Vegan, gluten-free stuffed sweet potatoes with a flavorful coconut-based curry made with broccoli, red bell pepper, baby corn, and water chestnuts.
It’s January which means millions of people are upping their healthy eating game, myself included. Personally, I struggle with eating healthy eating more in the winter than any other season.
There are several reasons for this:
- I crave carb-heavy foods. Bread, pasta, and potatoes! Warm, hearty serotonin-boosting carbs. Yum! What could be more comforting than that?
- I’m so darn cold. There is pretty much nothing I hate more than being cold and in the winter I’m basically cold all the time. I spend the majority of my time wrapped up in a blanket. Leaving the cover of a blanket long enough to cook a healthy meal takes a lot of willpower and I just don’t have a lot of that going on in the winter due. Wanna know why? Check out number three on this list.
- I’m slightly depressed. Thanks, Seasonal Effective Disorder (ok, not really!)!! SAD zaps the motivation right out of me and leaves me feeling tired and lazy. Spending time in the kitchen just doesn’t sound very appealing which results in more dining out and processed convenience foods.
Thankfully, I found the perfect solution to my winter healthy eating predicament. Yep, stuffed sweet potatoes with vegetable coconut curry. They’ve got all the good stuff going on. They start with hearty and warm baked sweet potatoes, then are generously heaped with a rich and flavorful coconut curry chock full of vibrant, crunchy veggies. Top it all off with a bit of fresh cilantro and BAM! So so good and easy to prepare!
Did I mention they’re both vegan and gluten-free?!? That means these stuffed sweet potatoes can be served to pretty much anyone. Even the meat-eaters out there will love them! They’re so hearty and filling that even the carnivore in me didn’t miss the meat. Not for one second. Nope, not one. And who needs dairy when you’ve got a thick, creamy coconut sauce. I’m a dairy-holic too, so when I don’t even miss the dairy, it must be good.
Ingredients (+ notes & substitutions)
- Sweet Potatoes: Medium-sized potatoes work best.
- Coconut Oil: For baking the potatoes and sautéeing the aromatics. Alternatively, you could use olive oil or avocado oil.
- Salt: To sprinkle on the potatoes for baking.
- White onion and garlic: Aromatics, because they are a MUST!
- Coconut milk: The base of the sauce. And hey, it’s vegan.
- Liquid aminos: I wanted to keep this recipe gluten-free, so I went with liquid aminos, but soy sauce or tamari (also gluten-free) would work.
- Curry powder: Enough said (this is a curry dish after all).
- Sambal Oelek: I like my food spicy so for me, the Sambal Oelek is a must, however, if spicy isn’t your jam leave it out. The recipe calls for two tablespoons, but I always add more.
- Cumin
- Coriander
- Garam masala
- Tumeric
- Broccoli: One small head should be about right.
- Red bell pepper
- Water chestnuts: Crunchy!
- Baby corn: Make sure you don’t get the pickled stuff.
- Lime juice: Gotta have that acid! Really makes the flavors pop.
- Cilantro: I highly recommend garnishing with some fresh cilantro. It’s the perfect accompaniment to balance out the richness of this dish.
How to make stuffed sweet potatoes w/ vegetable coconut curry (+tips)
Begin by preheating your oven to 400 degrees. Wash and scrub all the dirt off the sweet potatoes. Dry them and then place them on a parchment paper or tin foil-lined baking sheet. Poke a knife or fork into each potato six to seven times. Rub them in coconut oil or your choice of oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake until tender, about 45-60 minutes. You can check the tenderness of the potatoes by poking them with a fork. It should slide through to the center with no resistance. Once the potatoes are done, remove them from the oven and allow them to rest for five minutes.
While the sweet potatoes are baking prepare the vegetable coconut curry. I would begin this process at least 20 minutes prior to the completion of the baked sweet potatoes. If you have yet to prep the other ingredients I would recommend beginning at least 30 minutes prior.
Heat one tablespoon of oil to medium heat in a sauté pan. Add the onions and garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes. They should be somewhat soft and translucent at this point. Pour in the coconut milk, coconut aminos (or soy sauce or tamari), and the spices.
Increase heat to high. Add the broccoli florets, red bell pepper, baby corn, and water chestnuts. Cook for two minutes. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. You can allow it to cook longer, however, it will result in less crunchy vegetables and a thicker sauce (which is fine). Just before serving stir in the lime juice.
Now it’s time to assemble the stuffed sweet potatoes. Slice the potatoes lengthwise and ladle on the vegetable coconut curry. You can use quite a bit (and should!). Top it off with cilantro and serve.
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
More savory, vegetarian sweet potato dishes:
- Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Beet Chips & Cranberry Vinaigrette: This hearty autumn salad is perfect for Thanksgiving. It combines greens, roasted sweet potatoes, crispy beet chips, red onions, goat cheese, and sunflower/pumpkins seeds tossed in a fresh tangy cranberry vinaigrette. Vegetarian and gluten-free.
- Cilantro Lime Sweet Potato Salad: Super simple gluten-free, vegan roasted sweet potato salad with cilantro, red onions, and lime. May be served warm or cold and ready in just 30 minutes.
- Roasted Vegetable Tacos with Salsa Verde & Mashed Avocado: These gluten-free, vegetarian roasted vegetable tacos are topped with homemade salsa verde, mashed avocado, and cheese. Healthy, quick, and easy! It doesn’t get better than that.
Stuffed Sweet Potatoes w/ Vegetable Coconut Curry
Vegan, gluten-free baked sweet potatoes smothered in a flavorful coconut-based curry with broccoli, red bell pepper, baby corn, and water chestnuts.
Ingredients
Baked Sweet Potatoes
- 5 medium sweet potatoes, rinsed and patted dry
- Coconut oil
- Salt
Vegetable Coconut Curry
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 cup diced white onion, approximately half of a medium onion
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 13.5 ounce cans coconut milk
- 1/2 cup liquid aminos, could sub tamari or soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons curry powder
- 2 tablespoons Sambal Oelek (optional)
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 2 cups broccoli florets, approximately one small head
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 8 ounce can halved water chestnuts
- 1 cup sliced baby corn
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
To Garnish
- Chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Arrange sweet potatoes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or tin foil. Poke holes in potatoes using a knife or fork. Rub with coconut oil and sprinkle with salt to taste.
- Bake until fork-tender, approximately 45-60 minutes.
- When potatoes have approximately 15 minutes left to bake, heat coconut oil to medium heat in a medium sauté pan.
- Add onion and garlic and sauté for two minutes.
- Stir in coconut milk, coconut aminos, curry power, Sambal Oelek, cumin, turmeric, coriander, and garam masala.
- Increase to high heat. Add broccoli, red bell pepper, water chestnuts, and baby corn and boil for two minutes.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 10 minutes. Stir in lime juice.
- Remove sweet potatoes from oven and rest for five minutes.
- To assemble: Slice sweet potatoes open lengthwise, generously ladle on vegetable coconut curry, and garnish with cilantro. Serve warm.
Storage: Store led tovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 620Total Fat: 34gSaturated Fat: 24gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 2436mgCarbohydrates: 63gFiber: 11gSugar: 15gProtein: 22g
The nutritional information provided is computer generated. It is only an estimate and intended for informational purposes only. Nutrition details may vary depending on various factors such as origin, freshness of ingredients, etc
If you make these stuffed sweet potatoes with vegetable coconut curry I’d love your feedback. Please leave a comment and/or a rating below as I greatly value your opinion. Or snap a pic and tag me on Instagram @taoofspiceblog. Love, light and happy cooking ya’ll ♥
