheese and shred it yourself. It melts easier than pre-shredded and doesn’t contain any anti-caking ingredients.
- Share With: there are many tasty toppings that pair deliciously with these sweet potatoes. Let your cravings guide you, whether it’s Creamy Guacamole with Sour Cream, hot sauce, Pickled Jalapeno Peppers, crushed tortilla chips or toasted pepitas.
- Servings: we’re roasting three, sliced in half potatoes, which yields six pieces. Depending on appetite, I can get anywhere from 4-6 servings out of this recipe. Rob (my husband) usually eats 1 1/2 sweet potatoes halves, where I usually go for 1 half.
Mexican Style Stuffed Sweet Potatoes (Vegetarain)
Servings:4 – 6 Servings
Calories:620kcal
Black Bean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes is a quick, flavor-packed dinner perfect for busy nights and meal prep alike. The roasted sweet potatoes come out of the oven with irresistible caramelized edges that add depth to every bite. They're stuffed with cheese, saucy seasoned black beans and more cheese, then briefly baked again to melty cheesy perfection. Top with guacamole, sour cream, green onions, or any of your favorite toppings, it's ready in about 40 minutes! This recipe is vegetarian and easily gluten free. See recipe *Notes* for topping suggestions.
Ingredients
- 3 Medium Sweet Potatoes about 2.5 pounds / 1.1 kg
- 2 teaspoons Avocado Oil or olive oil + more for coating the potatoes
- 1/2 cup (70 grams) White Onion diced medium, about half a small onion
- 3/4 cup (85 grams) Poblano Pepper diced medium, about one medium pepper
- 1 teaspoon Minced Garlic or 1/8 teaspoon garlic granules
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
- 1 3/4 cups (415 grams) Cooked Black Beans with cooking liquid or 1 can black beans (15 ounces / 439 grams). Do not drain.
- 1 1/4 cup (200 grams) Shredded Monterey Jack, pepper jack, medium cheddar or a combination of two.
- 1 Lime + more for serving
- Fresh Cilantro chopped for serving
Instructions
- Arrange an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425 Fahrenheit (218 Celsius). Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
Roast the Potatoes
- Slice the sweet potatoes, length-wise in half. Lightly rub or brush the flesh and skin with oil and place flesh side down on the sheet pan.
- Place the sweet potatoes in the oven and roast for 25-35 minutes or until they're soft, yield to a poke from a fork and caramelized around the edges. The larger the sweet potato, the longer the bake.
Prepare the Stuffing
- Meanwhile in a 10 inch (25 cm) skillet (I use cast iron), add 2 teaspoons of oil and heat on medium until it shimmers. Add the onion and poblano pepper. Saute' over medium heat until softened, about 7-9 minutes. Some charring is good!
- To the pan, add the garlic, cumin, chili powder, paprika and salt. Stir for about 30 seconds, coating the onions and peppers. Pour the beans, with their cooking liquid, into the pan. Stir and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium low and cook until reduced slightly, about 10 minutes. Stir in a squeeze of lime juice and taste for salt. Remove from heat and lid to keep warm.
Stuff the Potatoes & Bake
- Once the sweet potatoes are out of the oven, flip them over and sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper over the flesh. Use a fork to rough up the flesh, then sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of cheese over each half. Spoon the beans over the cheese, dividing evenly amongst the halves then, sprinkle the remaining cheese over the beans.
- Place the sheet pan back into the oven and bake for about 3-4 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
- Share with cilantro and your favorite toppings (see notes).
To Store
- Refrigerate in a lidded container in the refrigerator for up to three days or freeze for up to two weeks. Reheat thawed stuffed sweet potatoes on a parchment lined sheet pan at 425F for about 20 minutes or until warmed through.
Notes
Topping Suggestions: the sky is the limit. Here are some ideas: toasted pepitas, green onions, sour cream, Creamy Guacamole, 5 Minute Avocado Cream Sauce, sliced avocados, hot sauce, cilantro, Pickled Jalapeños, Fresh Pico de Gallo, 6 Ingredient Corn Salsa, or even a fried egg.
This recipe is inspired by Sarah Jampel’s Black Bean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes at NYT Cooking.
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
Serving: 1.5 potato halves | Calories: 620kcal | Carbohydrates: 89g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 559mg | Potassium: 1863mg | Fiber: 20g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 55238IU | Vitamin C: 79mg | Calcium: 529mg | Iron: 5mg
Made It? Leave a comment below! The most helpful comment may include recipe rating, feedback, any modifications and/or helping other commenters. On Instagram? Take a snap of your make and share, tagging @VanillaAndBean #VanillaAndBean!
Traci, just made the Mexican Style Sweet Potatoes. OMG!!! Fantastic!!! I set some of the black beans aside to eat for breakfast tomorrow.
As always recipes are simple to follow and delicious
Hiii Donna! Yay! Thank you for giving the recipe a go and sending a smile! SO glad you enjoyed the SP… hooray for leftover beans!
Amazing! Followed recipe except we included ground chicken because we had some leftover. Great flavor! Thanks for the recipe!
Love hearing this, Kristi! Thank you for your note and five star recipe rating!