Ok guys, these tacos ROCK.
And not like Tom Cruise in Rock of Ages. These are the Led Zepelin of tacos. Black Dog meets Taco Bell…. meets vegan.
And they are not messing around. These sweet potato tacos are so so good! …..
And so so in season!
Today’s post is all about eating in season and letting fall’s produce shine! Don’t let the sweet potatoes scare you off in these tacos – those little gems are spiced up with chili powder and cumin and are fantastic with the cool creamy basil lime sauce and savory caramelized onions and black beans.
Trying to cook around seasonal vegetables is the best time for thinking outside of the box! We all complain about getting stuck in the chicken dinner rut… so look towards falls produce for some inspiration. This season’s hearty vegetables make perfect bases for filling vegetarian main dishes.
So what’s in season, right?
I mean.. we know not blueberries. I swear they were $6 for 1/2 pint the other day at the grocery store…. noooo thank you!
I had Ashley do a little investigating about the season’s tastiest selection and here’s the list she came up with:
What’s in Season?
October:Apples Cranberries Grapes Pomegranates Sweet potato Pumpkin Winter squash Broccoli Lettuce |
November:Cranberries Oranges Tangerines Pears Pomegranate Pumpkin Winter squash Sweet potato Broccoli Mushrooms Spinach |
December:Pears Oranges Grapefruit Tangerines Papaya Pomegranates Sweet potato Mushrooms Cauliflower Broccoli
|
For an even more extensive list of what’s in season check out both these links below:
http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/whats-in-season-fall
http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/whats-in-season-winter
So this post’s challenge is to get a seasonal fruit or vegetable into at least two meals every day. Have an apple at lunch, then roast some squash with dinner? Throw cranberries in your salad or mushrooms into your omelet. Easy-peasy guys! Not only is it cheaper (hey $6 blueberries!) its delicious! And good for momma Earth! I’ve got plenty more seasonal recipes to come! Yay for fall!!
Vegan Sweet Potato Tacos with Creamy Basil Lime Sauce
Yields 6 servings
Ingredients:
For the Sweet Potatoes
- 3/4 lb sweet potato, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
For the Black Beans
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup vegan sour cream (or regular dairy sour cream)
- 1/2 cup mayo made with olive oil (or reduced fat)
- 1 tablespoon soy milk (or regular)
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping
- avocado, chopped
- extra fresh basil, chopped
- shredded cabbage
- 6 (6-inch) whole grain tortillas
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Gently toss chopped sweet potato, olive oil, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper, on a baking sheet until evenly coated. Bake for 25 minutes or until tender.
- While the potatoes are cooking, make the black bean mixture. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add red onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and salt and sauté for one more minute. Stir in black beans and continue to cook until beans are heated through. Remove from heat and set aside to make the basil-lime cream.
- In a medium bowl combine sour cream, mayonaise, soy milk, lime juice, basil and salt. Mix until smooth. Refrigerate until using.
- Assemble the tacos – briefly heat tortillas in microwave for 10-15 seconds. Layer bean mixture, sweet potatoes, chopped avocado, and optional cabbage. Drizzle with basil-lime sauce.
Nutrition Information (1 taco plus 2 tablespoons sauce); Calories: 265, Fat: 8.5 grams, Protein: 9 grams
I have some sweet potatoes to use up-my try this one tonight! Thank you :)
Perfect! :) Can’t wait for you to try these!
What a gorgeous looking taco! I love the filling and the cream sauce. Looks like the perfect way to celebrate in-season! :)
Thanks Ricki! The cream sauce is definitely my favorite :) I’ve been pouring it over everything this week!
Looove that this post is about eating what’s in season!! And those are the prettiest little tacos I’ve ever seen!
Thank you darlin :)
I can’t tell you how much I love this post! That looks so yummy and fresh! I love your list of what is in season- simple! I seem to think that it’s only oranges and squash that are in season, but there are tons of great things! I will try this! Thank you!
Thanks Annie!! Let me know how you like it! I love the basil lime sauce, I’ve been drizzling it over everything today :)
YUM!!! This sounds amazins Kristina!
Thanks Arantha!! I’m kinda obsessed with these…. :) Had them for dinner again tonight!
these look awesome!!! I’ve never had a vegetarian taco but the photos are so pretty I may just have to try them! I just researched a whole bunch of fall recipes and have a lot of inspiration over the next couple of weeks! squash here I come :)
Ooo yum! Can’t wait to see what you come up with! I’ve got a gigantic (I swear like 5lbs) butternut squash in my kitchen I need to figure out what to do with….
Yay for fall! Yay for sweet potatoes! yay for making me hungry while on my lunch break! ;-)
haha! any time :) Love that we both were all about sweet potatoes this week :) Those little cupcakes looked fabulous!
I seriously need to get better at eating in season. LOL. These tacos are definitely something I`d like to try!
haha we all do! Its easier than you think though :) Just follow whats cheapest at the grocery store…. :)
Yum, these look amazing! I’ve been having mad sweet potato cravings lately, and this looks like the perfect thing to do to satisfy it. Thanks for posting that list of what’s in season, it’s really helpful!
Thanks Katie! Me too actually, so weird? I swear I never crave potatoes too…. I’ve been in a french fry mood too though, love love love sweet potato fries!
I like the idea of the sweet potatoes with that basil sauce. Interesting…
haha thanks Anita :) I swear it works so well! The cool sauce with the spicy sweet potatoes is really good!
Love your post my friend, eating in season rocks :D
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Oh man, do these tacos look amazing. They’re screaming my name! I just so happen to have all of the ingredients in my pantry, which means these tacos are going to be whipped up this weekend. Yum! Love the “In Season” list.
haha don’t you love when that happens? I swear I’m always missing one thing…. like the sweet potatoes for the sweet potato tacos :) You’ll have to let me know how you like them!! Can’t wait for you to try!
Isn’t crazy how well black beans and sweet potatoes go together? I love these tacos!
Wow! I just got finished cooking and eating this with my family! Best vegetarian/vegan taco recipe I have found ever! The sauce was a big hit and so were the potatoes. They didn’t even miss the meat! Thank you so much for sharing! You can bet that I’ll be making this again!! :)
-Nikole
What a gorgeous recipe my dear, it looks soooo delicious!
the creamy basil sauce sounds amazing, black beans and sweet potatoes are paired so perfectly, K! Great recipe. :)
these look so good! that basil lime sauce sounds yummy!
Wow! These look so yummy! I’ll have to try these for dinner one night soon. Thanks for sharing.
What a terrific idea for a meatless meal. The combination of sweet potatoes with your lime sauce sounds fantastic.
mmm… I will never get sick of sweet potatoes and black beans, it’s one of my favorite combos. Love the creamy sauce you’ve got here!
I would love this with out all the added fat!
Thanks for the interesting vegan taco recipe that isn’t trying to mimic meat! The only problem I had when trying to make this was that since most olive oils have a low smoking point, 400 degrees was too hot and it started to smell like it was burning. You might get away with 400 degrees, though, if you had a very precise oven and very low acidity olive oil. Instead, I turned the temperature down to 350 and cooked it a little longer. Turned out great!
Hi Dan! So excited you tried out my vegan tacos! You could probably get away w/375, I’ve never had an issue at 400 with my ovens (which has been great :), if you’re concerned you could also switch up it up and use an oil with a higher smoking point, like grapeseed. Happy cooking!!