Loaded Sweet Potatoes {Mexican Street Corn Inspired}

 This Mexican Street Corn-inspired Loaded Sweet Potato is an easy oven-baked sweet potato with a delicious mix of corn, green onions, cilantro, jalapeño, lime, Mexican cheese, and a creamy sauce.

Loaded Sweet Potatoes come together in about 30 minutes, and the best part is that they’re easy to make, healthy, and packed with tons of flavor. This recipe is vegetarian, but you can always add a side of grilled chicken (using this chicken marinade) or grilled steak (using this steak marinade).

It’s no secret I’m obsessed with the flavors of Mexican street corn–and I’m not alone! This Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad is one of the most popular recipes on my website. The combination of sweet corn with salty cheese, a spicy chili powder dressing, and a burst of fresh herbs and lime makes an addictive mixture! Take that and load it on a perfectly caramelized baked sweet potato? Well, it doesn’t get too much better than that.

So with that, let’s jump into these Loaded Sweet Potatoes inspired by Mexican street corn. (I’m claiming no authenticity on this recipe!)

How to make Loaded Sweet Potatoes

• Bake the potatoes: Wrapping potatoes in foil and cooking in the oven can take 1+ hours. To cut down the time it takes, cut the potatoes in half and bake them face down on a pan (no foil). The exposed flesh of the sweet potato becomes caramelized as it bakes on the tray. 
• Assemble the topping: While the potatoes are baking, we’ll assemble the “street corn” topping mix and chili powder sauce. 
• Make the sauce: This delicious sauce is simple to make and can be prepped right after the topping is assembled. It’s also very easy to make this sauce as hot or mild as you’d like.
• Eat: Break up the baked sweet potatoes a bit with a fork, spoon on some topping, and finish with spoonfuls of the sauce. Add a squeeze of fresh lime and devour.

Variation Ideas

It’s very easy to add some variations to these Loaded Sweet Potatoes. Here are a few suggestions:

• Beans: Add some black beans into the topping mix (or serve on the side) for additional protein.
• Cheese: Although cotija cheese is the traditional cheese found on street corn, we love queso fresco in Loaded Sweet Potatoes. Use whichever you prefer– or both if you have them on hand!
• Corn: Fresh is always best, but canned/frozen works great too. If you have fresh corn, I’d recommend grilling it! For canned/frozen, try pan roasting it. (See note 2 in the recipe card.) In the winter I buy frozen corn on the cob (pictured above) and grill those on a gas grill or on a grill pan. If opting for canned corn, try a can of fire-roasted corn!
• Spice: To decrease the overall spiciness, reduce or omit the number of diced jalapeños and/or decrease the Sriracha sauce in the dressing. To increase the overall spice level, add some additional chopped or thinly sliced jalapeños to these potatoes and/or increase the amount of Sriracha.

Dietary Modifications

• Dairy free: To make this a dairy-free recipe, omit the cheese.
• Vegan Loaded Sweet Potatoes: To convert this to a vegan recipe, omit the cheese and use vegan mayo in place of the regular mayo.
• Add additional protein: Add in a can of (drained and rinsed) black beans or a side of grilled chicken/steak.

How to meal prep

• Bake enough sweet potatoes for the week: This, of course, is based on how many you’d like to eat that week. I wouldn’t recommend keeping the roasted potatoes longer than a week. Let the potatoes completely cool and package in separate containers.
• Prepare the topping and sauce: Depending on how many servings you’ll be prepping, you might want to double both the topping and the sauce. Store the topping mixture, cheese, avocado, and sauce in separate containers. (Squeeze lime or lemon juice on cut avocados and store in the fridge in a resealable plastic bag.)
• Assemble the loaded sweet potato: Warm the sweet potato again, add the topping, cheese, avocado, sauce, and enjoy!

Serve Loaded Sweet Potatoes alongside

• Garbanzo Bean Salad (with an Italian dressing)
• Strawberry Salad (with a citrus vinaigrette)
• Cowboy Caviar (delicious black bean salad)
• Quinoa Black Bean Salad (with a creamy cilantro dressing)
• If you’re looking for a meaty Loaded Sweet Potato, try adding a few spoonfuls of this crockpot chili!

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5 from 3 votes

Loaded Sweet Potatoes (Mexican Street Corn inspired)

By Chelsea Lords

This Mexican Street Corn-inspired Loaded Sweet Potato is an easy oven-baked sweet potato with a delicious mix of corn, green onions, cilantro, jalapeño, lime, Mexican cheese, and a creamy sauce.

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings (Note 1)

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 4 medium (10-11 ounces EACH) sweet potatoes, scrubbed clean and halved
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ Fine sea salt and freshly cracked pepper
• ▢ 2 cups corn (2 fresh cobs, or 1 can fire-roasted corn) (Note 2)
• ▢ 1 large avocado, chopped
• ▢ 3 green onions, finely chopped
• ▢ 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro (measure after chopping)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon finely diced jalapeno
• ▢ 1/3 cup queso fresco cheese
• ▢ Optional: 1-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Sauce

• ▢ 1/2 cup mayo full-fat
• ▢ 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice + 1/4 teaspoon lime zest (1-2 large limes)
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce

Instructions 

• SWEET POTATOES: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. While the oven is preheating, prep the potatoes. Scrub well, cut them in half lengthwise, and place on a large sheet pan. Drizzle olive oil over the potatoes and then rub the oil onto both sides of the potatoes. Sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon of salt evenly over the flesh side of the potatoes, and then place the potatoes flesh side down on a baking sheet. Bake for 30-37 minutes (depending on the size of potatoes/personal preference for tenderness) or until the skin looks shriveled and potatoes are tender. A 5-6 ounce potatoes will cook in about 25-27 minutes, 6-8 ounce potatoes about 30 minutes, and 9-11 ounce potatoes around 33-37 minutes.
• TOPPING: While the sweet potatoes bake, prepare the topping. In a large bowl, combine the corn cut from the cob (See Note 2), chopped avocado, chopped green onions, chopped cilantro, jalapeno, and queso fresco cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper and, if desired, 1-2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice. Stir to combine.
• SAUCE: In a small bowl, add together the mayo, lime juice, lime zest, chili powder, paprika, cumin, and Sriracha. Whisk until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• ASSEMBLE: Once the sweet potatoes are fork tender, remove from the oven and place on a platter or individual plates. Flip the potatoes flesh side up and smash down the insides a little bit with a fork. Then add the filling, plenty of sauce, and a squeeze of fresh lime as desired.

Recipe Notes

Note 1: The "street corn" filling mixture is enough to overfill 2 full sweet potatoes (4 halves) or lightly fill 4 full sweet potatoes (8 halves). The actual serving sizes of this recipe greatly depends/varies on the size of your sweet potatoes, how much topping you're adding to each potato, and of course, individual appetites (I find these extremely filling, so one heavily loaded half is enough for me!)

Note 2: Sauté drained and thawed corn kernels in a preheated large cast-iron skillet 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until kernels are lightly charred over high heat. Remove and let cool completely before adding. Alternatively, grill cobs of corn, let cool completely, and then slice off the cob (my favorite way to enjoy these).

To grill corn on the cob: Peel back husks and remove silk. Rub oil on all sides of the corn and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Place on heated grill (400 degrees F) and rotate every 3-4 minutes or until charred. Remove let cool and then slice off the cob.

Nutrition

Calories: 415kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 292mg | Potassium: 482mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 857IU | Vitamin C: 20mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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