Roasted Sweet Potato Black Bean Bowls
Cubed sweet potatoes roasted at high heat until the edges caramelize, served over cilantro-lime rice with spiced black beans, avocado, and a quick chili-lime crema. About 14g of fiber and 16g of protein per bowl. Good warm, good cold, holds four days in the fridge — one of the few meal-prep recipes that actually tastes better by day three.
Ingredients
- 800 gsweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 cm cubes
- 2 tbspolive oil
- 1 tspsmoked paprika
- 1 tspground cumin
- ½ tspgarlic powder
- 400 gcanned black beans
- 1 tspchili powder
- 300 glong-grain white rice
- 480 mlwater or vegetable broth
- 1 lime, zest and juice
- 20 gfresh cilantro
- 2 avocados
- 4 tbspsour cream or Greek yogurt
- ½ tsphot sauce
- salt and black pepper to taste
Method
- Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F). Line a large baking sheet with parchment. Spread sweet potato cubes in a single layer with space between them — crowded potatoes steam instead of roast. Toss with olive oil, smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder, and a generous pinch of salt. Roast 25–30 minutes, flipping once halfway, until the edges are deeply caramelized.
- While the potatoes roast, cook the rice: bring water or broth to a boil, add rice, reduce heat to low, cover and cook 18 minutes. Remove from heat, leave covered 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork. Stir in lime zest, half the lime juice, and cilantro.
- In a small pan, warm the black beans over medium heat with chili powder, a pinch of salt, and 2 tablespoons of water for 3–4 minutes until heated through and lightly sauced.
- Make the crema: stir together sour cream, remaining lime juice, hot sauce, and a pinch of salt.
- Assemble the bowls: rice at the base, sweet potatoes and black beans on top, avocado slices on the side, crema drizzled over everything. Serve immediately or pack for meal prep.
FAQ
Two causes: too much crowding on the baking tray, or oven temperature too low. When sweet potato cubes touch each other, they trap steam and braise instead of roast. Use a large tray or two smaller ones — each cube needs its own space. The oven must be at 220°C minimum; at lower temperatures the moisture evaporates too slowly for caramelization to happen.
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Comments (1)
Cut the sweet potatoes slightly larger than your instinct suggests for roasted sweet potato black bean bowls. Vegetables shrink substantially during cooking. What looks oversized raw will be perfectly portioned on the plate.