Are you looking for a fun new way to use some leftover sweet potatoes? Check out this recipe for lentil stuffed sweet potatoes. These healthy & delicious sweet potatoes are baked until they are tender then stuffed with spiced lentils, avocado, green onion, monterey jack cheese, and zesty lime sour cream.
This recipe for lentil stuffed sweet potatoes is gluten free, egg free, nut free, and vegetarian friendly. The recipe can be made dairy free and vegan friendly by substituting the monterey jack cheese with sour cream with vegan cheese shreds and vegan sour cream.
What is in these lentil stuffed sweet potatoes
What is in this recipe for lentil stuffed sweet potatoes? Here are all of the flavorful ingredients that are added to these sweet potatoes.
- Lentils. Brown lentils are used in this recipe for lentil stuffed sweet potatoes. The lentils are cooked in a spice mixture that is comprised of cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, salt, and pepper before they are added to the sweet potatoes. If you do not have many individual spices then you can substitute the spice mix with some of your favorite taco seasoning!
- Lime sour cream. Lime sour cream is drizzled over these lentil stuffed sweet potatoes. A generous helping of sour cream is mixed with a little bit of lime juice and a little bit of heavy cream to make the lime sour cream drizzle. The lime juice adds a little bit of acid that cuts through the creaminess of the sour cream. The heavy cream helps to thin out the sour cream so that it is easier to drizzle over the sweet potatoes.
- Monterey jack cheese. Monterey jack cheese is used in this recipe for lentil stuffed sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes have a strong flavor of their own, so they go best with mild cheeses such as monterey jack, pepper jack, or provolone that have more of a creamy flavor. If you want to make these lentil stuffed sweet potatoes dairy free and vegan friendly, you can use your favorite vegan cheese shreds in place of the monterey jack cheese.
- Avocados. Some avocados are diced then added on top of these lentil stuffed sweet potatoes. The avocados provide a nice, creamy element that contrasts the sweetness of the sweet potatoes.
- Green onions. These lentil stuffed sweet potatoes are topped off with some thinly sliced green onions. The green onions add a pop of zesty flavor to the sweet potatoes. The light parts of the green onions add a little crunch and a little variety in texture to the dish.
How to make lentil stuffed sweet potatoes
The best thing about these lentil stuffed sweet potatoes is that they are incredibly easy to make! Here is how to make these lentil stuffed sweet potatoes.
- Bake the sweet potatoes. The first step in making these lentil stuffed sweet potatoes is to bake the sweet potatoes. All you have to do is clean the sweet potatoes, poke a few holes in them with a fork, and throw them in the oven.
- Boil the lentils. After you put the sweet potatoes in the oven, you can start boiling the lentils. You should add all the ingredients for the spiced lentils to a large pot then heat the pot over high heat until it boils. Once the lentils start to boil, you can reduce the heat to low, cover the lentils, and leave them to simmer.
- Make the lime sour cream. While the lentils and sweet potatoes cook, you can mix the ingredients for the lime sour cream drizzle. Store the lime sour cream in the refrigerator until the rest of the meal is done cooking.
- Chop the veggies. The final step in making these lentil stuffed sweet potatoes is to chop the veggies! The avocados should be cubed and the green onions should be sliced into thin slices.
- Stuff the sweet potatoes. All that is left now is to wait until the sweet potatoes finish cooking and stuff them with all of the delicious toppings. We recommend cutting the sweet potatoes open and lightly mashing them before you add the lentils and other toppings to the sweet potatoes.
What kind of lentils to use
What kind of lentils should be used to make these lentil stuffed sweet potatoes? We recommend using brown lentils to make these lentil stuffed sweet potatoes. That is because brown lentils have a nice medium firm texture that serves as a nice contrast to the tender texture of sweet potatoes. If you cannot find brown lentils then we recommend using green lentils. Green lentils are more firm then brown lentils so they will provide a little more of a crunch. You should avoid using red lentils because they will be overly soft and mushy.
