Hello, my chickpeas! You guys probably know by now that I'm a big fan of sweet potatoes, and I'm also a big fan of tacos. So this week's Roasted Sweet Potato Tacos should come as no surprise!
My household takes our tacos very seriously, and this one has been on constant rotation in our kitchen for months now. The sweet potatoes are perfectly roasted and paired with peppers and onions for some traditional taco flavors, corn for a small pop of sweetness, toasted pumpkin seeds for a bit of a crunch, and a delicious chipotle sauce for a kick of spice.
LET'S GO.
Inspiration for Roasted Sweet Potato Tacos
These tacos are inspired by the Papadulce taco at Tacodeli! One of my favorite ways to experiment in the kitchen is to put my own at-home twist on delicious takeout, and that's exactly what I did here. The Tacodeli version of this taco is already vegan, but I wanted mine to be oil-free as well. I was also going for a crispier sweet potato, and a tamer spice level in my chipotle sauce (however it's still got quite a kick to it!).
I really love how the flavors in this taco play off of each other and come together. The sweet potatoes and corn have a bit of sweetness, the bell peppers and onions are deep and savory, the pumpkin seeds are nutty, and the chipotle sauce adds some spice. It's a great combination of flavors and I hope you try it out for your next taco night!
Ingredients
This taco has multiple components to it, so the ingredients list might seem longer than many of my recipes. However none of the individual components are complicated, so I fully believe in your abilities to make an amazing taco! Here are the main ingredients we are working with today:
- Sweet potato with maple syrup and spices: Our main focus today! The maple syrup is going to add a tiny bit more sweetness, and will also act as a glue to help stick our seasonings onto the sweet potato when we roast it.
- Red bell pepper and onion: very necessary for a taco! We do a simple roast for these with a splash of lime juice for some flavor!
- Frozen corn: corn is one of my favorite ingredients for a taco recipe, I just love the little pop of sweetness it gives! Our corn for this recipe is going to be toasted on the stovetop with some pumpkin seeds so it'll have a slightly tougher texture.
- Pumpkin seeds: for a bit of nuttiness and some fun crunch!
- Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce: this is where the spice in our sauce comes from! We will be using a chipotle pepper itself as well as some of the adobo sauce.
- Coconut yogurt: the base of our chipotle sauce! Coconut yogurt may sound like a strange choice at first, but plain coconut yogurt has a bit of a tanginess to it that reminds me a lot of sour cream. It counters the spiciness of the chipotle very well for this!
- Garlic, maple syrup, and spices: the rest of our sauce.
- Tortillas: to form our beautiful tacos of course!
How to Make Roasted Sweet Potato Tacos
As always, the full recipe is down below. But here are the basics:
- Toss your diced sweet potato in maple syrup and spices. Spread on a baking sheet
- Toss your bell pepper and onion with lime juice. Spread on another baking sheet.
- Place both baking sheets in the oven to roast. You'll take the sheets out to flip the veggies a couple of times during the roasting time.
- Add corn to a pan on the stovetop and allow to toast for a few minutes. Add pumpkin seeds to the pan and toast a bit more.
- Combine sauce ingredients in a blender and blend.
- Combine all your components to assemble your tacos!
Tips & Tricks
I always try to create the best possible version of a recipe for you before I publish it! However, I also recognize that everyone has different preferences and tastes - so I also love to encourage you to change things up and make it your own. Here are some ideas for you if you want to try your own twist on this recipe:
- Not a spice fan? I am very proud of the chipotle sauce in this recipe and think it is delicious. However, the sauce itself is spicier than you usually get from my recipes. That being said, if you aren't a spice person, please feel free to replace the sauce in your taco with just plain coconut yogurt, vegan sour cream, or even some guacamole instead!
- This is one of the few taco recipe I make that actually doesn't include any beans. However, I think that black beans would pair very well in this taco if you wanted a little extra protein!
