I learned thid recipe from a cookbook by one of my favorite food bloggers, Laura Wright of The First Mess. I’m always inspired by her honest writing, lush photography and brilliant recipes, which combine to create a powerful trifecta of skill and talent.
Her new cookbook, The First Mess Cookbook, is finally here and it’s everything I knew it would be—colorful, inspiring, and thoughtful. Her book offers over 125 plant-based recipes that offer creative uses for familiar whole-foods ingredients.
Now that I’ve crossed these amazing sweet potato burrito bowls off my list, I’m dying to try her mega clump granola, weeknight root vegetable dal, go-to kale salad with “master cleanse” dressing and fancy rice. What next?!
These burrito-stuffed sweet potatoes are everything that you might imagine on first glance—fresh, hearty and delicious. They’re conveniently vegan and gluten free, too. I was so hungry last night that I polished off two of these myself, so you might just want to go ahead and double the recipe. I suspect the leftovers would pack well for lunch, too.
- 4 small sweet potatoes (mine came to about 2½ pounds total)
- ½ cup uncooked brown basmati rice, rinsed
- 1 cup cooked black beans (I used canned, rinsed and drained)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ garlic clove, minced
- ½ teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- Pinch of salt
- 1 yellow or red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ small red onion, chopped (mine came to about ¾ cup chopped)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- 1½ teaspoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 ripe, medium avocado
- ½ clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- Generous pinch of salt
- Shredded cabbage (Laura used green; I used purple) or romaine lettuce
- Hot sauce (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking dish with parchment paper.
- Place the sweet potatoes in the baking dish, and prick each one a couple of times with a fork. Slide the sweet potatoes into the oven and bake until very tender, about 45 minutes (mine took 5 to 10 minutes extra since they were a little bigger than specified).
- In a medium saucepan, combine the basmati rice, black beans, cumin, garlic, olive oil, tomato paste and salt. Pour 1¼ cups water into the pot. Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat. Lower the heat to a simmer, and cook until all of the liquid is absorbed, about 40 minutes. Cover and set aside to keep the rice warm.
- Make the rustic salsa: In a medium bowl, combine the bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, red onions, lime juice, cilantro and olive oil. Season the mixture with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Set aside.
- Make the guacamole: Peel the avocado and extract the pit. Place the avocado flesh in a medium bowl and mash with a fork. Once you’ve broken it up a bit, add the garlic, lime juice, cilantro and salt. Mash the avocado until the seasoning is evenly distributed and you have a chunky paste. Set aside.
- Place each baked sweet potato in a shallow bowl. Cut along the top of the sweet potato and pull back the skin. Spilt the sweet potatoes a little bit to make room for the fillings.
- Divide the rice and bean mixture among the sweet potatoes (spillover is fine!). Top each bowl with ¼th of the rustic salsa. Finish each plate with a dollop of the guacamole and some shredded cabbage on top. Serve with hot sauce on the side if you wish.
