Tacos are one of my favorite summer quick dinner fixes. They don’t have to be complicated and they’re not too heavy. Fresh toppings keep the meal light and summery, and allow for personalization. And while tacos are usually meat-centric, these Sweet Potato Tacos are a great example that you can make a great taco even without meat!
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What’s in a Sweet Potato Taco?
To fill these Sweet Potato Tacos I made a quick sweet potato and black bean hash, then topped the tacos with an insanely light and fresh lime crema. Okay, so it’s not actually Mexican crema, but it’s a lime flavored sour cream that you can substitute for real crema if your grocery store doesn’t carry a large selection of Hispanic ingredients. At any rate, the lime crema is what really makes these Sweet Potato Tacos special and I found it so irresistible that I had a hard time not licking it off the spoon. It’s so goooood.
What Kind of Tortillas Should I Use?
Traditionally, tacos are made with corn tortillas, but this recipe is flexible and you can use flour tortillas if that’s what you prefer. Either way, toasting the tortillas a little beforehand really amplifies their flavor and adds a lot to the taco!
What Else Can I Add to the Tacos?
Want to get extra fancy? Try adding some thinly sliced jalapeños, avocados, or pickled red onions to the top of these Sweet Potato Tacos!
What to Serve with Sweet Potato Tacos
I served these Sweet Potato Tacos with Cilantro Lime Rice and some fresh Pico de Gallo, which you can either serve on the side or add to the taco itself. Cilantro Lime Coleslaw would also make an awesome side dish for these tacos!
Vegetarian Sweet Potato Tacos with Lime Crema
Servings 4 (2 tacos per serving)Ingredients
Lime Crema
- 8 oz. sour cream ($0.83)
- 1 fresh lime ($0.69)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1 clove garlic ($0.08)
Tacos
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.13)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.32)
- 1.25 lbs. sweet potato ($1.22)
- 1 15oz. can black beans ($0.59)
- 1 tsp ground cumin ($0.10)
- Salt and Pepper to taste ($0.05)
- 2 green onions ($0.19)
- 1/4 bunch fresh cilantro (optional) ($0.17)
- 8 small (taco sized) tortillas ($0.75)
Instructions
- Prepare the crema first to allow the flavors time to blend. Mince one clove of garlic and use a zester or small holed cheese grater to scrape the thin layer of green zest from the lime. Add the minced garlic, 1 tsp of the zest, about 1 tsp of the lime juice, and 1/4 tsp salt to the sour cream. Stir the ingredients to combine then refrigerate until ready to use.
- Peel the sweet potatoes, then cut them into small cubes (about 1/4 to 1/2 inch square). Heat a large skillet over medium flame, then add the olive oil and two cloves of minced garlic. Sauté the garlic for about a minute or just until it becomes fragrant. Add the diced sweet potato and a couple tablespoons of water. Sauté the sweet potato until they become soft and just begin to fall apart. Add another couple tablespoons of water during cooking if the skillet becomes dry before the sweet potatoes are soft.
- Meanwhile, drain and rinse the can of black beans. Once the sweet potatoes are soft, add the black beans to the skillet. Season with the cumin, and salt and pepper to taste. Sauté just until the beans are heated through.
- Slice the green onions and pull the cilantro leaves from the stems. Roughly chop the cilantro. Stir the sliced green onions into the skillet. Add the cilantro to the skillet if desired, or use it to top each taco.
- Prior to filling each tortilla, heat them in a dry skillet until slightly browned and crisp on each side, or carefully toast them over an open flame. Smear a small amount of the lime crema down the center of the tortilla, then top with a scoop of the sweet potato and black bean hash. Add fresh cilantro if desired.
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Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Sweet Potato Tacos – Step by Step Photos
Make the lime crema first so the flavors have time to blend. Mince one clove of garlic and use a zester or a small holed cheese grater to remove the thin layer of green zest from the lime. Add 1 tsp of the zest and about 1 tsp of the lime juice to the sour cream, along with the minced garlic and 1/4 tsp salt. Stir the ingredients to combine, then refrigerate the crema until you’re ready to use it.
Heat a large skillet over medium flame, then add 1 Tbsp olive oil and 2 cloves of minced garlic. Sauté for one minute or just until the garlic becomes nice and fragrant.
