If you’ve been looking for a way to make carrot cake a legitimate meal, you’ve come to the right place. This Carrot Cake Stuffed Sweet Potato has you covered. Loaded with shredded carrots, plump raisins, and omega-3 rich walnuts, the fundamental components of carrot cake actually boast an impressive nutritional profile. Wrapped up in a special variety of sweet potato, these basic ingredients come together to create a scrumptious breakfast that tastes deceptively like dessert.
What is this special variety of sweet potato, you ask? The Japanese sweet potato! You can spot them in the grocery store with their deep purple skin. Some stores may have them labeled as "Oriental." Inside, the flesh is white, which darkens to a pale gold once baked.
Japanese sweet potatoes are a perfect healthy alternative to butter and sugar-laden batter because of their dense, creamy texture and slightly sweet flavor, which have led some to liken their taste to vanilla cake. This recipe would definitely work with the orange, more common varieties of sweet potatoes, but I encourage you to give Japanese sweet potatoes a try if you can track them down.
While the sweet potato is roasting in the oven (or steaming in the microwave), you can prepare the carrot filling. Sautéing grated carrots on the stovetop with warm spices helps soften the carrots and bring out their natural sweetness, and it will make your kitchen smell pretty amazing, too.
After the carrots are nestled in their warm sweet potato bed, you can go crazy with the toppings. I stuck with the classics - walnuts, raisins, and vanilla yogurt to mimic cream cheese frosting - but pecans, pineapple, or apple chunks are fair game. I’ve seen carrot cake recipes with all sorts of yummy mix-ins. Don’t skip the yogurt though! The tartness helps cut through the sweetness of the other ingredients, and the way it oozes over the steaming potato is pretty irresistible.
Carrot Cake Stuffed Sweet Potato
- Prep Time:5 mins
- Cook Time:50 mins
- Total Time:55 mins
- Servings:1
- Easy
- 1 Japanese sweet potato
- 2 carrots
- 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon raisins
- 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts
- 2 tablespoon regular or nondairy yogurt
Ingredients
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Step 1
Preheat the oven to 425° F. Wash the sweet potato and cut off the ends and any blemishes. Roast the potato whole on a lined baking sheet for 45-50 minutes, until a knife cuts through the flesh easily.
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Step 2
While the potato is roasting, grate the carrots into a small saucepan. Stir in the pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract, and about a tablespoon of water. Sauté the carrots over medium high heat until they are softened and most of the water has cooked off.
Amelia Popowics -
Step 3
Cut the sweet potato down the middle and stuff it with the carrot filling. Spoon on the yogurt, then sprinkle on the raisins and walnuts. Finish it off with a drizzle of maple syrup, if desired.
Amelia Popowics
I hope you try this Carrot Cake Stuffed Sweet Potato! The sweet potato base melts in your mouth, and the carrot filling and toppings add some great textural contrast and hearty flavor. It may take a long time to roast the potato, but the prep work is light, so you can kick back and relax while it’s in the oven. If you’re in a rush heading to class or work in the morning though, you could easily speed up the process by steaming the potato in the microwave. So even with a busy schedule and a mind for healthy eating, carrot cake can absolutely work its way into your daily meals, be it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a snack in between.