Taco stuffed sweet potatoes
Taco stuffed sweet potatoes are easy to make and a fun twist on taco night. Sweet, tender and fluffy sweet potatoes are filled with ground taco meat and covered in cheese and your favorite toppings, making this a delicious family dinner.
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 4 medium to large sweet potatoes
- 1 lb. lean ground turkey (see notes)
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Optional toppings:
- More shredded cheese, sliced or diced avocado, sour cream or Greek yogurt, chopped cilantro, salsa or pico de gallo, crushed tortilla chips, hot sauce or pickled jalapeños, etc.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400. Scrub the sweet potatoes well and pierce with a fork a few times on each side. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet (for easy clean-up) and bake at 400 for 45-55 minutes, until tender. (Alternatively, you can also cook the sweet potatoes in the microwave. See notes.)
- Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the ground turkey and cook, breaking it up with a spatula, until cooked through and no pink remains, about 7-8 minutes.
- Add the taco seasoning to the skillet and stir well to get all of the meat coated. Add a splash of water, reduce the heat to medium low, and let simmer for a few minutes, until the liquid is absorbed.
- Once the sweet potatoes are cooked and have cooled enough to handle, carefully cut an opening in each one at the top. Use a fork to fluff the insides of the potato (and season with salt and pepper, if desired).
- Scoop the cooked taco meat into each potato and place back on the baking sheet. Top each potato with ¼ cup shredded cheese.
- Return to the oven on low broil for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and everything is warmed through. (You can skip this step if your sweet potatoes and taco meat are already nice and hot. Just add the cheese and any other toppings and serve.)
- Serve immediately with additional desired toppings.
Notes
You can bake your sweet potatoes in the oven, as noted in the recipe card below, or you can make them in the microwave: Scrub the sweet potatoes, pierce them with a fork a few times and microwave on high for 15 minutes. Use an oven mitt or towel to squeeze the potatoes and make sure they give and seem tender. If not, add an additional minute or two at a time as needed.
Make sure you have some decent sized sweet potatoes though and ones that are going to be stable enough to slice open and stuff. (In other words, no really weird shapes.)
Ground turkey is our go-to for taco meat, but you could substitute ground beef or ground chicken if that’s what you have on hand.
I use homemade taco seasoning, but store-bought is fine too.
Veggies and other add-ins:
- You could sauté some onions, peppers and/or zucchini to go with the taco meat filling.
- Or wilt in some spinach with the ground turkey and use that in the sweet potato filling.
- Also, sometimes I grate a zucchini and add that to our taco meat as it’s cooking. It pretty much melts in but adds some extra nutrition.
- Other add-ins you may want to consider are a can of black beans that have been rinsed and drained, a small can of diced green chilies, and/or some canned or frozen corn to mix in with the taco meat.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 472kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 146mg | Sodium: 636mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 8g
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