- If you want to mix up the veggies in this one, feel free to use whatever veggies you'd like in place of (or in addition to) the peppers and onions! You could use red onion instead of yellow for a bit of a sharper flavor, you could use different colors of bell pepper, or you could even throw in some portobello mushroom slices.
- Looking for an appetizer to pair with your tacos? Try serving chips with Pico de Gallo, Quick Vegan Queso, or Roasted Poblano Sauce!
- Already looking forward to your next taco night? Try my Air Fried Avocado Tacos next!
Enjoy!
📖 Recipe
Roasted Sweet Potato Tacos
Ingredients
Roasted Sweet Potatoes:
- 1 medium/large sweet potato - cubed (aim for ½ inch cubes)
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- pinch of salt
Roasted Peppers & Onion:
- ½ medium red bell pepper - cut into strips (aim for ½ inch wide)
- 1 small yellow onion - cut into strips (aim for ½ inch wide, and be sure to remove any super thin outer layers of the onion before slicing as these layers will roast too quickly)
- ½ tablespoon lime juice
Toasted Corn & Pumpkin Seeds:
- ¾ cup frozen corn - thawed (I like to thaw mine by simply placing it in a colander and running cold water over it in the sink - only takes a couple minutes!)
- ¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds
Chipotle Sauce:
- 1 chipotle pepper AND 1 teaspoon adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- ½ cup plain coconut yogurt*
- 3 teaspoon pure maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 3 cloves garlic
To Assemble:
- 4 6-inch tortillas of choice
- Optional: 1 avocado - sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Prepare your sweet potato: Toss cubed sweet potato with maple syrup, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and salt. Spread onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Prepare your peppers and onions: Check to make sure that your onion strips and bell pepper strips are approximately similar in length so that they will all cook mostly evenly (If one is significantly longer than the other, chop the long one in half so that they are closer in length). Toss the strips of peppers and onions with lime juice. Spread onto a second baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. (It's important that the sweet potato is on a different baking sheet than the peppers and onions because they typically don't all need the same length of time to cook).
- Roast your sweet potato, and your peppers & onions: Place both baking sheets in the preheated oven. Allow both to bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven, flip the contents of each tray, and return to the oven for another 8 minutes. Remove from oven, give one more flip, and then return to oven and allow to roast until they are cooked to your liking. (I usually end up giving the sweet potatoes about 12 more minutes and the peppers & onions about 8 more minutes). Your sweet potatoes should be fork tender and your peppers and onions will likely have just a little bit of charring. While both of these are roasting, you can work on steps 5 & 6.
- Toast your corn and pumpkin seeds: Bring a medium/large nonstick pan to medium heat on the stovetop. Add your corn to the pan. Stirring once a minute, allow your corn to toast on the stovetop for about 5 minutes. (If you have any issues with the corn sticking to the pan you can stir a bit more often. But be sure to let the corn sit, untouched, in between stirs or it won't get toasty). Continuing to stir once a minute, add the pumpkin seeds to the pan and allow to toast with the corn for 6 more minutes (or until toasted to your liking). Remove from heat.
- Make your Chipotle Sauce: Remove one chipotle pepper from the can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Use a knife to remove and discard the stem from the pepper (if there is one). Slice open the chipotle pepper lengthwise, and carefully scrape out and discard the seeds. To a high powered blender (using a small blender cup if you have it), add the seedless pepper, 1 teaspoon of adobo sauce from the can, coconut yogurt, maple syrup, cumin, lime juice, and garlic. Blend until super smooth.
- Assemble your tacos: To each tortilla add a handful of the roasted peppers & onions, a few scoops of the roasted sweet potatoes, a generous sprinkle of the toasted corn & pumpkin seeds, a couple slices of avocado (if using), and either a drizzle or a larger dollop of the chipotle sauce (depending on your spice preference). Enjoy!
Happy cooking! If you made this recipe don’t forget to tag me (@joyfulbalanceofficial) on facebook or instagram so I can cheer you on for your taco-making ways.
Stay joyfully balanced!
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