Peel and dice a sweet potato (about 1.25 lbs.) into small 1/4-1/2″ cubes. You want the cubes to be very small so they cook quickly. Add them to the skillet, along with a couple tablespoons of water to generate steam. Sauté the sweet potatoes until they are soft. Add more water, if needed, if the skillet dries up. The steam will help soften the sweet potatoes.
While the sweet potatoes are cooking, drain and rinse one 15oz. can of black beans. Once the potatoes are soft, add the black beans, 1 tsp of cumin, and salt and pepper to taste. Sauté the skillet for a few minutes more, or just until the beans are heated through.
Slice two green onions and roughly chop 1/4 bunch of cilantro. Fold the green onions into the sweet potato has and sprinkle the cilantro on top, if desired.
Whether you’re using flour or corn tortillas, I find that you get a lot more flavor and strength (to hold all those delicious fillings) if you toast the tortillas first. You can do this in a dry skillet, or over an open flame. Doing this over an open flame goes really fast and requires a lot of attention, so if you’re not comfortable you can just lay the tortillas in a skillet, one by one, until they get toasty on each side. The skillet is slower and there is less room for error, but they don’t get quite as blackened.
Once the tortillas are toasted, it’s time to build the Sweet Potato Tacos! Smear a little lime crema down the center of each tortilla.
Add a little scoop of the sweet potato hash…
Add a squeeze of lime…
And finish with an extra little sprinkle of cilantro. And maybe more of that amazing lime crema, because it’s just that good.
Excuse me while I just grab one of these…
Wowie wow wow this was good! I never knew sweet potatoes, black beans, and lime would pack such a flavor punch! Thanks for this wonderful and nutritional meal.
We had this recipe for lunch today, and 100% agree the lime crema is delicious. We used whole wheat tortillas, and I sauteed half a diced yellow onion, stirred in the black beans, plus chili powder, garlic powder & lots of cumin. We had leftover baked sweet potatoes so I stirred them in last to warm through. We liked garlic powder in place of the fresh garlic for this recipe. We topped the taco with lime crema, pepitas & cilantro. So good!!
Love the cream. Going to use leftover potatoes and beans for breakfast tomorrow morning with a fried egg on top!
Solid vegetarian taco, and makes for really great meal prep/leftovers. The sweet potato filling is fine, but definitely needs the crema to spice it up. The crema is awesome, but the raw garlic in it give you rank garlic breath. Worth it.
The crema was the bomb, but I found the tacos to be kinda one-note otherwise.
My easy, inexpensive suggestion to make them a bit spicier, smokier and much more flavorful (and still keep them vegetarian) is to add a small (7 oz) can of chipotle peppers in adobo. Slice the peppers up and add them to the skillet with the beans.
Made these again to tonight. These are true budget-friendly tacos that still tastes so good! Perfection!
Made these yesterday and have been enjoying them for lunch. They are so yummy without the guilt. Follow the recipe exactly. It’s perfect.
My absolute favorite thing to cook from this blog! These are soooo good! I sometimes will cook a little steak to add too and wow it’s amazing!
A great WW recipe for lunch!!!!!!
I thought that I didn’t like sweet potatoes, but I’m on my second Budget Bytes meal plan – doing the Vegetarian one this time – and I honestly have to say that I’m convinced now. Great recipe!
So I won an air fryer in a raffle – I had no interest in it (was hoping for the dutch oven) but the next day I was gifted a bag of sweet potatoes so figured sure, why not. One of the things I made was this (since I’ve made it several times and knew the fam loves it). Omg, who knew that AF sweet potatoes were missing from my life. They are perfect in about 10 minutes, which left me time to pull together your cumin lime coleslaw (no sour cream so no crema :( and chop some veggies for toppings. Our vegetable consumption has skyrocketed since getting this magnificent silly machine, luckily this site is bursting with veggies..
MMMMM! SO in LOVE with this recipe!! Give me alllll the Tacos! Ha
These look awesome, and a lot like some sweet potato tacos a restaurant in my neighborhood has on their menu. Theirs add kale and walnuts to the mix, and are always hard for me to resist. Can’t wait to try your version!
I love this recipe so much!! Super easy to make and the leftovers heat up so well and taste delicious. I recommend this to my friends often.
What could I substitute to make the lime crema vegan? I can’t wait to try these tacos.
