Loaded sweet potatoes with chili-lime black beans
A fluffy baked sweet potato piled with smoky beans, salsa and avocado is cozy, filling and almost entirely the oven’s work.
- 70 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $1.91 a serving
- 390 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 4 sweet potatoes, medium
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 lime
- 1 avocado, diced
- ½ cup salsa
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped (optional)
- 2 tbsp pepitas (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt, divided
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp water
Each serving has about 390 calories, 11 g protein, 71 g carbs and 9 g fat, and costs about $1.91 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No black beans? Pinto beans or kidney beans work.
- No limes? Lemons work.
- No avocados? Guacamole works.
- No salsa? Pico de gallo works.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
- No pepitas? Sunflower seeds work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 400°F and line a with foil or .
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
Parchment paper. Parchment paper is a nonstick, oven-safe paper for lining pans. Food lifts right off and cleanup is easy, but don’t swap in wax paper or put parchment under the broiler.
How you’ll know: It lies flat in the pan, and the food slides off when you lift it.
Dolly’s tip: Sweet potatoes drip sticky syrup as they bake. The liner saves you a scrubbing.Scrub the sweet potatoes under running water, dry them, and poke each one 5 or 6 times with a fork.
Dolly’s tip: The holes let steam escape so the skins don’t split open in the oven.Rub them all over with the olive oil and of salt, set them on the pan, and until a knife slides into the thickest part with no push, 45 to 60 minutes.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Timer: 45 min
Dolly’s tip: Bigger potatoes take longer. Squeeze one with an oven mitt: soft all the way through means done.About 10 minutes before they’re done, warm the beans in a small with the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, water and ¼ teaspoon salt over low heat.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Low heat
Squeeze in the juice of half the lime and taste. Add salt at a time until the beans taste bold, not flat.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Low heat
Dolly’s tip: Beans soak up salt, so they usually need more than you’d guess. That last pinch is the difference between fine and great.the avocado and cut the rest of the lime into wedges.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Split each potato open , push the ends toward the middle to fluff the inside, and sprinkle it with of salt.
Lengthwise. Lengthwise means cutting along the long side, from stem to tip, which gives long pieces. Crosswise is the other way, straight across the middle, which gives short, round ones.
How you’ll know: Lengthwise halves of a zucchini look like two little canoes; crosswise pieces look like coins.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Dolly’s tip: They’re hot, so hold each one with a folded towel while you push.Spoon the beans into the potatoes, then top with salsa, avocado, cilantro and pepitas, with lime wedges on the side.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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