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    Home » Recipes » Mains

    Ancho Chile Black Bean Sweet Potato Tacos

    Modified: Jul 1, 2021 · Published: May 5, 2020 by Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN · This post may contain affiliate links · 6 Comments

    182 shares
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    three tacos in corn tortillas on a black plate on top of a yellow napkin and counter

    These easy black bean sweet potato tacos are on the table in 30 minutes and seasoned with ancho chile powder for maximum flavor. Learn how to make this vegetarian twist on stewed tacos from my husband/sous chef Will in his first ever guest post!

    three tacos in corn tortillas on a black plate on top of a yellow napkin and counter

    This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, see my affiliate disclosure.

    Hello Citizens of the Veg World! I’m Will, Lizzie’s husband, and I’ve been called on as a probably-underqualified guest poster.

    When people talk to me about Lizzie and her website, they tend to beat around the bush for a while before finally asking what they really want to know, so I’m going to spare you the wondering and answer your questions right here at the top:

    • Yes, I do get to eat all of the recipes. My sack lunches are the envy of my office. 
    • Yes, I’m extremely grateful for this. 
    • Yes, we still have junk food in the house. 
    • No, I am probably not as helpful to Lizzie’s general process as I’d like to think I am, but she hasn’t burst my bubble yet.
    • No, I really don’t have to cook very often, but yes, I do like to cook.

    I’ve loved to be in the kitchen since I was a toddler.  My mom is a great cook, and when I was little I would hang around and “help” by measuring and stirring and making requests, which were generally for baked goods or for tacos.

    My favorite food was (and is) tacos, which we didn’t eat nearly as frequently as I would’ve liked. I have a vivid memory of my mom telling me (probably more than once), “I’m not making tacos for you everyday, but when you grow up and have a home of your own, you can eat tacos for every meal if you want to make them.”

    I showed her!!! From the time I left home until Lizzie and I moved in together, I made sure I kept myself well-stocked on tortillas, salsas, and a variety of proteins, which allowed me to achieve my childhood dream. I really did eat a form of tacos for at least a third of my meals. It was a glorious time.

    In terms of feasibility, I lucked into a favorite food. Tacos are very accepting of a variety of inputs. If you have the ingredients I listed above, you’re about 75% of the way to a meal, and while I’ve lessened the pace, I’ve kept up my love for the taco genre over the past few years as well. 

    Every week I keep making the same contributions to our grocery list: corn tortillas, black beans, cheese, and green and red salsas. So a few weeks ago, when Lizzie had a late night at the blogging factory and I was called in from the bullpen to cook dinner, I was prepared and stocked to make some pantry tacos.

    These tacos fall under the subcategory of Tacos Guisados. Guisado translates to “stew,” and can contain pretty much any combination of meats, beans, and/or vegetables.

    Throw the ingredients into a pot with some spices, wait, put the stew into a tortilla, and you have yourself a hot meal. You can do it. I believe in you.

    black beans, diced sweet potato, cilantro, scallions, spices, and lime on a counter

    How to Make Black Bean Sweet Potato Tacos

    This particular version of black bean sweet potato tacos is very simple and keeps well, so you can cook it up for an easy meal at the end of a long day or in a batch over the weekend as meal prep. The short ingredient list makes for simple steps, and the result is delicious, filling, and vegetarian.

    To make this recipe:

    1. Dice the scallions about half of the way up, starting at the white, root end (get rid of the tip with the little stringy things), and discarding the leafy green section at the top. You’ll be able to feel the scallion getting less dense as you move up – stop once the concentric circles of the scallion no longer appear very tight.
    2. Scrub or peel a sweet potato and dice it into cubes that are about ¾ of an inch wide. The width of your thumb is a good eyeball test.
    3. From there, it’s just a matter of adding everything in the right order: fry the scallions until they’re soft, then add your spices, the potato, and finally the beans and some water, and let it stew.
    • stewed veggies and beans in a cast iron dutch oven on a counter

    Expert Tips

    These will turn out best if you:

