These Stuffed Sweet Potatoes are filled with quinoa, kale, and hazelnuts, then topped with creamy tahini for a hearty meatless main or side dish!
If stuffed potatoes makes you think cheese, bacon, and sour cream, these Stuffed Sweet Potatoes are here to change the game! (As are my Breakfast Stuffed Sweet Potatoes and Mexican Quinoa Stuffed Sweet Potatoes.) Soft, tender, perfectly roasted sweet potatoes, filled with a nutty, lemony quinoa mixture? Sign me up! This stuffed sweet potato recipe manages to be cozy, comforting, and hearty, but also light and wholesome at the same time.
Why These Quinoa Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Are a Favorite
In my view, these quinoa stuffed sweet potatoes are the epitome of a perfect winter meal. Here’s what makes them so amazing.
- Lemony tahini sauce. It's my go-to for…well, pretty much everything. It gives the potatoes a little creaminess and adds a nice tang to balance the sweetness.
- A little bit of crunch. Hazelnuts add a crunchy contrast to the tender roasted potatoes and creamy tahini.
- Power-packed filling. The quinoa-kale duo that’s stuffed into these sweet potatoes is hearty and satisfying. It makes this recipe totally meal worthy!
What You’ll Need
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to pick up to make these stuffed sweet potatoes. Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.
- Sweet potatoes – You can use any kind, even the white or purple varieties, but I like orange because they’re less starchy.
- Quinoa – Here’s how to cook quinoa.
- Olive oil
- Shallot – Or red onion, if you prefer.
- Garlic
- Kale – You can use any variety of kale here.
- Lemon juice
- Hazelnuts – Toast these before you get started to bring out their flavor.
- Salt & pepper
- Tahini sauce – This is made with tahini paste, lemon juice, salt, and water.
How to Make Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Making this recipe is easy! Here’s what you’ll need to do.
- Bake the potatoes. Pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork and set them in a baking dish. Bake at 400ºF for 35 to 45 minutes, or until they’re tender.
- Make the filling. Warm the oil in a pan over medium heat. Cook the garlic and onion and once they’re fragrant, add the quinoa, hazelnuts, kale, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Stir and reduce the heat to low.
- Stuff the potatoes. Let the sweet potatoes cool enough to handle, then split them open with a knife and divide the quinoa mixture into them.
- Make the tahini. Whisk together the ingredients in a small bowl, then drizzle the sauce over the sweet potatoes.
Tips and Variations
These additional pointers will help you make perfect stuffed sweet potatoes!
- Buy potatoes that are similar in size and shape. This will ensure they’re both finished cooking at the same time. If you buy one small one and one huge one, you’ll be waiting forever for the big sweet potato to cook through!
- Know that the cooking time can vary. Relating to the point above, a thick and short sweet potato will take longer than a thin and long one. A fork or knife should go in easily; I always err on the side of over-cooking because I love when sweet potatoes get meltingly tender and caramelized.
- Switch up the sauce. You can change the entire vibe of this recipe by swapping the tahini sauce with Thai Peanut Sauce or Green Goddess Dressing.
What to Serve With Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
If you want to pair something else with these potatoes, I’d suggest something light like Honey Glazed Salmon. For a vegan option, try this Turmeric Lentil Soup or Smashed Chickpea Salad with Caesar Dressing.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
- Refrigerator: Transfer leftovers to an airtight container and store for up to 4 days in the fridge.
- Freezer: Freeze leftovers in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating.
- To reheat: Warm leftovers in the microwave or a 350ºF oven until heated through.
More Sweet Potato Recipes
Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small shallot diced (or red onion)
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 cup chopped kale
- ½ lemon juiced
- ½ cup hazelnuts toasted
- Salt & pepper to taste
for the tahini
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- Pinch of salt
- 1 – 2 tablespoons water to thin
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Puncture the sweet potatoes with a fork and place them in a baking dish. Bake until soft, and knife slides into the flesh easily, about 35 – 45 minutes depending on the size.
- Meanwhile, prepare the quinoa mixture by heating the oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Saute the garlic and shallot until fragrant, about 3 – 5 minutes. Add the cooked quinoa, hazelnuts and kale, drizzle with lemon juice to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Turn down to low and stir occasionally until the sweet potatoes are done.
- When the sweet potatoes are soft, remove them from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes. Once cooled, transfer them to a plate, split them open with a sharp knife and spoon the quinoa into the center.
- Whisk together the tahini dressing ingredients and pour on top of sweet potatoes. Serve immediately and enjoy!
