Hey, hello, hi! How was your Christmas?
Was it delicious? Was it cold? Did you eat 300 sugar cookies?
What are the odds? Me, too!
Actually, have I ever told you the few days after Christmas are my least favorite of the year?
There is no joy in those days. The tree comes down. The presents are all opened. The sky turns grey (at least in my world). Your family leaves with their cookies.
I mean, isn’t it the worst?
OK, maybe I’ve matured a little since 13. Not much, but a little.
Now I know there is so much to look forward to after Christmas. For one, there’s New Year’s Eve and that inspiring task of coming up with new resolutions for the year to come (ours are coming soon!).
You get to evaluate what you did in the year past, look ahead, and paint a picture of what you’d like to achieve. Now that’s just plain thrilling in my world.
You know what else is thrilling? Sweet potatoes. Specifically, sweet potatoes stuffed with quinoa and all the Mexican-inspired toppings. Get on board.
This recipe is simple, requiring just basic 10 ingredients (give or take a topping). And it’s healthy, entirely plant-based, and gluten-free.
Not to mention, it’s the perfect way to refuel the healthy way after a week of less-than-nutritious eating.
I think you guys are going to LOVE these potatoes. They’re:
Tender
Naturally sweet
Subtly spiced
Layered with toppings
Drizzled in avocado-cilantro sauce
Flavorful
Healthy
& Filling
While some people’s instincts may be to go the salad route after the holidays (no shame in that), I say a girl (or boy) still has to eat, so let’s fill up the healthy way, shall we? This would be an especially great meal to serve to lingering house guests, especially alongside some piping-hot soup. Serious yum.
If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment below, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and don’t forget to tag a picture #minimalistbaker on Instagram! We’d love to see your spuds in action. Cheers, friends!
Quinoa-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
POTATOES + TOPPINGS
- 4 medium sweet potatoes (well rinsed // organic when possible)
- 3/4 cup dry white quinoa (very well rinsed and drained*)
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1/4 tsp each sea salt and cumin (plus more to taste)
- 1/2 medium lime, juiced (1/2 lime yields ~1 Tbsp or 15 ml)
- 1/4 cup red onion, sliced
- 1/4 cup salsa of choice
- Tortilla chips, crushed (optional)
- Toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds // optional)
AVOCADO-CILANTRO SAUCE
- 1 small ripe avocado
- 1 cup cilantro, chopped
- 3-4 small limes, juiced (3-4 small limes yield ~7 Tbsp or 105 ml)
- 2 Tbsp olive or avocado oil (optional // adds creaminess // or sub more water)
- 1/4 tsp each sea salt and cumin (plus more to taste)
- 1 Tbsp sweetener of choice (such as maple syrup or agave nectar)
- 2-3 Tbsp water (to thin)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (204 C). Poke a few holes in the sweet potatoes with a sharp knife to allow steam to escape.
- Once oven is hot, bake sweet potatoes directly on oven rack (with a baking sheet below to catch any drippings) for 45 minutes – 1 hour, or until tender to the touch. Time will vary depending on size of potato.
- In the meantime, heat a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add rinsed quinoa and toast for 3-5 minutes, or until all water is evaporated and quinoa is fragrant and slightly toasted.
- Add water, a pinch of sea salt, lime juice and bring to a simmer. Then reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for 15-20 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy. (For more tips, see this helpful article from Food52.)
- Remove quinoa from heat and season with another healthy pinch sea salt and 1/4 tsp ground cumin (amount as original recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size). Stir, adjust seasonings as desired, and set aside, slightly covered.
- To prepare dressing, add all ingredients besides water to a blender or food processor and blend. Add only enough water to encourage blending. Scrape down sides as needed.
- Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more lime, salt, cumin or sweetener as desired. Set aside.
- Prepare any remaining toppings, such as chopped onion, cilantro or crushed tortilla chips (optional).
- To serve split open baked potatoes and gently press in on both ends to allow room for toppings. Fill each potato with 1 Tbsp salsa, and 1/4 – 1/2 cup cooked quinoa.
