Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos are a quick and easy meal to make with minimal prep and cook time. Seasoned roasted sweet potatoes and black beans with a bit of pepper jack cheese creates a hearty and budget-friendly meal! Top with Chili Lime Avocado Sauce and other favorite taco toppings. This recipe is vegetarian, easily gluten free and easily vegan.
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A Weeknight Taco Win!
If you’re like me, taco night is a regular thing in our home, although sometimes it turns into taco nights if we have leftovers. Mexican food is a food group as far as I’m concerned, and when Tacos are this easy and tasty, why not?
This Recipe Is:
- Easy to Make
- Weeknight Ready
- Hearty and Satisfying
- Customizable
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the Chili Lime Avocado Sauce
- Ripe Avocado – ripe avocados yield to gentle pressure. If an avocado feels firm, it’s not quite ready to enjoy. On the other hand, if it feels very soft and mushy, it could be overripe. You want somewhere in between.
- Green Onion – you’ll need just one for this recipe. It adds a light, mellow onion flavor.
- Fresh Lime Juice – for best flavor, use fresh squeezed lime juice.
- Pickled Jalapenos – just a few pepper rings offer a hint of background spice that’s not overwhelming.
- Cilantro – love it or loathe it, it’s truly tasty in this fresh avocado sauce recipe. However, there are those who say it tastes like soap. So, feel free to leave it out, if preferred.
For the Sweet Potato Tacos
- Pepitas – a must for vegetarian tacos for their texture and nutritional benefits! They add iron, potassium, magnesium and 8 grams of protein per 1/2 cup serving to our diet (Dr. Axe).
- Sweet Potatoes – there are several varieties of sweet potatoes. 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.
- Black Beans – follow my How to Cook Black Beans recipe for tasty home cooked black beans from scratch or you can use canned black beans.
- Seasonings – I include individual seasonings in this recipe like chili powder, cumin and chipotle chili powder, but, if needed, you can sub prepared taco seasoning in equal measure.
- Pepper Jack Cheese – adds creamy cheesy flavor and a bit of spice.
- Cotija Cheese – adds a finishing, salty touch to tacos, sprinkled on just before serving. It’s not a cheese I use very often, but it freezes with ease, so it’s something I keep on hand in the freezer. You can sub Queso Fresco if desired.
- Romaine Lettuce – a sturdy lettuce that lends a nice crunch and freshness to the tacos.
- Soft Flour or Corn Tortillas – use your favorite high quality soft tortillas, gluten free if needed. My favorites are Mi Rancho and La Tortilla factory (they make a tortilla that’s a mix of corn and flour that’s super tasty!).
Pro Tip: For a tasty breakfast, these tacos are delicious with scrambled eggs on top!
Quick Guide: How to Make Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos
This pantry recipe comes together quick and with minimal effort. Leftovers are easy to prepare for tomorrow’s lunch or dinner on repeat! In summary, here’s how to whip up this tasty taco recipe (see recipe card for details):
- First, while the oven is warming up, toast the pepitas. Season the diced sweet potatoes and roast in the oven.
- Second, while the sweet potatoes are roasting, whip up with Chili Lime Avocado Sauce, chop the lettuce and other toppings, then, transfer the black beans to a mixing bowl.
- Third, once out of the oven, transfer the seasoned roasted sweet potatoes to the bowl with the black beans, stir.
- Next, assemble the tortillas on a sheet pan then top with the bean mixture and cheese. Bake for about 5 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Last, once out of the oven, top the tacos with pepitas, lettuce, avocado sauce and cotija cheese.
All the components can be prepared up to a few days in advance, for meal prep. Save making the chili lime avocado sauce until the day you plan to use it so it retains its bright green color.
Variations on Sweet Potato Tacos
The best part about tacos is they’re customizable to taste and/or diet. Here are some ideas to customize your sweet potato bean tacos:
- Add a Little Richness: The Chili Lime Avocado Sauce included in this recipe is delicious! But if you want to add a bit more richness to these tasty tacos, give my Avocado Cream Sauce a go. It’s similar to the sauce in this recipe, but with a little bit of sour cream added.
- Seasonal Swap: Swap out the sweet potatoes for butternut squash or pumpkin for a little Fall flavor.
- Beans Swap: This recipe calls for cooked black beans, but homemade Crock Pot Pinto Beans are a tasty addition to this recipe.
- Taco Toppings: Pictured, I top these tacos with chopped romaine lettuce, but you can use chopped spinach, or Chili Lime Slaw as seen in my Cauliflower Tinga Tacos.
- Make it Dairy Free: For vegan sweet potato tacos, omit the cheese entirely in this recipe and top the tacos with something creamy like Pepita Crema or Charred Jalapeño Guacamole.
What to Serve with Tacos
Share with your favorite Mexican food sides, condiments and drinks. Here are some ideas:
Expert Tips
- Make Ahead – up to two days in advance, roast the sweet potatoes and mix with the beans. Chop the lettuce and roast the pepitas. Store in lidded containers in the fridge.
