Roasted Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos with Cilantro Chimichurri
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Take taco night to the next level with taco-spiced, roasted sweet potatoes, and black beans. These vegan-friendly tacos are topped with a bright cilantro chimichurri and quick-pickled red onions.
Perfect for Meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday, or any other day of the week!
Ah, Taco Tuesday.
Listen, I dig any excuse to celebrate tacos. But we shouldn’t feel the need to limit tacos to just one day per week, right?
I love that the whole Taco Tuesday thing got more people on board with having tacos much more often. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner… I.Am.Down.
And what’s not to love? Tacos are an easy, versatile meal option. They don’t even have to have Mexican flavors – almost any cuisine can benefit from having its dishes taco-fied.
My go-to busy weeknight recipe used to be pretty standard tacos – ground beef, browned in a skillet, seasoned with a packet of taco seasoning and topped with shredded lettuce, cheddar cheese, sour cream, diced tomatoes, and hot sauce.
For a while, I switched things up and made the same tacos with ground turkey. Still delicious, just not overly exciting.
But once I branched out into veggie-packed tacos, a whole new world of delicious possibilities opened up!
One key to making killer tacos at home is to have some Mexican spices hanging in your pantry.
I have a whole post on stocking your pantry for Mexican cooking comin’ atcha tomorrow, so stay tuned! (Update – check it out here: Mexican Pantry Staples to Bring the Flavors of Mexico to Your Kitchen)
For this particular recipe, I used the Taco Seasoning, Oregano, and Cayenne from Spicely Organics.
A while back, we had grilled up some steak, and I had baked sweet potatoes alongside. I made a chimichurri to go with the steak, and some of it got onto my sweet potato.
Let me tell you – that was one of the tastiest bites of food that I ever had.
There’s something magical that happens when sweet potatoes meet that garlicky, delicious chimichurri, and I just knew it’d be perfect in taco form!
I tossed the potatoes with oil, taco seasoning, salt, and pepper, and roasted them in the oven. While that roasted, I added some lime juice and a little salt to a bowl of thinly sliced red onions to make a quick, pickled topping.
Then I pulsed a few ingredients together in the food processor and the chimichurri was ready!
When the potatoes were almost done, I added some black beans and dried oregano and let it all cook for a few more minutes in the oven. The whole dish cooked up in under 30 minutes.
Just how tacos should be. Quick, easy, and insanely delicious.
What are your favorite ways to enjoy tacos? I’d love to hear about them in the comments section below!
Looking for more ways to celebrate Taco Tuesday? Check out some of our favorite recipes:
- Dino’s Restaurant-Style Guacamole
- Roasted Kabocha and Eggplant Tacos with Poblano Crema
- Slow Cooker Chipotle Pork Tacos with Avocado + Chipotle Cremas
- Spiced Chickpea Tacos with Cilantro-Peach Relish
- Tofu & Black Bean Taco Boats with Jicama Mango Salsa
- Mandarin Chipotle Pork Tacos
- Taco Salad with Homemade Chipotle Ranch Dressing
- Margarita Bars
- Mango, Jicama + Black Bean Salsa
- Tequila-Lime Shrimp Tacos
- Power-Packed Tacos
- Taco Salad
- Slow Cooker Shredded Green Chile Chicken
- Shredded Chicken Tacos
- Tuna Tostada with Avocado Dressing + Chipotle Sour Cream
Roasted Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos with Cilantro Chimichurri
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: About 4 servings (2 tacos per serving) 1x
- Category: Vegetarian
- Method: Roast
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
Take taco night to the next level with taco-spiced, roasted sweet potatoes, and black beans. These vegan-friendly tacos are topped with a bright cilantro chimichurri and quick-pickled red onions. Perfect for Meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday, or any other day of the week!
Ingredients
For Tacos:
- 2 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil (or other neutral-flavored oil)
- 1 teaspoon taco seasoning
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 (15-ounce) can no salt added black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
For Chimichurri:
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 bunch cilantro (leaves and stems, about 2 loosely packed cups total)
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 1/4 cup sunflower oil
For Quick Pickled Onions:
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
For Serving:
- Warmed tortillas (I used flour tortillas)
- Plain Greek yogurt, sour cream, or Mexican crema (optional)
- Lime wedges (optional)
- Hot sauce (optional, I like Cholula)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Place sweet potatoes on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil. Add taco seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, and toss to coat. Spread into an even layer and roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
- For Chimichurri: With the food processor motor running, drop garlic cloves into the feed chute to mince. Stop the motor and add cilantro, red wine vinegar, lime juice, oregano, salt, and cayenne pepper, and process until finely chopped. With the motor running, slowly stream sunflower oil through the feed chute and continue to process until the chimichurri is smooth.
- For the Quick Pickled Onions: Place sliced onions in a ramekin or small bowl. Pour lime juice over top. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and let sit, stirring occasionally, for at least 10 minutes.
- When the potatoes are ready, add black beans to the tray and season with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and dried oregano. Toss to coat and redistribute into an even layer, then return to the oven for an additional 8 minutes.
