Taco Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Thick Ground Beef Salsa Filling
By Ava Mitchell
Prep
5 min
Cook
15 min
Total
20 min
Servings
4
Level
Easy
Microwaving sweet potatoes makes them soft and ready to cut for other dishes․ Taco Stuffed Sweet Potatoes is one dish that uses soft sweet potatoes and a thick‚ savory beef and salsa filling‚ as well as optional toppings․
The skillet filling consists of ground beef‚ onions‚ and garlic browned on medium-high heat․ The grease is then removed from the pan‚ and taco seasoning mix and chunky salsa are added and cooked on medium-low heat for five minutes․ Sautéing ensures that each bite of ground beef is coated with taco seasoning and salsa․ Water‚ 1/4 to 1/2 cup‚ can be added to the skillet filling as needed to keep it moist․
While the skillet is heating up‚ use a fork to poke the potatoes on all sides and microwave them on high for 8-10 minutes‚ turning once․ Potatoes are cooked when you can easily slice them lengthwise and pull them apart using a fork․ Don't serve your potatoes as soon as they come out of the microwave․ They may not be fully cooked․ Cook potatoes for 1-3 more minutes in the microwave‚ if necessary․
Serve toppings with your filled potatoes․ Possible toppings include Mexican cheese blend‚ tomato‚ avocado‚ and guacamole‚ and sour cream․ Consider serving Mexican Black Beans‚ Corn and Avocado Salsa‚ and Roasted Guacamole with Bacon on the side․ Keep other toppings separate to serve hot filled potatoes at another time․
Why you'll love this recipe
- Browning the ground beef‚ onion‚ and garlic before adding salsa allows the flavors to combine with the other ingredients and avoid having salsa flavors that taste like a topping layered.
- Cooking the salsa mixture until spoonable using medium-low heat makes it more likely to stick to the cut potato halves when served‚ rather than to the serving plate․
- Microwaving sweet potatoes speeds up the cooking process․ Turning sweet potatoes over during cooking ensures they cook evenly throughout․
- Using a fork to separate the potatoes in the tacos leaves space for taco meat and a more balanced ratio of potatoes and other ingredients in each taco bite․
- Optional ingredients‚ including cheese‚ tomatoes‚ avocados‚ guacamole‚ and sour cream‚ can add flavor and texture variation to single servings prepared with the same techniques.
- The recipe has a 20-minute prep time because the potatoes cook in the microwave at the same time as other ingredients cook in a skillet․
- Food preparation time is reduced by preparing two main ingredients at once․
Ingredients
- •1 lb lean ground beef
- •1 medium onion (chopped)
- •2 cloves garlic (minced)
- •1 packet taco seasoning
- •1 cup chunky salsa
- •¼ cup water (1/4-1/2 cup, as needed)
- •4 medium sweet potatoes (about 12-14 ounces each)
- •shredded Mexican blend cheese (optional topping)
- •diced tomato (optional topping)
- •diced avocado or guacamole (optional topping)
- •sour cream (optional topping)
Instructions
- 1
Brown the ground beef, chopped onion, and minced garlic in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- 2
Drain the grease and add the taco seasoning and chunky salsa.
- 3
Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for about 5 more minutes, until the mixture has thickened and is heated through.
- 4
Add up to 1/2 cup water to achieve the desired consistency.
- 5
While the meat cooks, poke holes all over the sweet potatoes and microwave on high for 8-10 minutes, turning them over once halfway through.
- 6
If the potatoes are not soft enough, continue cooking for 1-3 minutes more.
- 7
Allow the sweet potatoes to cool slightly, then slice them lengthwise and fluff the insides with a fork.
- 8
Spoon the taco meat over the sweet potatoes and add desired toppings such as shredded cheese, diced tomato, avocado, guacamole, or sour cream.
FAQ
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
493
Protein
31g
Fat
6g
Carbs
80g
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