It doesn’t get much easier or budget-friendly than these vegan Stuffed Sweet Potatoes loaded with tangy dressed Kale and tart Cranberries. Everything is cooked in a microwave, the dishes are minimal, and the potatoes are ready in about 15 to 20 minutes. Oh, and they are perfect for meal prep. I already know this one is going into heavy rotation!
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It’s all in the name. You can stuff a sweet potato with pretty much anything, but here, I’ve kept things plant-based by filling microwaved sweet potatoes with massaged kale and dried cranberries rehydrated in a citrusy sauce. These Stuffed Sweet Potatoes come together in no time and hold incredibly well, making them perfect for a work or school lunch.
“Great flavors, quick, and healthy. I served this with roasted asparagus and will absolutely make this recipe again.”
Jordan
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make my easy recipe for Stuffed Sweet Potatoes:
- Sweet Potatoes: Look for evenly shaped potatoes that are heavy for their size. You can, of course, go with a regular potato, but the cranberry flavors don’t pair as well.
- Kale: This is the base of our filling. You can use any sturdy green here, as long as it’s not too peppery.
- Cranberries: Rehydrated cranberries lend excellent tart flavors and chewy textures. If you only have sweetened, rinse them well and omit the honey in the recipe. Golden raisins and chopped prunes work as a substitute.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: The base for our dressing, it adds zesty notes and helps rehydrate the cranberries.
- Honey: Honey creates a subtle sweetness for the dressing. If you need to substitute it, use 1/4 teaspoon brown sugar. Make sure the sugar has dissolved in the dressing before using it to hydrate the cranberries.
- Lemon Zest and Juice: The light citrus notes pair incredibly with cranberries and add dimension to the dressing. If you don’t have any lemon, substitute it with equal parts of apple cider vinegar.
- Pepitas: AKA Pumpkin Seeds, add a necessary crunch to the final recipe. I used roasted pepitas, but raw ones are fine. Feel free to substitute with your favorite nut, especially peanuts, walnuts, or almonds.
Serving Suggestions
While they are a perfectly filling meal on their own, I think these beauties pair well with my Roasted Chicken. Our Meatloaf or Sausage Kebabs are also perfect options and would make a substantial dinner when paired with these sweet potatoes! Or, if you want to add a little heft, top them with our Slow Cooker Chili Rubbed Pulled Pork.
How To Store
Sweet potatoes can be made ahead and stored in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. To reheat them, microwave until they are steaming and then stuff. The kale stuffing can also be made ahead and mixed with rehydrated cranberries. It will keep refrigerated in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. I do not recommend freezing the potatoes or the kale, as their textures will be compromised as they thaw.
If you love sweet potatoes, check out the complete list of our favorite Sweet Potato Recipes!
Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsweetened dried cranberries ($0.49)
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar ($0.07)
- 1/2 Tbsp honey ($0.07)
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced ($0.58)
- 4 large sweet potatoes ($6.88)
- 2 cups chopped kale, packed ($1.48)
- 1/2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.11)
- 1 pinch salt ($0.01)
- 1/4 cup pepitas ($0.44)
Instructions
- In a microwave-safe bowl, add the cranberries, apple cider vinegar, honey, and the juice of the lemon. Microwave for 1 minute. Let the cranberries steep while you prepare the sweet potatoes.
- Rinse the sweet potatoes well. Pierce the surface of the potatoes a few times with a fork and then microwave them all together for 10 to 15 minutes, or until cooked through. They are done when a fork can easily pierce through them. The cooking time will vary depending on your microwave's strength and size of the potatoes.
- In the meantime, use a fork to smash the rehydrated cranberries to help thicken their sauce.
- Add the kale to a large bowl along with the olive oil and salt. Massage the kale for about 30 seconds until tender. Mix the pepitas and the undrained cranberries into the kale.
- Once the potatoes are done, slice the potatoes in half (but not all the way through) and fluff the insides with a fork.
- Divide the kale between the four potatoes. Finish with a sprinkle of lemon zest on each potato.
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Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Stuffed Sweet Potatoes — Step by Step Photos
Add 1/4 cup dried cranberries, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon honey, and the juice of 1 lemon to a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave it for 1 minute to heat the honey and lemon juice. Set this aside for now. The dried cranberries will steep in the liquid and become extra delicious.