- Top with a healthy drizzle of avocado-cilantro sauce, and any other desired toppings (hot sauce, extra cilantro, and tortilla chips being my favorite). Best when fresh, though leftovers store separately in the refrigerator up to 2 days.
Notes
*Avocado cilantro sauce slightly adapted from my Mexican Salad Cups with Cilantro Dressing.
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with dressing and without tortilla chips or pepitas.
LisaH says
This was SO good! I’m trying to figure out what else I can put that avocado sauce on other than me drinking it straight out of the blender. We also added freeze dried corn to top it off. Seriously, this was super easy and very delicious.
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Lisa! It would be delicious on salads or bowls. Drinking straight out of the blender is totally acceptable too ;)
Brenda says
Absolutely delicious definitely saving this recipe!!
Thank you!!
We’re so glad you both enjoyed them. Thanks so much for sharing, Brenda! xo
Winston A Edgeworth says
Thank you for sharing the recipe, it is delicious and very healthy.
Thanks for the kind review, Winston! xo
Kedi says
So so yummy!!! I didn’t have salsa, so I used hot sauce. I still wanted some kind of chunky element, so instead of making an avocado sauce, I made guacamole. I love how simple and wholesome this recipe is.
Love the modifications! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Sarah says
This is my favourite recipe! I make it almost weekly and we always look forward to it. Sometimes I add black beans along with the quinoa. The avocado sauce is what really makes it for me. Consider doubling the sauce recipe to have a yummy sauce for any other dish you’re eating that week. Occasionally, I add unsweetened coconut yogurt with the sauce for extra creaminess. Thanks so much for this AMAZING meal!
We’re so glad you enjoy it, Sarah! Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications! xo
Amanda says
This recipe is delicious! Made it for my family last night, including my carnivore dad who loved it. The only thing I changed– and I would recommend trying this– is that I added a big spoonful of greek yogurt and some extra avocado to the sauce because the first time I tried it it was too acidic. Next time I would add more cilantro to account for the extra creamy ingredients, or just use less lime juice to begin with. I think the tanginess of the greek yogurt improved the sauce, though. Thank you for inspiring me to experiment with these delicious and surprising flavors!
Aw, we’re so glad to hear it, Amanda! Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
Laurie says
Over the years I have made many vegetarian and then vegan meals for my husband. And I’d say 98% of the time, he says they are great. But I made this dish for him and he raved about it and said it was his very favorite out of all those I have made. Consequently, I am making it for the fourth time in 2 weeks. This time I am cutting enough red onions and limes and baking enough sweet potatoes so he can eat this dish as much as he wants over the next 2 weeks. Four stars for fabulous!
Thanks so much for the sweet note and lovely review, Laurie. We are so glad your husband enjoys it! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! xo
Heather Usry says
Didn’t realize I was out of quinoa until I started making this dish, so we subbed couscous and it turned out delicious! I also used vegetable broth instead of water for cooking the couscous! My husband LOVED this recipe & we were both surprised at how different it was, but how much we enjoyed it! :)
SO glad you both enjoyed it, Heather! Thanks for sharing! xo
Lynn McIntyre says
My daughter and I made this over the holidays. Our table was never so quiet, because everyone was eating like they hadn’t eaten all day. Fully enjoyed this Quinoa Stuffed Sweet Potato recipe Dana. The flavour of the avocado cilantro sauce and lime juice was a perfect topping. (We made a double batch of the sauce before serving, after my daughter did a taste test.) Thank you for this delicious combo.
Hah! We’re so glad it was a silent (and satisfied) table, Lynn :D
keel says
This was very delicious. I swapped out the regular sweet potatoes for purple sweet potatoes. Omg it looked sooo amazing and colorful with the avocado-cilantro sauce! I also opted out of using onions (I’m not a huge fan especially when raw) and used pineapple salsa which was delicious.
Rosalie says
I subbed in about 1/3 of the quinoa with a 15oz can of black beans. I also topped half of my sweet potato with your Chipotle Red Salsa along with the avocado! The sweetness of the potato balanced out the heat of the salsa perfectly! Thanks so much for this amazing recipe.
