It might be safe to say that sweet potatoes have become our favorite type of spud over the past few years. They have so much flavor on their own, are super filling and can transform into many different dishes both savory and sweet. This recipe for Mediterranean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes works fabulously as a vegan main dish (Hello Meatless Monday!), pairs well as a side to chicken, fish or beef, and holds up great for leftovers making meal prepping a breeze! This dish has soft and tender oven-baked sweet potatoes and is filled with a gluten-free tabouli and finished with a tahini drizzle, YUM!
Roasting The Perfect Sweet Potato
To roast the sweet potatoes preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Wash and pat dry the potatoes and then poke holes in them using a fork. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. If using parchment paper you’ll want to add a little olive oil to the potatoes so they don’t stick. Bake the potatoes for 45-60 minutes depending on their size. No need to flip or rotate them, the potatoes may start to ooze out of the holes you poked but that’s normal, it’s just the moisture being released. The potato skin will be nice and crispy and maybe even start to pull away from the inside which will be soft and fluffy.
Making The Tabouli
Traditional tabouli contains bulgur wheat so we switched it up in this recipe by using quinoa instead for a gluten-free option. Plus we love quinoa! We’ll give you the short version of tabouli making here but feel free to visit our full blog post on Tabbouleh (Tabouli). While the sweet potatoes are baking you’ll have plenty of time to make the tabouli, you could even make it ahead of time if you’d like. Start by cooking the quinoa according to the package. Keep in mind that like rice, quinoa puffs up to about double its size when fully cooked. Chop the cucumbers, tomatoes, green onions and herbs and add them to a medium-sized bowl. Then make the vinaigrette by whisking together minced garlic, olive oil, lemon and salt and pepper. Once the quinoa has cooked add it to the bowl of chopped veggies. Top with the vinaigrette and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate until the sweet potatoes are ready. This will give it time for all of the tabouli flavors to meld together.
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Putting It All Together
Once the potatoes have cooked and cooled use a knife to cut a slit down the middle of each potato. Using your hands, gently pinch them open to make room for the filling. Fluff the inside of the potato with a fork and top with a few spoonfuls of the tabouli mixture. They are technically ready to eat but we created a nutty, lemony tahini dressing to drizzle on top. We also made a homemade Tzatziki Sauce to go alongside for added creaminess. Since our tzatziki contains dairy Greek yogurt sub a non-dairy yogurt or omit altogether to keep the dish vegan.
5 Ingredient Tahini Sauce
- 1/4 Cup of Tahini
- 1/4 Cup of Water
- 1 Lemon juiced
- 1 Garlic clove minced
- Salt & pepper to taste
To get a creamy topping simply whisk all of the above ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth. This sauce would be great as a salad dressing, topping for roasted veggies, grilled meat or souvlaki sandwich!
Additional toppings and add-ins
This dish, like many of our recipes, is customizable so don’t be afraid to get creative with it. You could top with feta cheese, add in a protein like beans or chicken, the stuffing options are really endless!
Want more?! Try some of our other sweet potato recipes
We hope you’ll try this recipe. If you do be sure to comment below, we’d love to hear from you! Feel free to post it to our Facebook page and #hearthealthygreek on Instagram.
Mediterranean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 sweet potatoes
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1 container grape tomatoes
- 1 cucumber peeled
- 4 green onions
- 1 bunch fresh parsley
- ½ cup fresh mint
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- Tzatziki sauce optional
Tahini sauce
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 lemon
- 1 clove garlic minced
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Wash and the sweet potatoes and pat dry. Poke holes in the potatoes with a fork and place them on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 45-60 minutes depending on the size of the sweet potatoes.
- Meanwhile, cook the quinoa according to the package and chop the tomatoes and cucumbers into small chunks.
- Chop the green onion and finely chop the fresh herbs.
- In a medium-size bowl assemble the tabouli filling by mixing together the cooked quinoa and chopped veggies and herbs.
- In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour it over the tabouli mixture and cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Once the sweet potatoes are fully cooked remove them from the oven and set aside until they are cool enough to handle.
- Use a knife to cut a slit down the middle of each potato lengthwise and use your handles to gently pinch them open. Use a fork to fluff the inside of the potato a little and then stuff with the tabouli mixture.
- Drizzle with tahini sauce and top with feta cheese, hummus and/or tzatziki sauce (optional)
