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Looking for an awesome meatless dinner idea? Sweet Potato Black Bean Bowls are a vegetarian dinner you can have on the table fairly quickly. Not only is it absolutely delicious but it is also healthy in every way. The wonderful combination of roast sweet potatoes, peppers, cauliflower, corn, and avocado is incredible. You don’t have to be vegetarian or vegan (just leave off the Cotija cheese and use vegan yogurt) to enjoy this. You’ll love these Healthy Sweet Potato Black Bean Bowls – and they’re vegetarian and GF (gluten free).
Also known as burrito bowls or sweet potato bowls, this awesome recipe with roasted sweet potato, black beans, and a bunch of other veggies sounds delicious for any meal. There is a little bit of meal prep but it is worth it in the end.
You will feel good about serving these as well as eating them because as a vegetarian dinner, you know it is healthy. With fresh sweet potatoes and roasted veggies topped with avocado and spicy cream dressing, this delicious recipe is perfect for the whole family.
If you like sweet potatoes, like I do, then you’ll love this Sweet Potato Side Dish from Sweet and Savory Meals. The recipe includes a video on how to make it. I already know that I’ll be making this for Thanksgiving this year!
Sweet Potato Black Bean Bowls
For this great recipe, you will need to gather the ingredients below. Scroll down to our printable recipe card below to save this recipe for another time.
- Large sweet potato: Or two small sweet potatoes.
- Black beans: Drained.
- Red bell peppers
- Avocado slices
- Cauliflower florets
- Corn: Drained.
- Orange or yellow bell pepper
- Red onion
- Cotija cheese (optional)
- Garlic cloves: Minced.
- Olive oil: Divided.
- Smoked paprika: You can use regular paprika if that is all you have.
- Mexican chili powder: You can also use regular chili powder.
- Cumin
- Sea salt: Kosher salt is fine too.
- Black pepper
- Brown Rice (make separately). Here’s a link to the Brown Basmati Rice that I make in my Instant Pot.
Dressing:
- Avocado
- Plain Greek yogurt
- Minced garlic
- Hot sauce: Use your favorite.
- Olive oil
- Juice from one lime
- Salt: To taste.
How to cook sweet potato black bean bowls from scratch?
Ingredients
Preheat: To begin, preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Prep the potato: In the meantime, peel and chop the sweet potato into large pieces and mix them in a large mixing bowl with one tablespoon of olive oil, salt, cumin, garlic, and paprika. Place the potato pieces on the prepared baking sheet pan.
Make strips: Then, cut the peppers and red onion into thin strips and add them to the baking sheet along with the cauliflower florets.
Oil and season: Next, drizzle some olive oil on top and season with salt and pepper.
Bake: Finally, bake for 30 minutes or until the potato chunks can be easily pierced with a fork.
Drain and sauté the beans: When the veggies only have five more minutes, drain the black beans but do not rinse them. Add them to a skillet or large saucepan with cumin, salt, and one teaspoon of chili powder. Saute enough to make them warm.
Assemble the bowls: Next, assemble the bowls with a scoop of brown rice in each one and add the roasted sweet potatoes and other veggies on top. Add the corn and avocado.
Whisk and serve: Lastly, add all the dressing ingredients into a small bowl and whisk thoroughly.
Drizzle some on top of each bowl and give each one a good stir before serving.
Recipe variations:
- Other rice: Feel free to use white rice, basmati, or whatever kind of rice you like.
- Other beans: In fact, you can also use pinto beans, lentils, or white beans instead or in addition to the black beans.
- Butternut squash: For something different, use butternut squash instead of sweet potatoes.
- Taco seasoning: Try subbing the chili powder with taco seasoning.
- Plant-based meat: Use chunks of marinated tofu, seitan, or tempeh seasoned with garlic powder and black pepper.
- Add meat: For meat-eaters, go ahead and throw in some precooked chicken, pork, or beef.
- No heat: Skip the hot sauce if you do not like spicy food.
- Other oils: You can substitute the olive oil for your favorite.
How to serve:
You can serve this vegetarian dinner anytime you want as a lunch, light dinner, or whenever. It is absolutely delicious, gluten free, and you can add or remove the ingredients to make it your own.
Here are some interesting ideas:
- Add some adobo sauce on top for a spicier dish.
- Make sure you set out small bowls of other toppings like sour cream, lettuce, and shredded cheese.
- Garnish with green onions and lime wedges to make it even more delicious.
- You can also add kale instead of rice for low-carb vegetarian bowls.
- Sprinkle a bit more lime juice on top before serving for a tangier sweet potato bowl.
- Use tortillas instead of serving bowls.
- You can use leftovers to mix with other dishes like salad or stew.
Frequently asked questions
Are vegetarian meals really healthier?
According to the Academy of Nutrition, those who only eat vegetarian meals have lower rates of type-2 diabetes and high blood pressure as well as lower lipoprotein cholesterol levels. Also, vegetarians have a lower body mass index and less risk of cancer or other chronic illnesses.
Do I have to cook the beans first?
Although you do not have to cook black beans before adding them to the roasted sweet potatoes, they do taste better that way. Searing or just heating them in a pan until they are fork-tender is a good way to bring out the rich flavor of the bean.
What are the nutrition facts of this dish?
Just being vegetarian does not make a dish nutritious but this one really is. By using Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and limiting the amount of oil, you cut a lot of fat and calories. There are 500 calories, 35 grams of fat with 2 grams of saturated fat, 11 grams of cholesterol, and 70 grams of carbs in each serving.
How to store leftovers:
- Store: Put your leftover burrito bowls in an airtight container in your refrigerator and eat it within three days.
- Freeze: Freezing is not recommended.
- Reheat: You can reheat your burrito bowl in the microwave for one minute or in the oven for five minutes.
Recipe tips:
- To shorten meal prep time, buy chopped veggies from the produce section or they also have them in the freezer section.
- You will probably want to look for more meatless meals on the internet to try after tasting this one. There are some great recipes out there to try.
- If you are not a greek yogurt fan? try using half mayo and half Greek yogurt instead of all Greek yogurt.
Sweet Potato Black Bowls (Vegetarian)
Equipment
- Baking Sheet
- Food Processor
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet potato or 2 smaller sweet potatoes – peeled and chopped into large chunks
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 can black beans drained
- 1 teaspoon Mexican chili powder
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 orange or yellow bell pepper
- 1 red onion
- 2 cups cauliflower florets
- 1 can corn well drained
- 1 avocado
- Rice for serving
- Cotija cheese
- DRESSING:
- 1 avocado peeled and diced
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1-2 tbsp hot sauce
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1/2 cup greek yogurt
- Juice from 1 lime
- Salt to taste
- 1-2 cups Cooked Brown Rice (make separately). Here's a link to the Brown Basmati Rice that I make in my Instant Pot.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set it aside.
- Combine all the dressing ingredients in a food process until smooth, and season to taste. Set aside in the fridge until ready to use.
- Add the sweet potato chunks to a large bowl and add 1 tbsp of olive oil, paprika, garlic, cumin and salt. Toss to combine and add it to the prepared baking tray.
- Slice the onion and peppers into thin strips and add to the baking tray.
- Add the cauliflower florets.
- Drizzle on top the remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are just tender and easily pierced with a fork.
- Place a non-stick pan over medium heat and add the black beans with 1 teaspoon chili powder, some cumin, salt and pepper. Saute them just for 1-2 minutes until warm.
- Prepare a few bowls with rice, top with the roasted veggies, black beans, corn, and avocado.
- Drizzle with avocado dressing and serve.
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Check out this Sweet Potato Side Dish from Sweet and Savory Meals.
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