Rosalie says
How long can the dressing last in the refrigerator for? Will it brown significantly? Tying to make this recipe in a large batch for meal prepping! Thanks.
Hi Rosalie! Best when fresh, though leftovers store separately in the refrigerator up to 2 days.
camaron says
hi! i have a question,would it also be good if i substituted half the quinoa for black lentils, thanks!
Hi! We haven’t tried it, but if you do let us know how it turns out!
camaron says
i made it with the black lentils and it was very good!
Monica Kent says
I have made many of your recipes and I have never been disappointed. This one was one of my favorites! It is so filling, and my husband has been loving all the flavors in each dish. Thank you for making all your recipes available.
Tash says
Just made these for dinner and they were fantastic! I was having one of those days where I just wanted to give up and eat a cheese sandwich but you got me right back on track so thank you for that! Ive got leftover sauce so going to have them again tomorrow night for dinner! Cant wait
Tash says
How long with the avocado sauce last before going brown? Thank you :)
Hi Tash! It shouldn’t brown too quickly as the lime juice will prevent that from happening!
Abby@OvenCleanTeam says
I was looking for a recipe on some different way to prepare sweet potatoes. I was so stuck with always baking them, I’m definitely going to try your recipe soon. They look amazing stuffed with quinoa! I’m hungry now ha ha. Thanks!
Ingrid Galvis says
Your recipe for “Mediterranean Bakes Sweet Potatos” is down :(
Hmm, I just checked and it was up. Perhaps it’s on your end?
Ingrid Galvis says
I just tried it again and it worked. Thank you Dana!
Heather says
Amazing recipe! I know I’m late to the party, but I love browsing your archives. Where do you get the sauce squeeze bottles? So much nicer than glomming it on with a spoon. Thanks!
abby says
Quinoa is the best! I love finding new recipes for cooking quinoa. Another great one is on bread in brooklyn
Emily says
These were SO good! I zested a few of the limes and it kicked up the flavor even more. Even my meat loving husband went back for seconds. Yum!
Jenn says
WOW!! I made these for dinner tonight, along with the black bean soup you mentioned. I used both regular sweet potatoes and purple Japanese ones. Insanely flavorful and delicious! I also made some pico de gallo with shallots for the topping. The avocado-cilantro sauce is incredible and I will be making that every time we have Mexican food from now on. Thank you for sharing these wonderful recipes!!
Jenny Gordon says
Awesome!!! I loved your recipe!!! Thanks so much for posting!
Amy says
Just made these – it’s so yummy!!! The avocado lime dressing is mind-blowing, I could eat it with a spoon.
Liz says
This recipe was super easy, delicious, and makes great leftovers! We may be adding the sauce to pretty much everything from now on.
noelle says
I just made this and all my BF and I can say is YUM. Thank you very much, it was fantastic.
Maggie says
I LOVE THIS RECIPE. It has become a weekly staple for me. I actually crave these guys.
I don’t like cilantro, so I subbed parsley here. It worked beautifully.
Moosegirl says
Really incredibly good! (I added black beans, cooked with garlic and cilantro) I don’t know how well they did to make up for holiday eating because I couldn’t stop at just one!
Jule says
Delicious, filling, and easy to make!
Erin says
Made this tonight with my husband and it was AMAZING (although my presentation was disappointing compared to yours haha). So much flavor, and so filling that we didn’t even need a side with it. I threw my sweet potatoes in the microwave for 5 minutes or so before I put them in the oven and still baked them for the time recommended and they were perfect. – THANK YOU!
Ashley W says
These are SO DELICIOUS! I did not think I even liked sweet potatoes except in the french fry form but this recipe has really changed my mind. I’ve made the lazy girl version mostly: I just mash up avocados ala guacamole, add in some salt and pepper. I have from quinoa that has kale mixed in that I pop in the microwave then add to the potato with salsa. SO EASY and delicious. Thank you, Dana for the inspiration!
Anne ARCwrites says
I’m so hungry looking at this! This looks amazing! Going to try this recipe at my next get together :)
Jillena says
This one rocked. My toddler loved it!