How to store lentil stuffed sweet potatoes
How do you store lentil stuffed sweet potatoes? We recommend storing these lentil stuffed sweet potatoes in the refrigerator in an airtight food storage container. The potatoes will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
How to reheat lentil stuffed sweet potatoes
Both lentils and sweet potatoes reheat well in the microwave, so we recommend reheating these lentil stuffed sweet potatoes in the microwave. That is the quickest and easiest way to reheat this meal. We recommend heating the potatoes in the microwave of full power for 45 – 75 seconds. For best results, make sure to remove any toppings you added that do not reheat well such as lettuce and tomatoes from the potatoes before reheating them.
Lentil stuffed sweet potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 sweet potatoes
- 1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
- 2 large avocados
- 4 stalks green onion
Lime sour cream
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Spiced lentils
- 1 cup dry brown lentils
- 3 cups water
- 1/2 tbsp cumin
- 1/2 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp hot sauce
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Clean the sweet potatoes well then poke a few holes in the skin with a fork. Bake the sweet potatoes for 45 minutes at 425 degrees.You may need to cook the sweet potatoes for up to 15 minutes longer if you are using particularly large or thick sweet potatoes. You can poke the sweet potatoes with a fork to determine whether they are done. If the sweet potatoes are done, you should be able to press the fork all the way into the potatoes without feeling much resistance.
- While the sweet potatoes are cooking, you can start to make the spiced lentils. Mix all of the ingredients for the lentils in a medium pot. Heat the pot over medium high to high heat until the water starts to boil.
- Once the lentils start to boil, reduce the temperature to low then put a cover on the lentils. Let the lentils simmer over low heat for 25 minutes.
- While the lentils simmer, you can make the lime sour cream. Mix together all of the ingredients for the lime sour cream then put the lime sour cream in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
- Dice the avocados into cubes and and slice the green onions into thin slices.
- When the sweet potatoes are done cooking, slice the sweet potatoes open. Use a fork to mash the flesh of the sweet potatoes then add the lentils and the rest of the toppings to the sweet potatoes.
Substitutions for lentil stuffed sweet potatoes
- Lentil spice mix. The spice mix that is used on these lentils is similar to a taco seasoning mix. If you do not have many individual spices, you can replace the spices in this recipe with some of your favorite taco seasoning.
- Monterey jack cheese. If you do not have monterey jack cheese then you can use another type of cheese. Sweet potatoes pair best with mild cheeses with creamy flavors such as monterey jack, provolone, or even pepper jack if you are feeling a little spicy. If you want to make this recipe for lentil stuffed sweet potatoes dairy free and vegan friendly, you can replace the monterey jack cheese with your favorite vegan cheese shreds.
- Lime sour cream. If you do not have sour cream then you can replace the sour cream with greek yogurt. If you want to make this recipe for lentil stuffed sweet potatoes vegan friendly and dairy free you can replace the sour cream with your favorite vegan friendly sour cream. If you use vegan sour cream you can omit the heavy cream that is added to the lime sour cream. The heavy cream is added to thin the sour cream out a little, but vegan sour cream is generally a little thinner than regular sour cream.
- Heavy cream. If you do not have any heavy cream then you can replace the heavy cream with milk. If you are using vegan sour cream, then you can omit the heavy cream entirely.
Other recipes you will love
Are you looking for another fun way to use sweet potatoes? Check out this recipe for loaded sweet potato fries! These tasty sweet potato fries are topped with monterey jack cheese, lime sour cream, avocado, tomatoes, jalapenos, and green onion!
Are you looking for a sweet potato recipe that is naturally vegan and dairy free? Check out this recipe for twice baked sweet potatoes with shallots, garlic, rosemary and thyme. This recipe is made with coconut milk rather than dairy milk so it is completely dairy free!
Do you love the spiced lentils we use in this recipe for lentil stuffed sweet potatoes? Then check out this recipe for lentil taco salad! This taco salad is made with the same spiced brown lentils that are used in this recipe!
These Mediterranean sweet potatoes are baked in a garlic herb butter that is loaded with Mediterranean-inspired spices. After they are done, they are topped with a creamy garlic feta dip.
Are you looking for a way to use spiced lentils that is a little more indulgent? Check out this recipe for cheese tacos with spiced lentils, tomatoes, green onions, and crumble queso fresco. These taco shells are made entirely from cheese – talk about decadent!
