Vegan Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Vegan and gluten-free stuffed sweet potatoes! Roasted sweet potatoes layered with spiced chickpeas, garlic tahini sauce, and fresh herbs. With 9 grams of fiber per serving.

This is an SOS meal for me. It’s a simple dinner that combines a healthy starchy carbohydrate, crispy chickpeas, parsley, and a garlic tahini sauce on top. In addition to baking the sweet potato, it takes just minutes to make.

It’s also a fantastic lunch, especially when I microwave my sweet potato. Then, I can get this meal on the table in just 10 minute. Healthy, hearty and so delicious, you are going to love these stuffed sweet potatoes.

Why I love this recipe

The best part about these stuffed sweet potatoes is the sauce. I begin with most recipe development by thinking about the sauce: What kind of delicious sauce do I want to eat? Do I want creamy? Salty? Slightly sweet? From there, it’s just a matter of what foods would pair best with the star sauce.

That’s how these came to be. I was craving a garlicky lemon tahini sauce and knew that sweet potatoes with crispy chickpeas on top would do the trick. I love these as a light meal, especially paired with my kale Caesar salad, or as a simple meal when I’m not really in the mood to cook but still want healthy (and delicious) food.

Ingredient Notes

• Sweet Potatoes: The creamy, slightly sweet flesh of sweet potatoes pairs so nicely with the chickpeas and sauce. I bake the sweet potatoes, but you can also microwave them for a quick meal!
• Chickpeas: I use canned chickpeas 99% of the time because they are so easy to open and enjoy. Cooked from dried chickpeas will also work, as will white beans!
• Tahini: I do think that the brand of tahini matters. I swear by Soom and Krinos brands, I do not like the Trader Joe’s tahini brand (at all!) and I don’t like the store brand from Whole Foods either.
• Smoked Paprika: This, along with the cumin, is really what gives the chickpeas so much flavor. The smokiness of the paprika almost makes the chickpeas taste a little meaty.

Substitutions

Baked potatoes will work in place of the sweet potatoes, though I think the sweet potato flavor pairs better with the tahini sauce.

White beans can be used in place of chickpeas. I like adding a generous serving of parsley on top of the tahini sauce, as I like pairing parsley and tahini sauce, but sautéed, chopped spinach can also work.

How to Make

Step 1: Bake the Sweet Potatoes

Prick the sweet potatoes a few times with a fork, as this will help release steam as they cook. You can also cook sweet potatoes in the microwave! Alternatively, for quicker cooking, you can microwave them whole for 5-10 minutes. Prick with a fork, then cook for 5 minutes; check for doneness, then cook a few more minutes as needed until tender.

Step 2: Make the Chickpeas

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and add the chickpeas, smoked paprika, and cumin. Cook, stirring often, for a few minutes until chickpeas are warmed through and slightly crispy. I like them to be just golden brown on the outside, but not too crunchy, and I want them to still have some softness in the middle.

Step 3: Make the Tahini Sauce

You can prepare the sauce in two ways: using a blender or by hand in a bowl. With a blender, combine tahini, garlic, lemon juice, water, salt, and pepper, then puree until creamy and smooth, adjusting with more lemon juice or water as needed. This method is best suited for a mini blender or food processor. It won’t work for larger blenders, as there isn’t enough sauce to blend.

Alternatively, for a bowl method, mince or grate the garlic, then whisk it with the tahini, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Gradually whisk in the water until it reaches a pourable consistency, adding more if it’s too thick, and then adjust the seasoning to your taste.

Step 4: Assemble!

Split the sweet potatoes and fluff a little with your fork, then add the sweet potatoes, the garlic tahini dressing, and chopped, fresh parsley. Now it’s time to enjoy these stuffed sweet potatoes!
I often spoon some of my chili crisp on top for heat, but that’s optional.

Tips for Success

I decided to make crispy chickpeas on the stove instead of using the oven, but really, any method works. You could argue that the oven is already in use, so it wouldn’t take much to throw in a batch of chickpeas to crisp up in.

If you want to do this, toss the chickpeas with the smoked paprika, cumin, and salt, and then add to a baking sheet and cook for about 5-10 minutes, stirring halfway through until warmed through. You can also eat them without warming them through!

For the tahini sauce, I include directions for using a blender or not and this really depends on the size of your blender. The tahini sauce will work in a smaller blender, like a Beast or Nutribullet, but not in a regular blender, as there isn’t enough sauce to blend.

Variations

If I have it, I like adding sautéed spinach to these stuffed sweet potatoes and chickpeas. I do this in my BBQ loaded potatoes and love the combination of garlicky greens and tahini sauce. These would also be great with a heaping of steamed spinach, roasted vegetables, or a handful of arugula on top.

If you like heat, I recommend adding a bit of chili crisp or sriracha to my tahini sauce when I puree it. I do about 1/2 teaspoon of the sauce, but you can adjust more or less depending on spice preference.

Make Ahead Notes

These stuffed sweet potatoes won’t keep long after making them, as the chickpeas will become too soft.

If you want to prep some of this meal ahead of time, I recommend making the tahini sauce and placing it in the fridge, as this can be prepped 2-3 days ahead of time. Then, make the chickpeas right before serving.

The sweet potatoes can be cooked first and then reheated in the microwave.

More Sweet Potato Recipes

• Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole
• Sweet Potato Stew
• Sweet Potato Buddha Bowls
• Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad
• Taco Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
• Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas
• Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes

If you try these stuffed sweet potatoes, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag your Instagram photos with #delishknowledge . I absolutely love seeing your creations. Happy cooking!