Rinse the 4 sweet potatoes to remove any dirt. Using a fork, pierce the skin of the potatoes a few times. Microwave them all together on a large plate (avoid stacking the potatoes; otherwise, they’ll cook unevenly). They’re done when you can easily pierce a fork through them.
However, the cooking time will vary based on your microwave’s strength and the size of the potatoes. Check each potato individually and remove from the microwave once fork tender. If you find that one side of your potato is softer than the other, flip it around and microwave for a few minutes longer.
While the sweet potatoes are in the microwave, use a fork to mash the rehydrated cranberries to thicken the sauce.
Add 2 cups of chopped kale, 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, and 1 pinch of salt to a large bowl. Massage the kale with your hands until tender, about 30 seconds.
Add 1/4 cup of pepitas and the undrained cranberries to the kale and mix.
When your sweet potatoes are ready, slice them with a knife to open up the skin (being careful not to slice all the way through). Fluff up the insides of the potato with a fork.
Evenly divide the kale and cranberry salad between the four potatoes. Sprinkle each potato with lemon zest to finish, and serve!
I’m still in the process of making this, but found several steps confusing. I love all the new content, but this is what I miss about earlier Budget Bytes days— the recipes were almost idiot proof. Here are some examples:
– The recipe says to sprinkle lemon zest at the end, but doesn’t include the step to zest before juicing your lemon.
– “2 cups kale”. I assume chopped kale, how small? I know that seems basic but it could be confusing for a beginner.
– Do you microwave all the sweet potatoes at once? I read reviews and decided to do one at a time. After almost 30 min of microwaving, I feel like my microwave is about to overheat. Baking would probably be easier for the amount you have to prepare.
Ok, a couple more tips… I would put a pinch of salt over each potato after cutting them open, but before mashing the inside. They need more flavor imo. Lemon zest on top is a must. Probably wouldn’t make again but they were very nutritious! I served with roasted asparagus since I happened to have some, as another commenter suggested.
Just ate one of these for dinner and I was a little disappointed. Beautiful colors and super nutritious for sure, and I was looking for that! But I could not figure out the potatoes in the microwave and this one was not cooked evenly – parts were not cooked and others were shriveled and dried from overcooking. The flavor was not there for me, probably partially because the potato was cooked weird, but also because it needed more fat or salt or sauce or something to make it a pleasant bite. If I could guess, I’d say a nice healthy bit of of something like a lime or spicy crema might add what’s needed for my palate. That plus taking some extra time to bake in the oven would probably be what I’d do next time. Or deconstruct it, dice the potato and make a hash on the stovetop to save time. That’s my 2 cents!
Hey Katie! When I was younger my mom would always have a damp/wet napkin around the potato to “cook” it in the microwave. Comes out shrieved up but, always cooked evenly. And after 5 minutes she would poke holes in it, as Monti suggests in the recipe.
I hope this helps! And I hope you give this recipe another try (: because I loved this!
Great flavors, quick, and healthy. I served this with roasted asparagus and will absolutely make this recipe again.
It was okay, not my favorite. I feel like it’s missing just that something. But loved how nutritious it was.
I found this recipe using the vegan filter. However, honey isn’t vegan (bees are animals, which makes honey an animal product). Could you remove the vegan tag on this recipe, please?
Ah yes, thanks for catching that!
This was a fantastic recipe. Don’t skimp on the lemon zest garnish – that citrusy tang adds freshness and levels up the flavor. Thanks for posting this plant-based gem!
Made it tonight – potatoes are a bit finicky, each one needs a different amount of time in the microwave but the flavours are great. My husband was pleasantly impressed. Served with some chicken breasts I still had knocking around in my freezer. Great, speedy meal.
Made some tweaks to this recipe and went by intuition. I did 1 full Tablespoon of Honey, added butter to the sweet potatoes when they came out of the microwave, added some Celtic sea salt before mashing and also topped with a very light dusting of brown sugar.
They turned out good. I ate both sweet potatoes and so did my partner. This is saying a lot since I really have difficulty eating sweet potatoes. I wanted a recipe that would help me consume the sweet potatoes without turning my nose up at them and this very fresh tasting recipe did the trick.
I do agree there is “something” missing but I can’t quite put my finger on it. I think the juice of half a lemon and half the ACV would help make this recipe less tart.
Hi,
Dried cranberries vs craisins?
Craisins are just sweetened dried cranberries. You might save some money and make the recipe a little less sweet by using store brand dried cranberries if you can find them.