Kelly says
Definately going to try this. Sounds awesome!!! Thanks Dana.
festus says
Love this, tried this and the response was awesome….also prepared it for someone special
Sandra C says
I made this today for brunch and it was DELICIOUS. I’m excited to try the other recipes on this site.
amity says
i just wanted to say i am SO very grateful for your website, recipes and all that you do. we are a vegan family of six and your site has given us SO many recipes and delicious things to eat. my sister and her boyfriend are also vegan and i am buying her (and my family) your cookbook. i can’t wait to get it once it’s out!! so thank you so much for cooking and creating these recipes. we love them! my mom also cooks from your website and your recipes. :) and even my oldest son, a 15 year old teen, has been won over to the vegan lifestyle. your cheesecake is his favorite!! :) happy new year to you both!!
So kind! Thanks for the encouraging and sweet words, Amity! SO glad you and your family + friends are enjoying the recipes. Thanks for sharing the love + for your support! xoxo
Angelica says
We made this for friends who want to eat vegan in 2016. We all cleaned our plates! We all agreed that it could use a nice scoop of savory black beans to mellow out the sweetness of the potato, the acidity of the dressing. But overall, it beats a tired meat-centric dinner any day! Go plants!
Thanks for sharing! I hesitated to add beans because, well, it’s been done before. But of course, it would make a lovely and nutritional addition!
Robert says
Omg.. That looks amazing. Really wish I could find Quinoa here in Korea more easily.. :(
Jen says
I was just drooling over this recipe, thinking about making it tomorrow, while sipping a hot hot cup of rich drinking chocolate spiced with cayenne….mmmmm dinner then dessert…..
Ashley R. says
OMG. So good! We had mangoes around, so we added some to these babies too. Thank you!
Lovely addition! So glad you liked it, Ashley!
Lauren says
Ah, I too hate the Christmas hangover. It’s all such a sudden letdown! These potatoes, however, look awesome. I just recently experienced what it is to have a sweet potato baked to perfection, so I’ve been hunting for ways to stuff it! Quinoa and avocado sound like just the ticket. :-)
Angelica says
Yep my skin broke out in a rash from all the “seasonal” eating I did. Onto Mexico- looking forward to medicating with lots of fresh salsa, avocados, and handmade tortillas
Sarah | Well and Full says
Avo + cilantro sauce ON POINT ;)
Thanks lady!
Cate says
Any suggestions for a similar sauce but without the avocado? My partner is sadly allergic.
Mary says
Hmmm. I think I’ll bake some sweet potatoes, and use my left over stuffing from the Mexican stuffed peppers for this recipe. Add some tortilla chips, and that’s dinner ready!
Kari says
Great way to incorporate sweet potatoes!
Kari
Amy | Lemon and Coconut says
What a delicious wholesome meal, bring it on! :)
Kate says
Saw it in my inbox, tried it (give or take a topping or two – I added some left over roast pumpkin), and loved it. I had to go dairy -free for my health, but you, Dana, are rapidly turning me into a vegan.
Can’t wait for the next recipe :-)
Ha! Not my intention, but it if it happens it happens! Thanks for sharing, Kate!
Cassie says
I love sweet potatoes and quinoa! This is great!
Emilie @ Emilie Eats says
That sauces looks SO dreamy creamy! A lot of my meals are just, “hey, I’m going to make this and stuff it into a sweet potato.” Easy peasy!
Mel @ The Refreshanista says
MMMMMMmmmm. This is my kind of thing! Two of my favourite foods are sweet potato and avocado. These look delish :)
Katrina says
I think I’m going to love these potatoes too! And I definitely ate a million sugar cookies so this sounds perfect. Yum!
Tom ~ Raise Your Garden says
Guilty of sugar cookie eating here. Gingerbread man cookies. And the spritz ones. Gained a bit of ole weight! Oops. But have tons of sweet potatoes and know exactly what to do with them now. Yummy yum yum in my tummy tum tum.
Karen Woodleigh says
Hay, great photos.