Sweet potato bowl: easy to make, packed with bold flavors, and perfect for a satisfying, meatless meal.
Sweet Potato Quinoa Bowl
Almost a year ago to date, I posted these sweet potato burrito bowls and today I’m bringing you a variation on those: sweet potato taco bowls!
Out of all the dinner recipes on my blog, those sweet potato burrito bowls are the most frequently made meal in my home. I make them for dinner often and even more so, I’ll make a double batch on Sunday and that will be our lunches for the week. It’s a meal that everyone in my family loves AND -bonus- its pretty healthy.
Ingredients
- Sweet Potatoes: Make sure to chop the potatoes evenly to make sure they cook uniformly.
- Black Beans & Corn: Drain and rinse the beans well to remove extra sodium and improve flavor. Look for fire-roasted sweet corn for extra flavor!
- Avocado: To find a ripe avocado, gently press on the skin with your thumb. If it gives slightly without feeling mushy, it’s ripe and ready to eat.
- Cilantro-Lime Rice or Quinoa: This serves as a flavorful base that absorbs the dish’s juices and makes it more filling.
- Spices & Seasoning: First, mix the spices in a small bowl so they spread evenly when you season the dish.
- Sauce: It’s a tangy, creamy sauce with a bit of heat that ties all the flavors together. Adjust the spice mix in the sauce to match your preferred level of heat.
- Toppings: Use these toppings to customize the dish to your liking, adding as much or as little as you prefer.
How To Make Sweet Potato Bowls
- Preheat Oven: Set to 425°F.
- Mix Spices: Combine all spices in a small bowl.
- Prepare Sweet Potatoes: Peel, chop, toss with oil and spices. Roast for 30-35 minutes, tossing halfway.
- Add Beans & Corn: After roasting, add beans, corn, and more spices. Toss to warm.
- Cook Rice/Quinoa: Prepare rice or quinoa. Stir in lime juice, zest, cilantro, salt, and pepper.
- Make Sauce: Mix sour cream, lime zest, juice, hot sauce, and remaining spices.
- Assemble: Layer rice/quinoa, sweet potatoes, beans, and corn. Add sauce, avocado, and toppings.
- Serve: Squeeze lime over and enjoy!
Topping Ideas
- Black beans
- Fire-roasted canned corn (love the flavor of fire-roasted)
- Cherry tomatoes (or a diced Roma tomato) or pico de gallo
- Sliced avocado or fresh guacamole
- Fresh Lime
- Freshly chopped cilantro
- Jalapeno
- Diced Green Chiles
Storage
Leftover Sweet Potato Taco Bowls?
Store the sweet potato mixture and sauce separately in airtight containers in the fridge. They will last up to 4 days.
Reheat the sweet potatoes before assembling with fresh toppings and sauce.
More Bowl Recipes
Sweet Potato Taco Bowls
Sweet potato bowl: easy to make, packed with bold flavors, and perfect for a satisfying, meatless meal.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon EACH: garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- Seasoned salt and pepper
- 2-3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped (about 4.5-5 cups)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (15 ounces) fire-roasted sweet corn, drained
- 1-2 large avocados
- 3-4 fresh limes, separated
- Optional toppings: fresh cilantro, jalapeno, cherry tomatoes, sweet peppers
- 1/2 cup sour cream (I use fat free)
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce (like Cholula)
- 1-2 large limes (1/2 teaspoon zest + 3 tablespoons juice)
Cilantro-Lime Rice or Quinoa
- 1 cup quinoa or rice (+ 2 cups chicken stock (470g), chicken broth, or water)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 large lime (2 tablespoons juice and 1 teaspoon zest)
- 1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Combine the seasoning mixture: In a small bowl, stir together the chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, paprika, ground cumin and 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Stir.
- Peel the sweet potatoes and chop into bite-sized chunks. Toss the potatoes with 3 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons of the seasoning mixture. Toss together with your hands until well coated and then bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, toss around and return for another 15 minutes. Remove, toss around and if needed cook for another 5-10 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender. Remove the tray and add the drained & rinsed black beans, drained corn, and 1 more teaspoon of the seasoning mixture. Toss everything on the tray (The beans and corn will get warm on the hot tray).
- Meanwhile, make cilantro lime rice or quinoa: Bring 2 cups of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir in the butter and rice (or quinoa) and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the rice (or quinoa) is cooked through and tender. Stir in the lime juice, lime zest, cilantro, and salt + pepper to taste.
- Make the sauce: combine the sour cream, lime zest & 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice, Cholula hot sauce, and 1/2 to 1 full tablespoon* of the remaining spice mixture (or add the spice mixture to personal preference). Whisk until smooth.
- Assemble: in bowls or on plates, add the rice as a base. Top with sweet potatoes, corn, & black bean mixture. Add your other desired toppings such as avocado, tomatoes, and additional cilantro. Drizzle the sauce over or serve as a side. Squeeze on some fresh lime and enjoy immediately!
- For leftovers, store the sauce separately from the other ingredients.
Recipe Notes
*You'll likely have a bit extra of the seasoning mixture. I wanted to make sure you have more rather than less depending on how much you want to add to the sour cream. I love a lot of spice in the sour cream, but my family preferred less.Â
Nutrition
Calories: 433kcal
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this tonight and it was incredible. So fresh and full of flavour yummy!!! Only thing I did differently was added marinated soy curls as a chicken substitute, and it merged into this dish flawlessly. A definite keeper on a beautiful summer day.
I am so thrilled to hear this! Thanks so much for your review Linda! 🙂
Fixed for some dinner company. Had it ready,warming, before they arrived. Served with a salad and apple cake. Great recipe for this beautiful autumn day. It was delicious! Thank you !
Delish! I am so thrilled you enjoyed this! Thanks Connie! 🙂
This was delicious and filling. I didn’t actually make the dressing because my lazy bone made it’s appearance. I just added sour cream and lime juice directly to my own bowl.
I am so happy to hear this! Thanks Shannon! 🙂
A new family favorite!! Only alterations I made was to cut back on the chili powder and omitted the hot sauce (cooking for 3 kids and two adults). Very very generous portions! Will definitely be making this again and again!
I am so happy to hear this! Thanks so much Drina! 🙂
loved it!! Great easy recipe, yummy:)
Thanks so much Ashely! 🙂
Wow! This was SO good. I was worried that there wasn’t going to be enough flavor as I sampled the components, but they work so well together. The quinoa was such a great complement to the sweet potatoes and the seasonings and cream sauce were superb! This gets all the stars and then some!!
Thank you so much for this awesome recipe! Everyone loved it.
You’re so welcome! Glad it was enjoyed 🙂
Looks great. Thanks for sharing your recipe and giving me a new recipe to make 😊
Hope you love it! 🙂
My DH doesn’t like sour cream so what other dressing could I use instead?
I’d try the sauce on these instead 🙂
I made this for my family last night, and it was a HUGE hit! I can’t wait to add this to my weekly rotation for easy lunches!!
I am so happy to hear this! Thanks so much Kenzie! 🙂