Sweet Potato Taco Boats
These Sweet Potato Taco Boats are fun and healthy idea for taco night! Stuff sweet potato halves with a spicy beef taco filling and then pile on your favorite taco toppings!
Have you been wanting to switch things up for taco night? Look no further than these Sweet Potato Taco Boats! Baked sweet potatoes stuffed with spicy beef taco filling and topped off with all your favorite taco toppings!
How to Bake a Sweet Potato
For this recipe we use the whole sweet potato – skin and all, the skin helps to hold the “boat” together. I recommend that you bake the sweet potatoes rather than boiling them or cooking them in the Instant Pot so the skin does not get too soft.
To prep your sweet potatoes for baking, first wash and dry them. Then use a fork to poke a bunch of holes into the flesh of the sweet potato. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place the potatoes on the baking sheet – make sure they are not touching.
The baking time will vary depending on the size of your sweet potatoes, but an average large sweet potato will bake in around 1 hour at 400°F. You may need to adjust that time up or down depending on the size of your potato. The potato is done when you can easily poke a knife through the center.
Once the sweet potatoes are done, let them cool until you are able to handle them. To use them as taco boats we hollow out some of the sweet potato flesh to make room of the taco filling!
Taco Filling
The taco filling is a spicy, flavorful beef taco mixture. It’s easy to cook up quickly on the stove top. The taco meat is seasoned with a homemade spice mix made of chili powder, cumin, onion powder, oregano, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper and salt. Onions, peppers, garlic, diced tomatoes and black beans also add flavor and texture to the mix! The recipe also calls for some jalapeños to be thrown in the mix if you like a little extra spice!
Taco Toppings!
This is where you get to have a little fun! Top your Sweet Potato Taco Boats with whatever you like for the following! I like them all, so I pilled it on to make fully loaded taco boats!
Avocado Slices
Sour Cream
Grated Cheddar Cheese
Fresh Cilantro
Black Olives
Lime Slices
Jalapeño Slices
Sweet Potato Taco Boats
Description
These Sweet Potato Taco Boats are fun and healthy idea for taco night! Stuff sweet potato halves with a spicy beef taco filling and then pile on your favorite taco toppings!
Ingredients
3 large sweet potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped small
1 pound ground beef
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper*
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup bell peppers**, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp jalapeño pepper***, diced
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes, drained
2/3 cup canned black beans, drained
juice of 1 lime
Toppings
avocado slices
sour cream
cheddar cheese, shredded
fresh cilantro
black olives
lime slices
jalapeño slices
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 400°F
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil
Wash and dry sweet potatoes
Use a fork to poke some holes into the sweet potato
Lay the sweet potatoes on the baking sheet
Bake for an hour****
Remove sweet potatoes from the oven and allow to cool while you make the taco filling
Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat
When the olive is heated add the yellow onion, sauté 3-4 minutes
Add the ground beef to the skillet, work with a wooden spoon to break up the beef and allow it to start to brown
In a small bowl mix together the chili powder, cumin, onion powder, oregano, paprika, cayenne pepper and slat
Pour the spice mixture into the skillet and mix it to coat the beef
When the beef is browned add in the peppers, garlic and jalapeño, sauté 2-3 minutes
Pour in the tomatoes, sauté 3-4 minutes
Reduce the heat to simmer and mix in the black beans and lime juice
Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes
When the sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, slice them in half length wise
Use spoon to scoop out most of the sweet potato, but leave about a half inch layer in the skin
In a bowl, use a fork to mash the sweet potato you removed
Add back half the mashed sweet potato to each potato half, leaving room to add the taco filling
Spoon the taco filling into each sweet potato half, piling on as much filling as you can fit without it spilling over
Top the sweet potato taco boats with desired toppings
Enjoy immediately
Notes
*use less for less heat or a little more for an extra kick
**red, yellow or orange or a mixture of all 3
***remove seeds to reduce heat
****bake time will depend on size of the sweet potato, depending on how large your sweet potatoes are you may need to increase to 1 hour 15 minutes
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