You could buy a plant based sour cream from the store or create your own like this one https://cookieandkate.com/vegan-sour-cream-recipe/
I know you posted this a long time ago but it was delicious, I made it for my daughter and I for dinner.
Hooray! It’s one of my favorites/
I love sweet potatoes. I bet this one Is delicious! I can’t wait to try this!
I cannot rave enough about these tacos. I usually add 1.5 to 2X the seasoning to for more flavor. Also, make sure you cut the sweet potatoes to 1/4 inch–any bigger and it takes much longer to cook.
I was worried that this meal wouldn’t keep me full, but these tacos (paired with Beth’s taco rice and corn) are very filling. The flavors are fantasic, the recipe is quick, and it’s vegetarian! Thank you Beth!!!
Beth you rock! My boyfriend and I made these tacos tonight and loved them! They are so tasty, easy to make, and aren’t super expensive to prepare. I’ve always used the “Dave’s Mexican Veggie Tacos” recipe on allrecipes.com to make vegetarian tacos, but I plan on using your recipe from now on. Yours require fewer ingredients, less time to prepare, and are just as good or better than Dave’s – especially with the zesty lime sauce! I used sour cream for it and doubled the amt of garlic, and it turned out great. Thanks for the recipe and the beautiful site!
love this concept but the recipe does not specify that the beans should be pre-cooked/canned! i used raw beans (and was especially mislead by the rinse and dry step– which i felt surely meant it was right to use uncooked beans) and it wound up being a mess
The recipe literally calls for one can of beans.
The lime crema cut the sweetness of the sweet potato well, and really made this feel special while it was still cheap and, compared to meat and cheese tacos, healthy! Next time I would add extra cumin and salt, and maybe a little cayenne for heat. I used raw red onion in lieu of the green onion (didn’t have any), and it worked well but green would be better. Adding corn (like others suggested) sounded good, but I really think it’s best kept simple as in the recipe.
Most important – sweet potatoes 1/4 inch or less! The 1/2 inch took FOREVER to cook, and overwhelmed the black beans in a bite. Still a great recipe.
AMAZING. I could eat tacos every day of the week: beef, bean, chicken, mango, sweet potato, you name it. The lime crema makes these.
So freaking good and so easy! We substituted the black beans for sweet yellow corn and added an extra clove of garlic to the crema. We made this with the taco rice and were stuffed after just a serving of each. Next time, we plan on adding a bit of cayenne to spice things up.
Made these tonight for dinner… Wow they were great! Easy to make too!!
Hi Beth!
I haven’t tried this recipe… yet. But I just wanted to say thank you for your amazing blog! I’m a college student with a tight budget, but I also love cooking. So I use your blog all the time! Thanks, Beth! You’re my hero!
Thank you, Gwen!
Mine was delicious – but turned out a little too sweet. Do you think that was the potato? Anybody have suggestions about what I could do to spice it up a little without getting too spicy or too complex?
Hi Beth! Long time eater first time commentor!
What would you suggest to make this spicy?
Thank you!
I’ve been a huge fan of thinly sliced fresh jalapeño lately so I would just add a few slices of those to each taco, but you could also toss the sweet potatoes with a little chili and cayenne powder before roasting them. :)
Fantastic! I added canned roasted corn to mine, highly recommend. I also experimented with chipotle mayo instead of the crema, since I don‘t like sour cream. Definitely think this will become a meal staple!
So yum, making them now
Great recipe! Added a little red pepper and paprika and cooked some chopped white onions along with it. Perfect meatless meal, and so filling!
This with some diced mango added to the final taco is DELICIOUS.
Can you make the lime crema with Greek yogurt instead?
Technically, it will work, but I think the flavor would be much better with sour cream. And if you do try Greek yogurt, I wouldn’t suggest using a fat free yogurt. You need the creaminess to balance the lime and acid.
I could eat this crema lIke ice cream. No joke.
Glad I’m not the only one… I kept dipping the spoon in. :P
We liked these. I precooked the sweet potatoes in the oven for about 25 minutes because I find it difficult to cut raw sweet potato. I used regular onion instead of green to bulk up the filling. I also added some leftover pork tenderloin we had, but it would also be good without meat. We had some peach salsa in the fridge and that was pretty tasty as a topping and we liked the lime crema.
This is AMAZING. The crema is right on the spot.
