Sloppy Joe Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

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These Sloppy Joe Stuffed Sweet Potatoes are a fun and nutritious spin on an old favorite! This recipe is easy to make, tastes great leftover and family (and even baby!) friendly. It’s also very versatile — use any ground meat you like, and feel free to serve on a whole wheat bun or sandwich thin if you prefer!

ingredients for sloppy joe stuffed sweet potatoes

I bet you already have several of the ingredients you need for this recipe in your pantry!

• Sweet potatoes – duh ; )
• Ground meat of choice – beef, turkey, whatever you like or have on hand!
• Onion
• Minced garlic
• Chickpeas
• Various spices
• Tomato sauce
• Green onions & plain Greek yogurt (optional for topping)

how to make sloppy joe stuffed sweet potatoes + recipe tips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Wash sweet potatoes and pat dry with a paper towel, then poke holes using a fork. Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Place sweet potatoes in oven and set timer for 45-60 minutes. Rotate and/or flip sweet potatoes every 15-20 minutes using tongs to cook evenly.

While sweet potatoes are baking, prepare other ingredients. Combine spice mixture in a small bowl: brown sugar, chili powder, onion powder and black pepper. Set aside. Dice yellow onion & chop green onion for topping; drain and rinse chickpeas.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil, then add diced yellow onion and minced garlic. Saute for 3-4 minutes, until onion is translucent and garlic is fragrant.

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Next, add ground meat, and cook until browned. Once cooked, add your spice mix, and stir to evenly distribute throughout. Cook for about 1 minute.

Add 1/4 cup water and 8 oz of tomato sauce and stir to combine. Reduce heat, and simmer for ~2 minutes until thickened.

Microwave chickpeas for about 20-30 seconds, and then use clean hands to remove the skins (optional). Here is a quick video tutorial that explains how to do it as well – a little bit quicker and more efficiently!

After heating, they come off very easily. Also optional – use a fork or the back of a spoon to gently mash/flatten chickpeas (ideal if you are serving to baby). Add chickpeas to the meat mixture and stir until combined.

Once sweet potatoes are soft, remove from oven and cut in half.

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Top with the sloppy joe mixture (~1/2-2/3 cup). Garnish with chopped green onions and a dollop of plain Greek yogurt, if desired.

Serve alongside roasted veggies of choice, or a side salad.

sloppy joe stuffed sweet potatoes are packed with nutrition

This recipe was originally inspired by the lighter sloppy joe recipe on MyRecipes.com (originally posted on Cooking Light). At first, we served them on 100% whole wheat Sandwich Thins along with some roasted veggies, which was delicious!

Then, Ethan came across this Delish recipe for Sloppy Joe Stuffed Sweet Potatoes, and I decided to marry the two and make a few tweaks! The result? Perfection.

I love that this recipe is made with whole food ingredients and low in added sugar and salt. The meat provides a good dose of protein, iron and vitamin B12, and the chickpeas provide an extra punch of plant-based protein as well as dietary fiber. Sweet potaotes are a great source of potassium, vitamin A and even more fiber!

Bonus: the sweet and savory flavor combo is DELICIOUS.

SLOPPY JOE STUFFED SWEET POTATOES: RECIPE NOTES

• The meat/sauce mixture only takes about 15-20 minutes to cook on the stovetop. Most of the other prep work (such as chopping the onions, draining/rinsing the chickpeas, mixing up the spices, etc.) can be done while the sweet potatoes are cooking in the oven. I also chopped up some veggies to roast on the side while the sweet potatoes cooked, and they still came out around the same time. I recommend roasting cauliflower, broccoli, or Brussels sprouts to serve with this dish.
• If you’re in a pinch, you can cook your sweet potatoes in the microwave instead! I prefer the taste of them baked in the oven, BUT, this is a nice, quick option if and when you need it. You still wash the sweet potato, poke holes using a fork, and place it on a microwave-safe dish to cook in microwave for 4-5 minutes depending on the size of the potato, until tender.
• If you are cooking for two or three people, you can just make as many sweet potatoes as you need at that time, or you can make extras to serve with the leftover sloppy joe mixture in the next few days. This whole recipe reheats great in the microwave!
• The sloppy joe mixture makes about 8-10 servings total. Serve any leftovers on whole wheat buns or Sandwich Thins, with additional baked sweet potatoes, or freeze in a freezer-safe container for future use.

I highly recommend adding Sloppy Joe Stuffed Sweet Potatoes to your meal plan for the upcoming week. It’s a super simple weeknight dinner that can double as a healthy work lunch! As always, tag me in your creations on Instagram @wellnessforthewin, and pin this on Pinterest so you can make it over and over again!

Enjoy!

Shanna