Pimp my (sweet) potato, please

January 10, 2017 7:52 AM

We are new to the joys of baked sweet potatoes for dinner. I'd like to bake them and stuff them, but am at a loss for what to stuff them with. So far, all I've got is leftover pulled pork. What else should I stuff my sweet potatoes with?
posted by sarajane to Food & Drink (36 answers total)

Best answer: Chopped nuts with spices and butter. I'd go cinnamon/allspice/clove, but other mixes could also work.

(my favorite way to use them for dinner is to roast them until they are very tender, and the skins easily slough off in one piece. Then I mash them on my plate with aforementioned fixin's)
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:54 AM on January 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: For lunch I'm having a leftover sweet potato stuffed with: Greens sautéed with some white beans and bitchin' sauce and some toasted pumpkin seeds on top.
posted by latkes at 7:57 AM on January 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

I like pairing sweet potatoes with spicy, savory things. You might google stuffed acorn squash recipes since the flavor profiles are similar.
posted by bunderful at 7:58 AM on January 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

Black beans and sweet potatoes are a combination I love.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 7:58 AM on January 10, 2017 [5 favorites]

Best answer: I like the umamiest options: sauteed/roasted mushrooms, sesame chicken and similar soy-sesame-oniony-gingery Asian-style meat/veg, roasted tomatoes, brown butter, caramelized onions, baked tofu with peanut sauce.

Not all at once. I mean, that would be amazing but probably overwhelming.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:58 AM on January 10, 2017 [5 favorites]

Black beans and sauteed hearty greens. Salsa. Sauteed corn. Take your pick, or all.
posted by Liesl at 7:59 AM on January 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

I routinely make this Nigel Slater dish with sweet potatoes instead of carrot. So good, so filling.

Here's a more detailed recipe (Nigel would use butter instead of coconut oil and not add dill, I can tell you that).
posted by Kitteh at 8:01 AM on January 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

A yummy curry of your choice
posted by goggie at 8:04 AM on January 10, 2017

Best answer: Equal parts miso and butter, a flurry of chopped scallions.
posted by athirstforsalt at 8:16 AM on January 10, 2017

Best answer: I'm having baked sweet potatoes for dinner this week! I'm topping mine with roasted broccoli, black beans, and creme fraiche. So good!
posted by schroedingersgirl at 8:19 AM on January 10, 2017

Best answer: Bacon and maple syrup. I am deadly serious about that.

Also, technically not stuffing them, but doing them hasselback with maple syrup.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:19 AM on January 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

This sweet potato with beans and greens recipe is one of my favorites. Super quick (if you make the potatoes ahead of time or in the microwave), very healthy, really delicious.
posted by Fig at 8:23 AM on January 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Sauteed mushrooms with red wine and thyme.
posted by nebulawindphone at 8:25 AM on January 10, 2017

Best answer: Also, goat cheese.
posted by nebulawindphone at 8:26 AM on January 10, 2017 [4 favorites]

Best answer: I make a variation of the beans and greens recipe Fig linked to from the Kitchn. I also stuff my sweet potatoes with greek yogurt and toasted pine nuts.
posted by crush-onastick at 8:37 AM on January 10, 2017

Seconding black beans/salsa, twice-baked. Partly mash up the beans, bake/cool the sweet potatoes, scoop out most of the meat, chunk it up with the beans (not too mashed), add drained salsa (not too mushy), spoon back into the yam-boats, top with shredded cheese and broil.

A not-stuffed option: line your cookie sheet with parchment, sprinkle with cheese/salt/pepper, cut raw sweet potatoes in half, place them face-down on top of the cheese, and bake. When they are done, flip them over and all that chewy-crispy cheesy goodness is on the top. Parmesan & Romano are great for this; they complement the sweetness of the potato.
posted by headnsouth at 8:41 AM on January 10, 2017

Black beans in BBQ sauce is also great. They're also very tasty with anything slathered in white miso/ginger/sesame sauce.
posted by snaw at 8:47 AM on January 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

I haven't tried it yet, but keep various versions of this recipe on my list: Samosa Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
posted by Constant Reader at 8:47 AM on January 10, 2017 [3 favorites]

Chorizo
posted by vignettist at 9:50 AM on January 10, 2017 [3 favorites]

I sub them in for plantains in assorted recipes. Anything you make is then slathered in guacacasa.
posted by gaspode at 9:54 AM on January 10, 2017

Roasted kale (oil and salt is good; feel free to add other spices and/or hit it with a bit of lemon juice as it comes out of the oven/pan), cranberries, and either feta, ricotta, or goat cheese.
posted by rebekah at 9:54 AM on January 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Toss cubed sweet potatoes with oil, salt, pepper, and some garlic and onions. Roast until delicious. Put that on top of some arugula with a vinaigrette. Add candied walnuts and some cheese, and you've got an amazing salad. Alternatively, put all that on top of your baked sweet potato. Yum Yum Yum!
posted by hydra77 at 10:12 AM on January 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

Seconding brown butter and nuts.

