Making Perfect Baked Potatoes with Avocado and Tomato Salsa
Sweet potatoes are a regular sight in our kitchen — we’ve already shared our method for making sweet potato fries, these creamy mashed sweet potatoes, and our coconut oil roasted sweet potatoes. These vegetarian stuffed sweet potatoes are perfect for when you need something healthy and satisfying on the table fast. The potatoes can be baked in advance and the avocado tomato salsa can be made a day or two ahead of time. Let’s start with a quick “How to Bake a Sweet Potato” tutorial. It’s easy, you can do it ahead of time and it’s practically hands off.
How to Bake Sweet Potatoes
You’ve surely noticed that there can be a few different varieties to choose from when it comes to sweet potatoes. Whether they are pale gold or darker orange you can use them interchangeably. By the way, the darker orange varieties are often labeled as yams, which is wrong! Weird, I know. So we don’t really care about the color, but we do care about how they feel. Choose potatoes that are firm and have smooth skin. If you’re baking all the sweet potatoes at the same time, it’s also a good idea to choose potatoes that are similar in size. This way, they’ll all bake within the same amount of time. Just before baking, you’ll want to scrub them — a vegetable scrubbing brush is helpful, although I’ll usually use my hands. Next, grab a fork or pairing knife and pierce the potatoes in several places. Place them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil and then bake in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven until the potatoes are very soft and are beginning to ooze. Depending on the size, you are looking at 45 minutes to an hour. You’ll notice the garlic cloves scattered next to the sweet potatoes (in the photo above), those are for the salsa (I explain below).
Baking Sweet Potatoes in Advance
Sweet Potatoes can be baked in advance! Bake the potatoes just as I explained above then let them cool completely (the potatoes will soften and ooze even more as they cool). Cover the potatoes and refrigerate up to 5 days. You can enjoy them at room temperature or simply reheat for 20 to 30 minutes in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven.
Making the Roasted Garlic, Tomato, and Avocado Salsa
Now we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about this insanely delicious salsa. Remember how we bake the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet? Well, we also throw a few unpeeled garlic cloves on there, too. This way, as the potatoes bake, so does the garlic. It gets sticky, soft and a little chewy. When it’s roasted, squeeze the roasted garlic into a bowl with tomatoes, avocado, jalapeño, cilantro, and lime juice. Everything is tossed with salt and pepper and then is ready to top our perfectly baked sweet potatoes! A+J’s Tip: Add a little healthy protein to the salsa with beans — black beans or chickpeas would be great. See how we cook dried chickpeas, here The potatoes are soft and sweet and the salsa is fresh, bright, and full of flavor.
More Vegetarian Dishes
Spicy Roasted Cauliflower Burritos — Vegetable packed and easy veggie burritos with spicy cauliflower, onions, peppers, rice, cheese, and beans. Easy to make and freezer friendly!Garlic Herb Cauliflower Rice — This easy herbed cauliflower rice is packed full of flavor, healthy, low-carb and quick to make.Lentil Soup with Lemon and Turmeric — I make this soup whenever I’m in need of some healthy comfort food. It’s savory, satisfying, and utterly delicious.Easy Vegetable Baked Pasta — Our baked pasta is loaded with vegetables, extra cheesy, and seriously irresistible.
3 unpeeled garlic cloves 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 jalapeño 1 medium avocado, diced 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves 1 lime wedge Salt and fresh ground black pepper 2Toss unpeeled garlic cloves with olive oil and place on the baking sheet with potatoes. 3Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the potatoes, until very soft and beginning to ooze. 2Cut the jalapeño pepper in half, lengthwise, and use a spoon to scrape out the white membrane and seeds. Since the membrane and seeds can be very spicy, we prefer removing them. You can leave some or all of the membrane and seeds depending on how spicy you like things. 3Finely chop the jalapeño and add to bowl with garlic. Stir in the tomatoes, avocado, and cilantro. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
