Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos

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These sweet potato and black bean tacos are the hearty, satisfying taco fix you need when the weather turns colder! A fresh, flavorful, and nutritious vegetarian taco option everyone will adore.

Two plates of sweet potato tacos with lime wedges.

Sweet potato has got to be one of the most versatile ingredients out there. We love using it to make vegetarian versions of our favorite Mexican recipes, like these sweet potato black bean tacos!

Paired with black beans, avocado, and smoky chipotles in adobo, our sweet potato tacos are packed with flavor. Sweet, savory, and with a hint of heat, they’re the perfect dinner when you’re craving fresh veggies with warm and cozy vibes.

This recipe originally appeared as part of our Taco of the Month series back in 2023. We recently revamped it, so we’re excited to share a new and improved version with you now!

What This Recipe Entails

You’ll make a simple sweet potato and veggie filling, then assemble the tacos with corn tortillas, refried black beans, and fresh avocado and cilantro. A low effort recipe with big flavor that’s ready in under an hour!

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 30 minutes
Sweet potato tacos.

Ingredients

You can make our sweet potato taco recipe with just a few simple ingredients:

  • Fresh produce – These vegetarian tacos rely on fresh, flavorful ingredients like sweet potato, peppers, onions, avocado, and lime, so make sure to pick out the best looking produce at the store. Use canned or frozen corn for convenience.
  • Chipotle puree – An easy way to add smoky Mexican flavor to your cooking! Buy a can of chipotles in adobo and puree the whole thing in a food processor to get chipotle puree.
  • Refried black beans – Look for vegetarian (or vegan) refried black beans at the store if you want these tacos to be vegetarian or vegan friendly.
  • Corn tortillas – Authentic corn tortillas made with masa are the most flavorful base for any tacos! We love to make our own using this heirloom masa flour, but you can use store bought for convenience.

How To Make Our Sweet Potato Taco Recipe

You can easily make these vegetarian sweet potato tacos in just 3 steps and about 40 minutes:

  1. Make the taco filling. Sauté the sweet potatoes in a large pan with oil and salt, then add poblano, onion, and corn. Cook until softened before stirring in the chipotle puree and lime juice.
  2. Prepare additional ingredients for serving. Warm the refried beans and cube the avocado. Warm the corn tortillas on a cast iron griddle.
  3. Assemble and serve. We recommend a spoonful of refried beans in the bottom of each tortilla, then 2 spoonfuls of the sweet potato filling, followed by fresh avocado and cilantro.
A taco night spread with sweet potato filling, avocado, and cilantro.

Serving Suggestions

Sides we love with sweet potato tacos:

When to make sweet potato black bean tacos:

  • Taco Tuesday – An easy vegetarian option and a unique recipe to shake up your normal taco night with.
  • Dinner parties – This recipe can easily serve a crowd! Bring all the fixings to the table for a fun “build your own taco” style dinner party with friends and family.
  • Fall or winter – Sweet potatoes and corn make these the perfect taco for the fall or winter seasons! They’re still so fresh and flavorful, but with the cozy, hearty flavors you love as the weather turns colder.
A sweet potato taco on a plate.

Storing, Reheating, and Serving Leftovers

Store leftover ingredients separately:

  • Sweet potato taco filling – Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days
  • Refried black beans – Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week
  • Avocado and cilantro – Store in separate containers in the fridge for 1 to 2 days
  • Corn tortillas – Seal with plastic wrap and store at room temperature for 2 to 3 days

Similarly, reheat ingredients separately before assembling leftover tacos:

  • Sweet potato taco filling – Reheat in the microwave for about 1 to 2 minutes per serving (one serving = about 3 tacos’ worth), stirring halfway through. Or, reheat in a frying pan over medium-low heat for about 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Refried beans – Microwave for about 30 seconds per serving.
  • Corn tortillas – Reheat on a cast iron griddle over medium heat for about 1 to 2 minutes per side, or until soft.