- Serve roasted sweet potatoes and black beans in warmed tortillas with chimichurri spooned over top, along with a scattering of pickled onions. Serve with Greek yogurt. lime wedges, and hot sauce alongside, if desired.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 352
- Sugar: 3.8 g
- Sodium: 746.7 mg
- Fat: 20.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 35 g
- Fiber: 9.9 g
- Protein: 8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: vegetarian, Mexican, tacos
Ashley
Ashley Covelli is a food photographer, recipe developer, and culinary instructor based in Ossining, New York. She loves helping people become enthusiastic and adventurous in the kitchen so that they can build skills and confidence to cook for themselves and their loved ones. She can almost always be found with at least 3 different beverages within arm's reach.
30 Comments
Jen
As someone who had the pleasure of tasting this recipe, I feel like it’s my duty to tell the world that they are DELICIOUS. 😉 So. freaking. good!
Ashley
I’m so, so glad you loved ’em! Next time, you have to make them and I’ll come over for lunch tacos 😉
Patti @ Patty Cake's Pantry
What an amazing combination of flavors going on in these tacos! I completely agree that you have elevated taco Tuesday, (or every day) to a whole new level. I’ve pinned this recipe, and I can’t wait to go to the store to buy everything it takes to make them.
Simply Real Foods Market
We feel the same… we love what Ashley came up with – all the flavors and a fun recipe to try with the kids too! And, if you buy the ingredients at the Store, we are offering a 16 oz. jar of free raw organic honey with a $35+ order ’til tomorrow evening. Good time to check us out!
I can’t wait to see what Ashley comes up with next 🙂
Ashley
So glad you’re digging the flavor profile here, Patti! This recipe became a quick favorite in my house – can’t wait to try it out with butternut squash or other veggies, along with all of the pantry staples I stocked up on from SRFM! 🙂
Erin
These look so delicious! I can’t wait to try them next taco Tuesday! Thank you for the helpful tips and for using some of the great products at our store! It’s so fun to see how creatively you used them!!
Ashley
Thanks so much, Erin! I hope you enjoy them as much as my family did. I’m loving that Taco Seasoning from Spicely Organics – so nice to be able to grab that and so many other pantry items from one shop!
Ashima
These look absolutely delicious! I can’t wait to try them. I love taco dinner, they are so simple and easy and your recipe is a nice addition to my regular tofu and beans taco. And the cilantro chimichuri looks fab, I bet it will go great on salads too!
Thanks for sharing
Ben Myhre
I love the combination of sweet potatoes and black beans! While we already serve a version of this in our house, this looks great so I am gonna have to give your recipe a try!
Christine
These are my kind of tacos! Obsessed with sweet potatoes and black beans, definitely my go-to. I’ll have to make this recipe for my family soon!
Kiki Johnson
These tacos have my name written all over them! I love sweet potatoes and beans and in combination, they make for a great protein-rich vegetarian taco filling. Cilantro Chimichurri is the perfect accompaniment!
dixya @food, pleasure, and health
i had been wanting to make chimichurri for a long time..and now after seeing this i want it even more.
Marisa Franca @ All Our WAy
I love the flavors and spices you’ve put in your tacos. You don’t have to have a lot of expensive ingredients to make a tasty and satisfying dish! It’s been so long since I’ve made that sauce — I’ll have to make a batch. I bet it would be great over our fish.
prasanna hede
Taco is my kind of favorite dinner and i love your chimichurri sauce! Can’t wait to try this.
Anne Murphy
Black beans and sweet potatoes! I haven’t eaten them together, let alone in a taco, but it sounds wonderful. And I have to remember to make chimichurri – I don’t like cilantro but MIL loves it, so if I make the sauce, she can use as much as she likes!
Jessica
I keep seeing sweet potato tacos and I think your recipe finally convinced me to give it a try. Love the chimichurri sauce addition!
Heather
Absolutely lovely recipe.. I love the switch up on regular tacos and most of these ingredients are already in my pantry. Awesome!
Deborah
Love this and substituting coconut yogurt for greek yogurt would make it vegan so that’s a super plus for me.
Leslie
This recipe rocks! Great meld of flavors — the chimichurri and pickled onions really kick it up a level. So yummy!
Joan Almond
Loved this Recipe! For the Vegetarian it is a complete meal with the black beans. The Roasted Sweet Potatoes were delicious -the quick pickled red onions – Wow! – (You gotta love a recipe that calls for a whole bunch of Cilantro – personally, it eases my quilt for all the Cilantro I’ve composted in the past. lol) Garlic and Lime Lovers look out! #bigflavours
Raksha
Wow.. this recipe is yummy. Found this on google.
Ashley
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Raksha!
Sarah Lisson
So yummy and satisfying! I’m not a big cilantro fan, but the chimichurri still works with parsley. That and the pickled onions are probably my favorite parts of the whole dish- I would put them on just about anything.
Ashley
I’m so glad you still found a way to make it work for you! Parsley is delicious in chimichurri!
Rachel Breinin
We loved this! The chimichurri sauce was particularly amazing!
Ashley
I’m so glad it was a hit for you, Rachel! That chimichurri is delicious on all sorts of things – grilled meat, seafood, or tofu, spread on the bread of a sandwich, instead of pesto for pasta…
Thank you for joining tonight’s class! Always a pleasure cooking with people in real time!
Maureen McGinn
This is the most delicious chimichurri sauce!
Ashley
So glad you enjoyed! It’s good on lots of different things
Lorraine
Fabulous flavors and very easy to make. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
Ashley
I’m so glad this was a hit, Lorraine! Thanks for cooking along with me in a virtual cooking class!