- Save for Later – allow the tacos to cool, then wrap in foil. The tacos can be reheated in the oven with the wrapping on. For microwave heating, wrap in parchment paper, then in foil. When ready to reheat, remove the foil.
- Gluten Free? Enjoy the tacos with gluten free corn tortillas. Be sure to double the tortillas before spooning on the sweet potato and black bean mixture.
More Taco Recipes to Love
Easy Sweet Potato and Black Tacos Recipe
Servings:8 , 6-7 inch tacos
Calories:338kcal
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos are a quick and easy meal to make with minimal prep and cook time. Seasoned roasted sweet potatoes and black beans with a bit of pepper jack cheese creates a hearty and budget-friendly meal! Top with Chili Lime Avocado Sauce and other favorite taco toppings. This recipe is vegetarian, easily gluten free and easily vegan. Time Saving Tip: Make the sweet potato and black bean mixture up to two days in advance. Store in a covered container in the fridge until ready to enjoy. It also freezes with ease.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup (40 grams) Raw Pepitas optional but recommended
- 3 cups (415 grams) Diced Sweet Potato peeled & diced into 1/4 inch pieces, about one medium potato
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil like olive or avocado oil
- 1 3/4 cups (425 grams) Cooked Black Beans homemade or about one can, drained
- 3/4 teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin *see note
- 1/2 teaspoon Chili Powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Chipotle Chili Powder or more Chili Powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Garlic Granules
- 1/8 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1/4 Lime
- 8, 6-7 inch (15-17 cm) Soft Flour Tortillas **see note
- 2 1/2 cups (130 grams) Shredded Pepper Jack Cheese or Monterey Jack Cheese
For the Toppings
- 1/2 cup (70 grams) Cotija Cheese or Queso Fresco
- 2 1/2 cups (75 grams) Romaine Lettuce chopped
Chili Lime Avocado Sauce***
- 1 (275 grams) Avocado sliced in half, skin/pit removed, about one medium
- 8 sprigs Cilantro ends trimmed
- 1 Green Onion chopped into small pieces
- 4-6 Pickled Jalapeno Pepper Rings adjust to taste
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Fresh Lime Juice about 3/4 of a lime
- 1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
- 5-7 tablespoons Water as needed
Instructions
- Arrange an oven rack in the center of the oven. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Set aside.In a small pan, add the pepitas, and set in the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degree Fahrenheit (204 Celsius). The pepitas will toast while the oven preheats for about 10-13 minutes, or until fragrant and lightly golden brown around the edges. Set aside to cool.
Make the Filling
- In a medium mixing bowl, drizzle the oil over the diced sweet potatoes. Mix well, then add the salt, cumin, chili powders, garlic granules and onion powder. Stir to distribute the spices. Transfer the sweet potatoes to the prepared sheet pan in one even layer then roast in the 400 degree Fahrenheit preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until tender.
- Meanwhile, to the same mixing bowl (no need to clean), add the drained black beans. Once the sweet potatoes come out of the oven, transfer the potatoes to the mixing bowl with the beans, squeeze 1/4 lime over the ingredients, and mix throughly. Set aside.
- On two sheet pans (no parchment needed), arrange your tortillas so they're not overlapping, four per pan. Spoon the potato/bean mixture down the center of each tortilla. Sprinkle jack cheese over the tops. Transfer to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the sweet potato and black bean mixture is warmed through, about five minutes.
For the Chili Lime Avocado Sauce***
- Into the work bowl of a food processor, add the avocado, cilantro, green onion, pickled pepper rings, lime juice, and salt. Process until almost smooth and creamy stopping to scrape down the bowl several times while processing. Add water to thin as desired while processing, adding 1-2 tablespoons at a time. Taste for salt adjustment.
Assemble the Tacos
- Once the tacos are out of the oven, top with lettuce, avocado sauce, pepitas and cojita cheese. Share right away.
- To Store: allow the tacos to cool, then wrap in foil (without added toppings). The tacos can be reheated in the oven with the wrapping on. For microwave heating, wrap in parchment paper, then in foil. When ready to reheat, remove the foil.
Notes
*Taco Seasoning Sub: substitute 2 1/4 teaspoons taco seasoning for the cumin, chili powder, chipotle chili powder, garlic granules and onion powder.
**Corn Tortillas: these tacos are delicious with corn tortillas. You’ll need 16 instead of 8 flour tortillas so you can double layer the tacos on the sheet pan (they’re more tender than flour and can tear easily).
***Avocado Crema: have you tried my Avocado Cream Sauce? It’s fabulous with these tacos too, although a bit richer due to added sour cream.
Dairy Free or Vegan: omit the cheese entirely in this recipe and top the tacos with something creamy like Pepita Crema or Charred Jalapeño Guacamole.
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
Serving: 1taco | Calories: 338kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.001g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 593mg | Potassium: 565mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 9007IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 353mg | Iron: 2mg
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!
What a great vegetarian option for Taco Tuesdays Traci! I love anything sweet potato, so I’ll be trying these soon!
We are on the same page, Mare! Sweet Potatoes are SO good. You’re going to love em’ in these tacos!