These healthy black bean sweet potato tacos are the best vegetarian tacos ever. Sweet potatoes and vegetables are perfectly spiced and roasted, then tossed with a honey, lime cilantro mixture for the most flavorful and delicious tacos. Taco night isn’t complete without this sweet potato taco recipe!
Taco night isn’t complete in my house without these black bean sweet potato tacos – I literally make them every week (along with this salsa, guacamole, and refried beans)! In this recipe, sweet potatoes and vegetables are spiced and roasted to perfection. Then everything is tossed in a delicious cilantro-lime mixture and roasted again for a depth of flavor that is out-of-this-world delicious.
These vegetarian tacos are the perfect way to diversify taco night, especially for the plant lovers in your life. They are healthy, easy to make and are the most delicious taco filling you’ll ever make (well, along with these crockpot chicken tacos).
Tacos are my go-to meal whenever we entertain, because they satisfy all sorts of dietary needs. That’s why I love these sweet potato tacos, I can easily serve herbivores and carnivores and make everyone happy, with the same meal – paired with all of our Mexican recipes!
Sweet Potato Tacos: Ingredients and Substitutions
These vegetarian tacos are fairly versatile! Here are a few potential substitutions!
- Olive oil. Any neutral oil works well in this recipe! My top two recommendations are olive oil and avocado oil.
- Spices. If you’d like to add a little heat (I am a spice wimp), toss in some chili powder. If you’re not a fan of one of the spices, you can easily customize them to your liking by increasing what you love and decreasing what you don’t. However, I find this spice blend perfect.
- Bell peppers. I use a total of 3 small bell peppers. Choose your favorite color (red, green, yellow orange, purple), or if you aren’t a fan, you can substitute a different vegetable. I sometimes use this as a “clean the produce drawer” recipe and toss in whatever I have on hand.
- Black beans. Any bean would work well in this recipe, however black beans are my favorite. Chickpeas are another great choice.
- Honey. If you’d like to make this recipe vegan you can substitute maple syrup for the honey, but the taste will be a touch different. Other vegan sweeteners include agave, date syrup, and brown rice syrup!
How to make Sweet Potato Tacos
This sweet potato black bean tacos recipe might sound complicated, but it really isn’t! We’ll walk through the process step-by-step, and don’t forget to watch the video!
Make Spice Mixture
Begin my mixing the spices together in a small bowl, then set the mixture aside to use later.
Season & Roast Sweet Potatoes
Toss the sweet potatoes in olive oil and the spice mixture. Then roast them in the oven until they just begin to brown and become soft. The sweet potatoes take longer to roast than the rest of the vegetables, so it’s important that you pre-cook them. There are two ways to do this,
- Follow the recipe and roast them for about 20 minutes before adding the peppers to the pan to be cooked.
- Microwave the cubed sweet potatoes on high for 5-6 minutes, then roast for 5-10 minutes in the oven tossed with the olive oil and spices.
Either way as long as you wait to add the peppers until the sweet potatoes are slightly browned, all the vegetables will finish cooking at the same time.
Add Veggies & Roast again
Next, add the bell peppers (or any other veggies you’d like to add) and roast again until the vegetables are soft and browned.
Make the Cilantro-lime sauce
While the vegetables are roasting, whisk together the honey, cilantro and lime juice.
Add black beans, corn & sauce
Add the black beans, corn and sauce to the roasted vegetables and stir to be sure everything is evenly combined. Adding the sauce at the end ensures that your tacos will be crispy and not soggy!
Roast one more time
Finally, roast the sweet potato and black bean tacos again, stirring once, to ensure the sauce is absorbed and the vegetables are roasted. Then serve!
How to store Sweet Potato Tacos
Store any leftover black bean sweet potato tacos in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. This recipe makes a large amount of taco filling, so I love eating the leftovers for lunches throughout the week.
To reheat
To restore the crispiness, reheat the sweet potato tacos in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 10-15 minutes (be sure to check often). They can also be warmed in the microwave, and they will still be delicious but won’t be crispy.
Recipe FAQs
Do I have to peel sweet potatoes to use for tacos?
Nope. I prefer the sweet potatoes with the skin on for flavor, texture and nutrition. However you can peel them if you’d like to,
Can I make these vegan sweet potato tacos?
Yes! Substitute maple syrup for honey and they are vegan.
How long do sweet potato tacos last?
This filling lasts in the fridge for 5-7 days.
