Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

​Want to shake things up at your Thanksgiving table this year?  No, I don't mean by putting glass in your mother-in-laws soup - and yes, I really did that one year.  (That's a long story for another blog but believe me when I tell you that it was completely accidental.)  What I meant by "Shake things up" was to add something new to your traditional Thanksgiving menu like these stuffed sweet potatoes. Your dinner guests will be impressed and they are really easy to make.  You could even make them ahead of time and put them in the freezer to save for Thanksgiving.  

I adapted this recipe from one that I found on Pinch Of Yum.  I love roasted sweet potatoes and I figured that adding corn and black beans could only make them even better.  I altered this recipe to make it Vegan and I've also made a non-vegan version as well.  Both ways are delicious.  

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
3 medium sweet potatoes
1 can corn, rinsed and patted dry
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon oil
½ yellow onion, chopped
1 ounce light cream cheese (Or vegan cream cheese alternative)
1 teaspoon salt (+ more to taste)
½ cup cilantro, roughly chopped
6 tablespoons shredded cheese (Pepperjack, Cheddar, Colby Jack… anything will work)

​Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the sweet potatoes for 45-60 minutes.

​While sweet potatoes are baking, place corn in a heavy cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat with no butter or oil. Sprinkle with salt and other Mexican seasoning (I used paprika). Do not stir! Let corn roast for several minutes before stirring.​  Let it roast for a few more minutes before stirring again. Continue this for about 10 minutes, until corn is browned and roasted on the outside.

​Set aside in a small bowl with the black beans.  Saute the onion in the oil over medium heat until soft and translucent.

​Add to corn and black beans.

​Remove sweet potatoes from the oven when fork-tender. Let cool for 5-10 minutes. Cut the sweet potatoes in half.

​Scrape the flesh of the sweet potatoes out, leaving the skins intact. Sometimes leaving a thin layer of potato inside of the skins helps them hold together better.

​Mix the flesh of the sweet potatoes with the cream cheese and salt. You can use a mixer or just a spoon, depending on how soft the potatoes are. 

​When well-mixed, gently stir in the black beans, roasted corn, sauteed onions, and cilantro.

​Scoop the filling into the skins.

​ Top each with 1 tablespoon shredded cheese.

​Broil for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

​These sweet potatoes were really good.  I heated a couple of them up for lunch the next day and much to my surprise - they were just as delicious as they were the first day.  (Gotta love leftovers.)  These stuffed sweet potatoes just may end up on my Thanksgiving table this year. 

Ciao!

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