sweet potato tacos

March 15, 2018


I used small tortillas (6″) and this fills 12 of them for an unheavy meal for 4 people. Please double the recipe if you’re even a little nervous that this won’t be enough food for you or your crew.

Heat is the trickiest thing for me to get right for everyone in recipes; some chili powders (and I’m referring to chili powder, the blend, not chile powder, which is just ground chiles) ranges wildly in heat. If yours is spicy and you like things spicy, go up to 1 tablespoon. If yours is mild but you’d like it spicier, also use 1 tablespoon and add some chipotle powder, cayenne or a few shakes of hot sauce to taste. If yours is very hot but you don’t want the dish to be too spicy for people who don’t like heat, just 1 teaspoon may be fine.

  • 2 pounds (about 4 medium) sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 to 3/4″ cubes
  • Olive oil
  • 1 heaped teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 to 3 teaspoons chili powder, to taste (see Note)
  • Chipotle powder, cayenne, or shakes of hot sauce, to taste (see Note)
  • 1/2 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
  • 12 small (6-inch) or 6 medium (8 to 9-inch) flour tortillas
  • 1 15-ounce can refried black beans
  • 1 lime, in wedges
  • Sliced avocado, pickled red onions, pickled jalapenos, chopped fresh cilantro, hot sauce, Lazy Taco Slaw, or your choice(s) thereof, to finish

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Toss tweet potatoes with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, then add salt, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, chipotle powder, and paprika and toss to evenly coat. If you’d like to roast the vegetables (for easier cleanup) on parchment paper, line a large baking sheet with it and spread the potatoes in a single layer. If you’d like to roast them directly on your baking sheet (I find they get more crisp this way), first coat it with 1 more tablespoon of olive oil, then spread potatoes in an even layer.

Roast potatoes for 40 to 45 minutes, tossing once or twice for even color.

To assemble, if you have a gas stove, I love running flour tortillas over an open flame to give them a little char and complexity. Otherwise, you can wrap the stack of them in foil and let them warm in the oven while the potatoes roast for 5 minutes.

Schmear some refried black beans on each tortilla. Add a big spoonful or two of roasted sweet potatoes. Squeeze a little lime juice over the potatoes and black beans (don’t skip this, please), and finish with toppings of your choice, shown here with a shake of hot sauce, sliced avocado, pickled red onions, and cilantro. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

To get ours ready for the family meal, I get the tacos as far as the black beans, sweet potatoes, lime juice, and avocado, and let everyone take it from there. They stay warm for about 15 minutes nested, as shown, in a casserole dish.

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