Description
This Mediterranean Baked Sweet Potatoes recipe combines tender roasted sweet potatoes with spiced chickpeas and a flavorful garlic herb sauce, topped with a fresh parsley-tomato salad. It’s a simple, wholesome, and vibrant dish perfect for a nutritious meal with optional spicy chili garlic sauce to add a kick.
Ingredients
Scale
Sweet Potatoes and Chickpeas
- 4 medium (~1/3 lb each) sweet potatoes
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp smoked or regular paprika
- 1 pinch sea salt or lemon juice (optional)
Garlic Herb Sauce
- 1/4 cup hummus (or tahini)
- 1/2 medium lemon, juiced (~1 Tbsp lemon juice)
- 3/4 – 1 tsp dried dill (or 2-3 tsp fresh dill)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced (~1 1/2 Tbsp or 9 g)
- Water or unsweetened almond milk (to thin the sauce)
- Sea salt (optional, to taste)
Toppings (optional)
- 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, diced
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley, minced
- 3 Tbsp finely chopped red onion
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- Chili garlic sauce (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Set your oven to 400°F (204°C) and line a large baking sheet with foil for easy cleanup.
- Prepare Sweet Potatoes: Rinse and scrub the sweet potatoes. Cut each potato in half lengthwise to speed up cooking. If you prefer to keep them whole, baking time will double to about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Season Chickpeas: Toss the rinsed and drained chickpeas with olive oil and the spices—cumin, coriander, cinnamon, paprika, and a pinch of sea salt or a dash of lemon juice if using. Spread them out on the foil-lined baking sheet.
- Arrange Sweet Potatoes: Rub the sweet potatoes lightly with olive oil and place them flesh-side down on the same baking sheet as the chickpeas (use a second baking sheet if needed). Transfer to the preheated oven.
- Bake: Roast for about 25 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are fork-tender and the chickpeas turn golden brown and crispy.
- Make Garlic Herb Sauce: While the potatoes and chickpeas roast, whisk together hummus (or tahini), lemon juice, dill, minced garlic, and enough water or unsweetened almond milk to reach a pourable consistency. Adjust seasoning with salt, more garlic, lemon juice, or dill as you prefer.
- Prepare Toppings: Mix diced cherry tomatoes, chopped parsley, finely chopped red onion with lemon juice. Let this mixture marinate for freshness.
- Assemble: When roasted, carefully flip the sweet potatoes so the flesh side is up. Gently mash or smash the inside slightly to create a bed for toppings.
- Serve: Top the sweet potatoes with the spiced chickpeas, drizzle with garlic herb sauce, spoon over the parsley-tomato salad, and add chili garlic sauce if you like a spicy touch. Serve immediately.
Notes
- If you don’t have hummus, tahini is a great substitute for the sauce base—homemade tahini works well too.
- Baking whole sweet potatoes requires a longer cooking time, around 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Additional side dishes that complement this recipe include hummus, pita chips, baba ganoush, or Persian eggplant dip.
- Adjust garlic, lemon juice, and dill in the sauce to taste for more zing or herb flavor.
- The chili garlic sauce topping is optional and adds a spicy twist if desired.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 stuffed sweet potato with toppings
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 7 g
- Sodium: 250 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 55 g
- Fiber: 9 g
- Protein: 10 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
