Loaded Sweet Potato With Spicy Black Beans and Cashew-Lime Cream {vegan, gluten-free}

This loaded sweet potato is stuffed with a fresh and spicy black bean filling, and topped with lime-cashew cream. It’s easy, healthy, 100% vegan, and gluten-free! 

Baked sweet potatoes are one of my favorite comfort foods. Soft, tender, just a little bit sweet, and yet a little bit salty. Heaven.

So tonight I decided to give my old-fashioned baked sweet potato a kick, and created the ultimate loaded sweet potato.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 sweet potatoes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• BLACK BEAN FILLING:
• 2 ½ cups black beans drained and rinsed
• 1 red bell pepper diced
• 2 spring onions finely sliced
• ⅓ cup cilantro chopped
• 1 ½ tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• salt and pepper to taste
• LIME CASHEW CREAM:
• 1 cup raw unsalted cashews soaked in water overnight
• ¼ cup water
• zest of 1 lime
• juice of 2 limes
• ½ tsp salt
• TO SERVE:
• 2 tbsp cilantro chopped
• 1 avocado sliced

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F). 
• Pierce the sweet potatoes 4 or 5 times with a fork and place the sweet potatoes on a baking tray.
• Bake for 45 minutes or until tender. The larger the sweet potato – the longer it will take to cook.
• To make the black bean filling, simply combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• To make the cashew-lime cream: Drain the soaking liquid from the cashews and place in a high-speed blender with the water, lime zest, juice and salt. Blend until smooth and creamy. Decant into a small bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• When the sweet potatoes are tender remove them from the oven and cut in half. Season with salt and pepper and a little olive oil. 
• Lightly mash with a fork before topping the sweet potato with the black bean filling and a dollop of the lime-cashew cream. 
• Garnish with cilantro, and serve with avocado slices.

Nutrition