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I stumbled upon your page looking up some recipe ideas with quinoa. It looks as though you have a bunch of them. Unfortunately, your site is so over run by advertisements that it makes it really frustrating to navigate. The plethora of video ads make the recipes slooooow to load and there were multiple times when ads were blocking the content. It’s A shame because I feel like you have a ton of really great ideas but it’s too bothersome to surf through them because of the crazy amount of advertisements 😣
I’m sorry you feel that way Amber. As a free blog the ads are the only way to get compensated for all of this work and as you see we have created a lot of recipes! I hope you’ll reconsider our site in the future❤️
I love the recipe and I really appreciate the Nutritional information. but I would really like it if you made it easy to PRINT. I need a copy for my files. I am sure that YOU HAVE HAD THIS REQUEST BEFOREEEEEEE.
tHANK YOU.
It actually is easy to print 🙂 There’s a print button right below the star rating. If you’re on a desktop, it’s over in the right hand side, on mobile it’s near the stars. That should have everything you need!
Making it right now for a snack. Next time will bake a sweet potato too. Calorie count seems high at 555 though.
Apple music ad covers instructions…
Made this for dinner last night – fantastic! Easy to make and very tasty.
Yay!! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂 Would love for you to give it a star rating if you have time! xx
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I am a little confused – where does the tahini come in? And is the kale just raw as you are adding with quinoa or do you cook it first? Instructions aren’t very clear but it looks delicious…
Tahini is just drizzled on top of the potatoes like you see in the photos 🙂 for the kale, “Add the cooked quinoa, hazelnuts and kale, drizzle with lemon juice to the pan and season with salt and pepper.”
I have been looking to make stuffed sweet potatoes for some time, but I don’t know if they can be enjoyed as a snack. Any ideas?
A quick question about the chopped kale as when it should be added seems to be omitted in the instructions. Do you sauté them with the garlic and shallots? Or just add the chopped kale uncooked when you stir in the quinoa?
Thanks for catching that! Yes, the kale does get added right before the quinoa. Updating now!
Hi Alissa,
The recipe was not updated.
I had the same doubt and found this comment
So looking forward to making this as I have enjoyed so many of your recipes and really like quinoa….have been working on getting more protein into my diet, thinking that might be some of my lack of energy and motivation. My friend and I too have been lacking motivation to exercise so we now are encouraging & challenging each other by meeting at a local church where we paid $3 (lol) a month to use their indoor walking track and any of their exercise equipment that we want. We don’t want the other to out do us, so it keeps us both going and we certainly feel better and enjoy the fellowship. I do know it is a decision we make and discipline in our life is not always easy but in our perserverance there is success. So be encouraged and persevere and thank you for sharing and encouraging us with these eating healthy recipes.
I am in a bad slump to much sugar preservative from ham. I awake with a bad hive and . I will go back to my routine this morning. I also replace ingredient with quinoa.
I’m feeling the exact same way. Going on a little sugar detox tomorrow – avoiding baked goods, fruit, alcohol and limiting my grains for a week or two to get back on track. Hopefully it will help kill these cravings that are eating me up! Hope your journey back to healthy eating goes well 🙂
Oh my! I just found this recipe and am in love just with the picture. Will definitely be making this as soon as I get all the ingredients! Thank you so much for this website. I am GF, as well as allergic to rice, corn, dairy, etc. I really loved the Quinoa Thins that I made today as well.
Ahh thank you! I’m so happy you enjoyed the quinoa thins. It’s a great recipe that can be changed easily with different flavor combos! This recipe is also heavenly. Please let me know if you try it! xx
Made this tonight — so good! I’ve been looking for hearty vegetarian meals to add to my dinner rotations. This one fit the bill perfectly! I’ve never cooked with hazelnuts before; they added such a great element to the meal. Thanks for the recipe!!
This recipe was awesome ! Thank you for this idea, we enjoyed it very much.
So happy to hear you liked it!! Have a very Happy Holiday! xx Alyssa
This looks absolutely fabulous and nourishing and yummy. Would you mind posting this to my food blog carnival, superfood sundays? It is geared toward helping new moms prepare for pregnancy and breastfeeding.
http://www.painfreepregnancy.org/2012/12/superfood-sunday-december-16.html
Thanks!!
I can’t help you with the motivation for excercise in Winter. I have the same problem. Just want to stay in my warm house all winter!
Your recipe looks amazing! Love both sweet potatoes and quinoa but never thought to put the 2 together.
This looks delicious! We eat sweet potatoes a lot and I usually don’t put anything but a little butter on them. I love this idea to spice it up!
This looks fabulous Alyssa! LOVE the use of hazelnuts…and I happen to have some in my pantry. 🙂
That actually sounds really good. I eat sweet potato all the time but usually just with butter and I always microwave them to save on time. As for motivation to work out, you gotta set a measurable goal so you have a reason to work out.
I know what you mean about staying motivated, it can be so challenging sometimes. I live in the north and have a tendency to have symptoms of SAD so I use exercise to prevent and especially focus on how good I feel after. My mantra lately is I deserve to be happy and feel good and I always tell myself the bare minimum is go walk 30 minutes a day- just walking. Usually once I’m there though I get into it a little more. I have also checked out Pinterest for motivation pictures and new ideas. Hope this helps!