While we all enjoy the abundant food and drink during the holiday season, sometimes there’s a need for a bit of simple comfort food. This fulfills that need.
For this recipe you bake the sweet potatoes and top them with cheese and black beans. To give it a bit more protein, I added a fried egg (poached would also work) to the top. Want two eggs? No problem. Unfortunately the avocado I had wasn’t quite ripe enough otherwise I would have added a few slices. I’m an avocado snob, if it’s not ripe, it’s not worth eating.
While using canned beans makes this a very simple meal, I much prefer dried beans. They taste much better. Try my technique for Cooking Dried Beans. I cook 16-ounces of dried beans. Then I bag them in one cup portions and freeze them. They defrost pretty quickly and I can always have great tasting beans on hand. Note that 1 pound of dried beans (16 ounces) equals about 5 to 6 cups of cooked beans (or three 15.5 ounce cans of beans).
This recipe is more of a suggestion. You can change the beans, add some leftover veggies or try a different cheese. Want to make it vegan? Use vegan cheese. This dish is also gluten-free/wheat-free as long as the cheese you use doesn’t have a caking agent that contains wheat (often found in bags of pre-shredded cheese). If you shred it yourself, you’re okay.
I think you get the idea. I served this as a main course, but without the egg, it makes a good side.
| Loaded Sweet Potatoes | Print |
- 2 medium sweet potatoes (8 to 10 ounces each), scrubbed and dried (not peeled)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup cooked black beans (if canned, rinsed and drained)
- ¾ cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
- 1-1/2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (divided)
- ½ avocado, sliced
- 2 eggs, fried or poached
- 2 teaspoons sriracha
- Heat the oven to 425°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Halve sweet potatoes lengthwise, then brush all over with olive oil and sprinkle both sides with Kosher salt.
- Place sweet potato cut side down on prepared sheet and roast for 30 to 40 minutes, or until completely cooked through. Remove sweet potatoes from the oven, turn them over and let cool slightly. Use a fork to rough up the flesh and slightly flatten the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Sprinkle half the cheese and ½ tablespoon cilantro over the potato halves (flesh side). Spoon the black beans over the cheese and top with remaining cheese and ½ tablespoon cilantro.
- Return the pan to the oven and bake for another 5 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the beans have warmed through.
- Cook eggs – fried or poached – while potatoes are in the oven for the last 5 minutes.
- Top with potatoes with avocado slices and then eggs. Sprinkle ½ tablespoon cilantro and a few squirts of sriracha.
Source: Variation on recipe from New York Times Cooking
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