Loaded Baked Sweet Potatoes
Ya’ll stuffing rice-y fillings into other veggies seems to be my thing. Right? It’s only natural that i’d move on next to a sweet potato.
Let me tell you guys a little bit about myself and it might explain why i’m so obsessed with stuffing rice-y fillings into other veggies.
It’s easy and kind of a no-brainer
It’s filling
It makes you feel fancy and like you’ve done more work than you actually have.
It works in just about any veggie that has some decent surface area (broccoli & cauliflower excluded. Although…… hmm….)
Its super duper tasty and it’s hard to find someone who doesn’t like it.
it’s the easiest way to get veggie haters to eat them!
I almost kept on going with reasons but i realized that you guys probably get the point. It’s just easy and delicious and honestly, sweet potatoes are loaded with healthy fats and nutrients so it was my next project to tackle. If you’re looking for some honesty, this recipe was created out of desperate measures (aka, i had some left over stuff in the fridge and very little time to whip together some food for my always hungry boys).
I want to point out that this recipe can be altered to add veggies or proteins that you like. I made two versions of this meal most recently. One where i added Italian sausage and one that i just left it out and kept it vegetarian. So if you’re looking for a meatless Monday option, this is it. Oh, and for you vegans out there, i see you. Just leave out the cheese! Anyways, on to this yummy recipe.
Give this recipe a try! Share your comments and some love. If you make this recipe and share it on social media, tag it with the hashtag #hungrilyhomemaderecipe
Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: 3-5 adult servings
Ingredients:
1. 3 large sweet potatoes
2. 1/4 cup olive oil
3. 1 cup pre-cooked and chilled Jasmine rice
4. 1 1/2 cup finely chopped broccoli
5. 3 tbsp salsa (pick your favorite kind!)
6. 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
7. 1/2 bell pepper, sliced
8. 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
9. 1/2 cup avocado crema
Method:
1. Pre-heat your oven to 415 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Lay your whole sweet potatoes on 3 individual sheets of aluminum foil. Using half of your olive oil, drizzle and coat the potatoes well. Season them with salt, wrap them up and put them in your pre-heated oven. Allow to roast for 45 minutes or until fork tender. Prepare your filling while your sweet potatoes are cooking.
3. For your filling, add the rest of your olive oil to a pan and allow to heat. Add your onions and red bell pepper and allow to sauté until the onion is translucent and the bell pepper softens. At this point, add your chopped broccoli and sauté for 1 minute allowing the color to begin to change into a lighter green. Once the color changes, add your cold rice to the pan and sauté together for another minute.
4. Once you’ve sautéd your onions, peppers, rice and broccoli, add your salsa to the hot pan and cook together allowing the rice to absorb the salsa. Remove from the heat after 2 minutes of cooking.
5. Once you’ve removed your sweet potatoes from the oven, and they are fork tender, allow them to cool slightly before slicing them directly in half and scooping out the center part of the potato, creating a well to add your filling. Save or eat your sweet potato that you’ve removed! It’s delicious! Set your oven to broil.
6. Spoon in your rice filling into the sweet potatoes and create a mound. Sprinkle your shredded mozzarella cheese over them and place into the oven that you’ve pre-set to broil. Allow the cheese to melt for 1-2 minutes. Keep a close eye on them as you do not want the cheese to burn under the broiler.
7. Remove your sweet potatoes from the oven and top with dollops of the Avocado Crema. Enjoy!
