How to make vegetarian sweet potato skins

Robin Donovan

Recipe Developer

Sweet potato skins are my kind of “bar food.” They’re filled with flavorful ingredients such as onions, garlic and cheese, but they’re also packed with nutrition. (Sweet potatoes are one of the most nutritious vegetables around and black beans are loaded with protein and fiber.) These are a wonderful game-day snack, but they also make a satisfying vegetarian meal.

When I make these, I like to offer a whole lot of toppings – guacamole, salsa, sour cream, chopped cilantro and sliced green onions and olives – for people to load up their own plate as they like. You can leave out the cheese to make these vegan or offer the cheese as a topping for those who want it.

Cooktop Cove

Vegetarian Sweet Potato Skins

15 minutes

55 minutes

1 hour and 10 minutes

4 large, orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (yams)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 red bell peppers, sliced

2 onions, sliced

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed

2 teaspoons salt

2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar, jack, pepper jack or a mix)

Cilantro, chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Poke several holes in the sweet potatoes with the tines of a fork and place the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet.

Bake in the preheated oven until the potatoes are tender, about 45 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the heat to 425 degrees F.

While the potatoes are baking, heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.

Add the peppers, onions, cumin, chili powder and salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and beginning to brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir in the beans and remove the pan from the heat.

Halve the cooked potatoes lengthwise and scoop out most of the flesh with a spoon into the pan with the peppers and onions, leaving about 1/4-inch attached to the skin to help hold the shape.

Mash the scooped-out potato with the peppers and onions using a potato masher or fork.

Spoon the filling back into the potato skins and sprinkle the cheese over the tops.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbling.

Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro.

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