Sweet potato is in the neighborhood, both flavorwise and texture-wise (though this will be starchier, and maybe stringier), of roasted gourds like butternut or acorn squash, carrot as mentioned above. You're likely to find any recipes that work for one will work, with minimal modification, with the others.

I bet you could do something like a sage and roasted sweet potato risotto. Assuming you're cooking for, say, 3 people, I'd reserve at least half a sweet potato (roasted to tenderness) to add at the end, so you can have a mix of potato textures mixed in.
posted by Sunburnt at 10:13 AM on January 10, 2017

Best answer: I eat a lot of sweet potatoes and this recipe for braised coconut spinach and chick peas is my all-time favorite thing to eat them with. I slice the baked sweet potato and top this with it, but you could also definitely stuff them.
posted by quiet coyote at 11:07 AM on January 10, 2017 [3 favorites]

I prepare them the way hydra77 does, but put them on tacos with corn tortillas, black beans, avocado, and salsa. (Having that for lunch today, actually!)
posted by lovableiago at 11:11 AM on January 10, 2017

I really like this Averie Cooks (warning: autoplay video, ugh!) recipe for cheese, black beans and corn stuffed sweet potatos with avocado crema. She uses Trader Joe's Cowboy Caviar Salsa (it has black beans/corn) so it's quick, I've also made this with different kinds of salsa and separate beans and loved it. Really easy, and great with tortilla chips!

The rest of her site has lots of sweet potato recipes if you need more ideas, everything I've tried of hers has been really good and very easy... just be warned that she's clearly in the blogging business to make as much $$$ as possible so the popups and auto-play videos might get to you after awhile!
posted by the thorn bushes have roses at 11:19 AM on January 10, 2017

Best answer: I, too, roast until soft, slip off the skin, mash on the plate with butter, salt, paper. Then I sprinkle lavishly with diced sweet ham and gruyere. Pickled beets on the side for a tangy contrast.
posted by MovableBookLady at 11:48 AM on January 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Cottage cheese and bacon crumbles. You can pre warm the cottage cheese if you want. Or cottage cheese and pistachios. I often just add butter and toasted walnuts. It almost doesn't matter what you throw into your sweet potato because as long as the potato is delicious, and it will be, and whatever you're throwing into it or onto it is delicious, you will just have deliciousness squared or cubed.
posted by Bella Donna at 12:00 PM on January 10, 2017

Best answer: sauteed spinach + feta. Nuts would be great with that too. Make sure there's some nutmeg involved.
posted by fingersandtoes at 12:19 PM on January 10, 2017

Tossed with olive oil, salt, and preferred spices/ herbs, roast until quite done, turn several times
Same as above, but add Tabasco sauce or sriracha to taste before roasting.
I often cook a sweet potato in the microwave and make tacos (smaller corn tortilla) or burritos (larger wheat tortilla) with any or many of: rice, black beans, refries, salsa, scrambled egg, greens, leftover taco beef, leftover chili. add cheese if you like
I don't eat dairy, but sweet potato in a quesadilla would be tasty.
I often add sweet potatoes to home fries.
posted by theora55 at 12:26 PM on January 10, 2017

Best answer: Stuff it with chimichurri, with or without a fried egg on top (after you bake it). It's to die for.
posted by onecircleaday at 12:30 PM on January 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

Parbake and halve, scoop out enough flesh to fit half an avocado in there, then crack an egg into the avocado pit hole and finish baking. It's like turucken but Sweet Potavocadegg.
posted by le_salvo at 4:32 PM on January 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I recently had acorn squash with smoked almonds and blue cheese. Like bunderful said above, the taste profiles are similar, so the pairing should work on sweet potatoes.
posted by LOLAttorney2009 at 5:01 PM on January 10, 2017

I've never made this, but I've been eyeing the Date and Gorgonzola Stuffed Sweet Potatoes on Budget Bytes.
posted by Neely O'Hara at 6:53 PM on January 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Sharp cheddar cheese and chopped chipotles-in-adobo-sauce. Salsa verde and sour cream. Greek yogurt, harissa, and lemon. Onions and green peppers sauteed in bacon fat, with some bacon too, if you like. Any kind of chili.

Also, if you want to do more that stuff them, my favorite sweet potato recipe is a West African-style peanut stew: cubed sweet potato, okra, and chicken in a peanut-butter/tomato/onion sauce spiced with ginger, garlic, coriander, cayenne, etc.
posted by karayel at 6:55 PM on January 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

Cut sweet potato into bite-size pieces and toss with a little olive oil. Season and throw on a tray and roast in a medium oven for 25-30 minutes. When the sweet potato comes out of the oven, combine with puy lentils, roughly chopped sicilian olives, thinly sliced red onion and toasted cumin seeds. Dress with lemon juice and pomegranate molasses. ( You can mix/serve with the sweet potato hot from the oven or wait for it to cool down, it works either way.)
posted by the duck by the oboe at 7:51 PM on January 16, 2017