My obsession with sweet potatoes is getting real. I’ve made soups, muffins, gratins, chips, desserts. You name it, I’ve tried it. But I think after all that experimenting I’ve come back around to loving them in one of their purest forms: Soft, sweet and baked.
I was inspired to make these little bites after wanting to make a “nacho-like” dish starring twice-baked sweet potatoes. The idea to add black beans was natural. The two pair together like PB&J. Then I just had to do some elegant dressing: Green onions, salsa, manchego cheese, and avocado crema.
These little bites are so simple to throw together.
Just bake until soft, split open, scoop out the insides, and then load them up with black beans or a protein of your choice and sprinkle with cheese. Pop them back in the oven to warm through and bam – you have an easy appetizer or vegetarian entree to share with friends…or hog all for yourself. Your call.
To make these vegan, simply use non-dairy substitutions for sour cream and cheese (such as Daiya products), sub just guacamole, or omit altogether.
These loaded “boats” are sweet, savory and so satisfying. I had just a couple for lunch along with some chips and salsa and was full for hours.
They’d make a great take-along dish to barbecues, especially for vegan/gluten-free/vegetarian friends. I just love that they’re healthy, loaded with flavor and super simple. But the fact that they’re portable doesn’t hurt either. Happy munching!
Loaded Black Bean Sweet Potato Boats
Ingredients
- 5 small sweet potatoes
- 1 15-ounce can black beans (drained and rinsed)
- ~1/4 cup grated Manchego or other Mexican cheese (such as Cotija or Pepperjack)
- Avocado crema (as original recipe is written, 1/4 cup light sour cream, 1/2 ripe avocado, & lime juice)
- Fresh salsa, cilantro, and green onion (for topping and dipping)
Instructions
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Bake sweet potatoes in a 400-degree F (204 C) oven directly on the baking rack for 40-45 minutes or until tender to the touch.
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In the meantime, make avocado crema by mixing 1/2 a ripe avocado, 1/4 cup light sour cream and a bit of lime juice until creamy and smooth (amounts as original recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size). Refrigerate until potato boats are ready to serve.
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Remove from oven to cool to the touch, but leave oven on.
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Carefully cut sweet potatoes in half and scoop out insides to make “boats.” Leave ~ 1/4 – 1/2 inch of flesh so they don’t become too fragile and difficult to handle.
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Reserve leftover sweet potato for sweet potato almond butter muffins, or another recipe of your choice.
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Place sweet potato boats face up on a baking sheet and fill with black beans and top evenly with grated cheese.
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Pop back in oven to warm through and remove when cheese is melted and bubbly.
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Remove from oven and arrange on a serving platter. Top with salsa, avocado crema, chopped green onion and fresh cilantro. Additional toppings might include guacamole, hot sauce and lettuce.
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Will reheat well the next day or two in the microwave or oven.
Notes
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with toppings.
Nutrition Per Serving (1 of 4 boats)
- Calories: 157
- Fat: 5g
- Sodium: 44mg
- Carbohydrates: 23g
- Fiber: 4.6g
- Protein: 4.8g
Swooooon!!!! I made this and was weak in the knees! I gave it to my kids for lunch and they said, “Mom! This do so good! You can make this everyday if you want.”
We are all in love. ;)
This recipe is probably perfect as is, but kids are kids, so I added a bit more flavor by seasoning the beans and I added a crunch factor (much like the potato chip in your club sandwich…but healthier! Lol!) I warmed my beans on the stove with a 1/2 tsp each of garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin. To the beans I added finely chopped cilantro and diced raw red a green bell pepper. Then I scooped the mixture into the baked sweet potato boats. With the beans being warm, the cheese melted in just two minutes after I replaced them to the oven.
It was amazing!!!!! And the avocado Crema was fantastic! I don’t buy yogurt, so I used flax milk to thin the avocado.
We will definitely adopt this recipe as a beloved member of the family. Ha!
Thanks Dana. A fast, easy, healthy, nutrient-packed meal that my kids love. Nothing makes me happier!
Fabulous! And so easy!!
I could eat potatoes everyday, so so so delicious, especially with toppings like these! I really like your space here, happy to have found it :)
Holy wow! These things are amazing! Dana, I have been following your blog for about 4 months now and about 2 months ago I have had to become dairy free while nursing my son. Your blog has actually made it so easy! Thank you, thank you, thank you! But back to these sweet potato gems, they really are delicious. I also may have put about 2-3 tablespoons of the avocado crema on each potato…
Oh and I left off the cheese, subbed with vegan parm.
So heavenly… This pairing is meant to be. The flavors are wonderful.
These are delicious, and my boyfriend’s family from the Czech Republic loved them, too. These are actually yams, not sweet potatoes, but I tried both and the sweet potatoes are almost as good, thanks!
So great to hear!
Today was the first time I stumbled upon your blog, am very glad I did :) There are a bunch of recipes I want to try this weekend! This one sounds so delicious.
I have a question about the sweet potatoes – how do u bake them? Wraped in foil?
Made these tonight for my mom and I! They were delicious, only they didn’t look nearly as beautiful!
Thanks for the inspiration!
longtime reader and baker-along, first time poster. i made 20 taters-worth of these for a brunch at church, and they were a wild hit. the only change i made was to cook the beans in a crockpot along with a mexican spice roux (cumin, chili, garlic, oregano.) this extra step probably disqualifies me from minimalism, but i didn’t mind doing it.
then this morning the re-baked leftovers made a fabulous birthday breakfast with these lovely shirred eggs: http://girlsguidetobutter.com/2013/02/perfect-shirred-eggs/
thanks for all your fabulous work!
Mmmm these sound lovely! That crema really makes these look amazing!
Yum! The colors in these are gorgeous! And they sound delicious :)
I’m obsessed with sweet potatoes too! And these nacho-like boats are awesome! I sure wish I was having them for dinner!
Great idea for lunch. I will be trying these.
Yum! That avocado cream definitely seals the deal.
Love the idea to bring these to a barbecue over the summer, Dana. The pictures alone make me want a plate of these right away, but they’re full of such healthy goodness too! (No sweet potatoes here…but I’ll be home in Kansas City by the end of the weekend and will be plotting ways to sneak sweet potatoes back in my suitcase before I return. ;) )
Oooohhh! Totally making this for T and I!
How gorgeous are those boats???
Hooray for sweet potatoes! we’ve been making a similar twice-baked potato with refried black beans and broccoli–so good. :)
You have such a knack for making dishes that are so simple yet SUPER DUPER delish! Can’t wait to make these as an appetizer.
oh yum i made sweet potatoes stuffed with samosa ingredients, black beans and the crema sounds like a perfect pair.
ARE THESE SWEET POTATOES OR YAMS? THE PICTURES ARE BEAUTIFUL AND LOOKED YUMMY. I CAN’T WAIT TO MAKE THIS RECIPE.
I wanna eat a whole dang plate of those. YUMMM.
Looks delicious! The trick for me is finding the right sized sweet potatoes; the ones in my grocery store are always MASSIVE! In retrospect, I guess there’s worse problems to have :P
These look perfect! I make something similar, but just sorta mash it all together. This looks much more appealing! Haha
These look amazing and combine two or my favorite foods – black beans and sweet potatoes! Very creative.
I LOVE sweet potato boats! I actually just made some two days ago, so good! These sound incredible! Black beans and sweet potatoes or ment for each other!
These photos are absolutely gorgeous and this food looks stunning! I could really do with a plate full of these right now!
So creative and so gorgeous, Dana! The camera loves this recipe! And of course, you have mad skills!