Sweet potatoes stuffed with Cuban-style lean ground beef, chopped sweet plantains, and avocado. A flavorful, easy-to-make 35-minute meal for busy weeknights!
Why are sweet potatoes so versatile? One minute you’re making Bacon Wrapped Sweet Potato Fries and the next minute Gouda-Chorizo Loaded Sweet Potato Skins. Today, we’re making stuffed sweet potatoes with a Cuban twist!
Wowza.
Unless you’re new here, you already know I come from a Cuban family. I love my heritage and all that comes with it – especially the food. But let’s be real, it’s not the healthiest. That’s why I LOVE coming up with healthy-ish options where we can still enjoy Cuban flavors without all the heavy stuff, ya know. These Cuban-style stuffed sweet potatoes are ready from start to finish in just 35 minutes. Be ready, come prepared. It’s go time!
I’ve made vegetarian stuffed sweet potatoes in the past but these are chock full of delicious Cuban-style lean ground beef (picadillo!), sweet plantains, and avocado. Think of it as a plated meal all stuffed into one spot. Imagine a plate with ground beef, a side of mashed sweet potatoes, sweet plantains and diced avocado. I basically grabbed all those things and stuffed them into a sweet potato!
How GOOD does that sound.
Best part is (as if, you need more convincing) – you can totally make these in the microwave while you’re browning the meat. After poking holes in the sweet potatoes, place them in the microwave for 10-12 minutes and continue with browning the meat and making the sweet plantains. Delicious multitasking at its finest!
PRO TIP: You could always buy the sweet plantains already made.
They are located in the frozen aisle (the Goya brand). Totally understand not wanting to wait until you have ripe plantains, no judgement here. OH AND…you can also make the lean ground beef the night before so it’s ready for the next day/meal. I promise you will love this recipe so much, it will become part of your weekly weeknight meal rotation!
Cuban-Style Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 medium sweet potatoes
- 1 avocado diced
- 1 cup black beans (optional) drained, rinsed
- Cilantro for garnish
CUBAN-STYLE PICADILLO
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1/2 small onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 green pepper finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons cilantro
- 4 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons green olives cut in half
SWEET PLANTAINS
- 1-2 tablespoons coconut oil divided
- 1 large ripe plantain (very dark skin) peeled, diagonally cut into 1-inch thick slices
Instructions
- Poke holes into sweet potatoes with a fork. Place sweet potatoes in the microwave for 10-12 minutes or until they are soft and thoroughly cooked. Remove from microwave. Slice each sweet potato lengthwise, down the middle, then push both ends towards the middle so they open up. Using a fork, slightly mash the inside of the sweet potato. Set aside.
- Brown meat on medium heat in large skillet. Use a wooden spoon to break the meat apart. When meat is no longer pink, drain all liquid from the skillet. Add onion, garlic, green pepper, and cilantro to the pan and continue cooking on a low flame. Add olives, cumin, bay leaf, salt, pepper, tomato sauce, and 1/4 cup of water. Mix well. Reduce heat and simmer covered about 15-20 minutes or until meat is cooked/no longer pink. When done, transfer lean ground beef to a plate.
- In a hot nonstick skillet, add coconut oil. Pan fry the sliced plantain for 2-3 minutes at medium heat until they have browned. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Chop into small pieces. Set aside.
- Evenly top each sweet potato with lean ground beef, sweet plantains, and avocado. Serve and enjoy!
SHOP THE RECIPE
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wow these stuffed sweet potatoes do look amazing, I love the addition of the green olives and cumin to the picadillo, that must have so much flavor to it all on its own! aweome that you show your heritage in your recipes, and in a healthier way too!!