What to do with leftover sweet potato tacos:

  • Make more tacos! (obviously)
  • Serve leftover ingredients burrito bowl style with cilantro lime rice
  • Wrap things up in a large flour tortilla for an easy vegetarian sweet potato burrito

Expert Tips

  • Don’t be afraid to adjust the heat as you’re cooking the potatoes. You want to cook them at a high enough heat that the outsides caramelize, but a low enough heat that the insides can soften without the outsides getting too crispy.
  • Cook the potatoes most of the way before adding the peppers, onion, and corn – but not all the way! They’ll finish cooking as you sauté these additional ingredients.
  • Make your own corn tortillas from scratch using heirloom masa flour for the best flavor. Be warned: once you do this, you’ll never go back to using store-bought tortillas!
  • Only assemble as many tacos as you’re going to eat, so you can easily store leftover ingredients separately (they’ll stay fresh the longest this way).
A sweet potato black bean taco topped with avocado.

Try our sweet potato and black bean tacos recipe and let us know what you think by rating and commenting below! If you’re hungry for more, check out all our other taco recipes here.


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A sweet potato and black bean taco.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos

Nicole
These sweet potato and black bean tacos are the hearty, satisfying taco fix you need when the weather turns colder! A fresh, flavorful, and nutritious vegetarian taco option everyone will adore.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 20 tacos
Calories 148 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 small sweet potatoes peeled and diced
  • 3 pinches salt
  • 1 medium poblano diced
  • ½ small red onion diced
  • 15 ounces canned whole kernel corn drained and rinsed
  • ¼ cup chipotle puree see notes
  • 1 medium lime juiced
  • 20 4-inch yellow corn tortillas warmed
  • 15 ounces refried black beans warmed
  • 2 medium avocados diced
  • ¼ bunch fresh cilantro chopped

Instructions
 

  • Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add sweet potatoes and toss to coat in oil, then season with a few pinches of salt. Cook until the sweet potatoes are lightly caramelized and slightly tender, about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Add the poblano, red onion, and corn to the frying pan. Cook until the vegetables are softened and the potatoes are tender, about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently.
  • Once the vegetables are cooked, add the chipotle puree and lime juice and stir to combine. Lower the heat, and adjust salt to taste. Cook for just 2 to 3 more minutes until the sauce is warmed through.
  • Finally, assemble and serve the tacos. Add about 1 to 2 spoonfuls of refried black beans to the tortilla, fill with sweet potato vegetable mix, and top with avocado and cilantro.

Notes

Vegan & vegetarian note: To make this recipe vegan and vegetarian friendly, make sure to use vegan refried black beans.
Chipotle puree: Simply puree a can of chipotles in adobo in a food processor to get chipotle puree! You won’t use the whole can for this recipe – store the rest in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. (Tip: mix some with mayo and lime juice for a delicious and easy chipotle aioli!)
Cooking the potatoes: Have some patience while frying the potatoes. You want to cook them at a high enough heat that the outsides caramelize, but a low enough heat that the insides can soften without the outsides getting too crispy. Different stove types run at different temperatures, so use whatever is a “medium” temperature on your stove and keep an eye on the potatoes as they cook. Don’t be afraid to adjust the heat if you think they’re cooking too quickly (or too slowly).
Storing & reheating leftovers: Store leftover ingredients in separate containers – sweet potato filling, black beans, avocado, and cilantro can all be kept in the fridge, whereas you should store leftover corn tortillas at room temperature. Check out our blog post above for full details.
Reheat leftover sweet potato filling in the microwave for about 1 to 2 minutes per serving, or in a frying pan over medium-low heat for 5 to 10  minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve as tacos again, or turn it into a burrito bowl with some rice and crema!
Serving suggestions: Chips and salsa, guac, and even chicken tortilla soup (for non-vegetarians!) make great sides with these flavorful tacos. Serve sweet potato tacos for a unique Taco Tuesday, a dinner party with friends, or a special treat in the fall and winter when you’re craving cozy, hearty flavors.

Nutrition

Serving: 1tacoCalories: 148kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 4gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 239mgPotassium: 250mgFiber: 6gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 3012IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 37mgIron: 1mg
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Keyword adobo sauce, Avocado, cilantro, corn, corn tortillas, lime juice, olive oil, poblano pepper, red onion, refried black beans, salt, sweet potato, tacos, vegetarian

If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.

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5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

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