This Big Fat Healthy Sweet Potato is the Answer to Cheap College Eating

Photo by Tess van Donkelaar

This recipe is more of a guideline for how to fill yourself up when your fridge is mostly empty, and all you have in the pantry is a few sweet potatoes. As long as you have a good base -some tubers and some beans, all you need are a few extras to round it out as a meal.

I’m impatient and like to just throw my sweet potatoes in the microwave. This can speed things up, especially if you’re just making this for yourself. Rather than wait for an hour for it to bake in the oven, one potato can be fully cooked in 5 minutes or less.

Better yet, you can cook a few ahead of time so that you have them on hand during the week.

For this version, I threw in a more Mexican-type flavour profile, but try and test your limits if you can. For example, try tomato sauce, fresh oregano, chickpeas, and Parmesan for a more Mediterranean twist.

If you’re making this for or with your roomies, maybe let them decide what they want in their sweet potato, and it can be a fun and interactive experience.

Sweet Potato Meal

• Prep Time:10 minutes
• Cook Time:15-20 minutes
• Total Time:25-30 minutes
• Servings:4
• Easy

Ingredients

• 4 medium sweet potatoes
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1 can black beans
• 1 avocado, chopped
• 1/4 cup goat cheese or feta
• 1 handful fresh cilantro
• 1/2 lime
• Salt
• Pepper

• Step 1

  Stab the sweet potatoes all over with a fork and pop in the microwave on the potato setting. They should take around 5 minutes per potato, depending on the microwave. Try popping them in and checking on them every few minutes to see if they’re baking evenly.

  

• Step 2

  Open the can of beans. Throw them in a colander and rinse until they’re not coated with gooey brine.

  

• Step 3

  Slice the sweet potatoes open. Cover with salsa, fill each with black beans and avocado, and top with crumbled feta and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges and sprinkle with salt and pepper.