    • During the last 5 minutes or so of cooking, take off the lid to let the stew steam off some water. This thickens the mixture, which will prevent the dreaded soggy/broken tortilla.
    • Stir in the lime juice at the last minute to keep the citrus flavor fresh.
    • If you can get it, use ancho chile powder instead of regular chili powder. Both work, but the ancho chile adds amazing flavor.
    • Don’t take your tortillas for these black bean sweet potato tacos for granted. Buy good tortillas (La Perla and Maria & Ricardo’s are two of my favorites) and warm them up – heat a pan as hot as you can, then heat each tortilla for 30-60 seconds on each side or until you see bubbles forming inside the tortilla (BONUS: this is a great, low-risk environment to practice your pancake/fried egg flipping technique).
    • Keep the warmed tortillas wrapped in a clean towel or in a tortilla warmer until serving. [You can also warm tortillas by placing them directly onto a grill or gas-burning stove top to get a little bit of charring, but this requires full attention – it’s very easy to really burn them/yourself this way. But! If you’re bored of being at home and looking for ways to live on the edge, this might be the adrenaline rush for you.]
    close up of black bean sweet potato tacos on a black plate on a yellow napkin

    Similar Recipes

    • Sweet Potato Black Bean Meal Prep Bowls
    • Sweet Potato and Black Bean Veggie Burgers
    • Vegetarian Pea and Bok Choy Tacos
    • Radish and Black Bean Tacos with Avocado Crema

    If you like these black bean sweet potato tacos and want more from Sous Chef Will, let us know in the comments below! If you’d like to know more about what goes on behind the scenes of the Veg World, you can email me at will@itsavegworldafterall.com or find me @WilliamJStreit on Instagram.

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    three tacos in corn tortillas on a black plate on top of a yellow napkin and counter

    Ancho Chile Black Bean Sweet Potato Tacos

    A vegetarian twist on stewed tacos, this recipe is easy to make and full of flavor.
    5 from 4 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 5 minutes mins
    Cook Time: 25 minutes mins
    Total Time: 30 minutes mins
    Servings: 8 tacos
    Calories: 165kcal
    Author: Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN

    Ingredients 

    • 2 tablespoon olive oil
    • 1 sweet potato - cubed
    • 3 scallions - sliced halfway up the stalk
    • Dash of salt
    • Dash of pepper
    • 1.5 teaspoon cumin
    • ½ teaspoon dried oregano - or dried cilantro
    • 1.5 teaspoon ancho chile powder - can sub regular chili powder
    • 1 15 oz can black beans - drained and rinsed
    • ¾ cup water
    • Hot sauce - to taste
    • ½ lime - juiced
    • 8 corn tortillas - warmed
    • Cotija cheese - for serving

    Instructions

    • Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add diced scallions, salt, and pepper. Cook until softened – about 3 minutes.
    • Add oregano or cilantro, cumin, and ancho chile powder together. Immediately add sweet potato and stir until potato pieces are coated in spices. Fry for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
    • Stir in beans, water, and a few dashes of hot sauce. Bring to a boil, cover the pot, reduce heat, and simmer. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. While this is cooking, warm the tortillas for 30-60 seconds on each side in a pan over high heat.
    • Take the lid off the pot and cook for 5 more minutes to allow extra condensation to escape. Stir in lime juice and serve in tortillas.

    Notes

    • Serve with cotija cheese, salsa, sour cream, and/or a squirt of lime.
    • This can also be served over cooked rice. To do this, skip the last 5 minutes of cooking with the lid off. This will keep the liquid in the pot, which will help to provide flavor to the rice.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1taco | Calories: 165kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 240mg | Potassium: 334mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 4164IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 2mg
    Did you make this recipe?Tag @vegworld_recipes and follow me today!

    Happy taco day! – Will

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    182 shares

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    Comments

      5 from 4 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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    1. Nora Borne

      May 08, 2020 at 2:24 pm

      5 stars
      These tacos look amazing! Can’t wait to try your recipe Will. We have a taco Tuesday thing going on at our house. 😊

      Reply
      • Will

        May 08, 2020 at 2:39 pm

        Thank you! You’ll have to let us know how they turn out!

        Reply
    2. Gail

      May 05, 2020 at 8:41 pm

      Well done Will. Now I want a taco!
      Ask Lizzie what those stringy things at the end of the green onion are.

      Reply
      • Will

        May 08, 2020 at 2:14 pm

        Thank you! And I probably should ask her, but then I’d have to stop calling them stringy things…

        Reply
    3. Jenny Streit

      May 05, 2020 at 7:29 pm

      Great post, Will! I’m impressed by your taco innovations and variations. Kudos to Lizzie for giving you space to cook—and post! 🙂

      Reply
      • Will

        May 08, 2020 at 2:15 pm

        Thank you! We made it!

        Reply

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