Meatless Mondays Never Looked So Good

IMAGE SOURCE: BROOKE MCLAY

There’s one meatless flavor combo that always leaves me craving more — sweet potatoes and black beans. The sweet, mild creaminess of golden sweet potatoes pairs so wonderfully with the rich and earthy goodness of black beans. The flavors work deliciously in chili and they taste amazing in enchiladas. But my favorite way to enjoy them? Tacos.

Tortillas stuffed with sweet potatoes, black beans, avocados, and a zesty cilantro dressing may be the finest meal ever. Though several versions of this recipe require roasting the sweet potatoes, I prefer to keep it easy — microwaving them just until tender then cooking them in a skillet until golden brown. This makes the actual recipe prep significantly simpler, and creates less cleanup.

This is a great way to get your kiddos to eat some meatless options, too. My kids are big fans because they can customize the meal with their favorite taco toppings. I was surprised to find they didn’t even miss the meat. Tacos for them, healthy win for me!

To make this meal friendly for tiny eaters, dice the sweet potatoes into pieces about the size of the black beans. They’ll be easier to roll into tacos, and make it simpler to bite.

Ready to get this delish dish in your kitchen tonight? Here’s how:

Grab some basic ingredients (pictured below).

IMAGE SOURCE: BROOKE MCLAY

Microwave your sweet potato until tender, then remove the peel, dice into bite-sized pieces, and cook in hot coconut oil (or butter, if you prefer). Then salt and pepper lightly.

IMAGE SOURCE: BROOKE MCLAY

Once your sweet potatoes are golden, quickly toss in the drained black beans, and cook until hot.

IMAGE SOURCE: BROOKE MCLAY

The recipe will walk you through how to whip up a cilantro-lime sauce in your blender, and you’ll spike sour cream with taco seasoning. Then pile it all on a corn tortilla with onion, avocado, tomato, and queso fresco. And bam … tacos perfectos!

Now all you gotta do is call the kiddos, let them build their own tacos, and enjoy dinner together.

IMAGE SOURCE: BROOKE MCLAY

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos

Makes: 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh cilantro
• 2 limes, freshly squeezed
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 3 tablespoons white vinegar
• 5 tablespoons liquid coconut oil (or butter if preferred)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
• 1 sweet potato
• salt (to taste)
• pepper (to taste)
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
• 8 white corn tortillas
• 1/2 cup purple onion, diced
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1/4 cup queso fresco

Directions:

1. To make cilantro-lime sauce: In a blender or mini food processor, blend together cilantro, lime juice, honey, white vinegar, and 4 tablespoons of coconut oil. Puree until well mixed. Set aside.
2. Mix together sour cream and taco seasoning. Set aside.
3. Microwave sweet potato until tender, about 5-6 minutes. Remove from microwave, allow to cool slightly. Cut off peel, then dice into bite-sized pieces.
4. Melt the remaining tablespoon of coconut oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Toss sweet potatoes into the oil. Salt and pepper lightly. Cook until the edges of the sweet potatoes are golden brown. Add black beans and cook until hot.
5. Spoon sour cream on the bottom of a corn tortilla. Top with sweet potato mixture, then onion, avocado, tomato, cilantro-lime sauce, and queso fresco.

Note: Tortillas can easily be zapped in the microwave for 10-20 seconds to soften. Alternately, if you really hate having messy tacos, try a combo flour/corn tortilla. They have a similar flavor as corn tortillas, but the added gluten from the flour keeps them from falling apart. You’ll definitely want to microwave them for 10-20 seconds to soften before serving.

Source: Babble.com