Keep coming back to this recipe over and over again
these were sooo great! made them for a party of 20 people and got rave reviews :) everyone loved the lime crema.
I love all your taco recipes! I’ve been meaning to make these for awhile and finally did last night. Added some avocado and they were delicious!
These tacos are fabulous! I love your vegetarian recipes. Thanks so much!
Could you substitute cumin for anything else? I don’t use it often so don’t have it in my pantry.
You could use some mild chili powder, if you have that on hand.
Just had these for dinner! My boyfriend is the pickiest eater and he made a face when I told him we were having sweet potato tacos, but he loved them so much he ate three! SO GOOD. I added pre-cooked chicken for a little protein boost. This recipe is being bookmarked for sure.
I didn’t think I liked sweet potatoes until I gave this a try. So yummy! I made the breakfast variation with a fried egg (plus a mandatory drizzle of hot sauce!) before reading the comments, but it seems I wasn’t the first to think of the idea—great minds and all. :)
Wonderful!!! Like a few other commenters, I am not a fan of sour cream but I love this crema! Great dish, very filling – love the combo of sweet potatoes and beans!
So great! Thank you for the easy and delicious recipes! I have yummy leftovers for the next 2-3 days and it rocks!
Beth, these tacos are amazing! The crema definitely took it to the next level of magical deliciousness. Thanks!!
Hi Beth, what would (cheap) ideas would you have for some additional protein? This looks so good, I’m gonna have to try it out unaltered first :)
You could try adding extra beans, some chopped up rotisserie chicken, or if you can get a low priced ground turkey that would also be good. You’ll want to up the spices, though, if you’re adding extra volume. :)
Yummy, Yummy, Yummy!!!!!! Really delicious and the whole family gave it 5 stars. Thanks for all you do!!!
Okay, I usually despise sour cream, but this lime crema was just out of this world! And as usual, the tacos were simply amazing. Thanks, Beth!
This was wonderful! Hubby and I balance his love for meat and my not-so-much love for meat by throwing in a meatless meal here and there. This got the triple “mm” response, which is equivalent to 5 stars.
I added a tsp of smoked paprika, a tsp of chili powder, and a sprinkle of cayenne to make the sweet potato a little more savory. It was perfect with the lime crema, which was amazing in itself!
We will make this again. Thanks!
As usual, this was awesome, Beth. I used the leftover filling in an omelet this AM with some pepper jack. Deelish!
Beth, that was seriously good! Made it with the cilantro and lime rice and salsa. Omg, out of this world yummy! Worth the labour for sure. I love Budget Bytes, everything I make it so very good. You’re amazingly talented! Thank you! Mmmmmmm!
Delicious!!!!! My young kids and husband went back for seconds. Thank you so much for this recipe!
I saw this before I went to the grocery store, realized the only thing I had to get was tortillas… of course I had to make it. This is so so freaking good. I’m in love with it.
These are great, Beth! I think I’m going to pair the hash with a fried egg and try it for breakfast, too.
I did the same! :D
We made these tonight-delicious! The lime crema is to die for. My fiancé even said it was one of the best dishes he’s ever made. Thank you Beth!
Do you think the lime crema would go well with the roasted zucchini and corn tacos you posted awhile back? Maybe without the taco seasoning?
Yes, I think it would be awesome on just about any taco. :D I’d still use the taco seasoning, but that’s just me!
Tried this this evening and it was delicious.
I love the lime crema! I put two cloves of garlic because I love it.
Just made this… and it’s true love! Any veggie dish that’s this filling, and anything this colorful is a winner in my book. I might add more cumin next time (1.5 to 2 tsp) but it was still excellent and quite flavorful. Thanks for another great recipe to add to the repertoire!
Hnnnng, you’re speaking my language today, Beth! Last week I attended my husband’s work party and they served sweet potatoes for the veggie taco option–first time I had tried such a thing, and I was hooked! Love your site, keep doing what you do! <3
Thank you!!
Looks awesome. I wonder how it would be as a lettuce wrap?
Probably pretty good!
The beans and sweet potato looks like it would be a delicious combination.
Fage 0% plain greek yogurt in this perhaps? Sounds yummy.
Honestly, I don’t think Greek yogurt would have the same effect here. That being said, everyone has different tastes, so you may like it. :)