Black Bean Tacos with Roasted Sweet Potato
All you need is one sheet pan and 10 ingredients to enjoy these tasty Vegan Black Bean Tacos loaded with roasted sweet potatoes. Spiced to perfection with chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika and oregano, they are the perfect easy vegan dinner recipe.
Let’s make your next taco night into a smashing success with this irresistible black bean taco recipe. Spiced and roasted sweet potatoes paired with some black beans, all roasted on one sheet pan for a super easy vegan dinner.
Black beans provide us our plant based protein, while the natural sweetness from our sweet potato balances perfectly with our spice mixture and provides us with beta-carotene, antioxidants and additional fiber. While the combo is definitely nourishing, the flavor is just as enjoyable for everyone too.
Key Ingredients
- Black Beans: I used canned black beans, but this recipe can also work with a variety of beans or lentils. Just make sure that you rinse and drain your beans really well and pat dry with a towel to help remove excess water.
- Sweet Potatoes: Totally up to you if you wish to peel them. I like keeping the peel on because they provide more fiber and hold a good chunk of vitamins and nutrients around the peel. This also saves an extra step of peeling. Not a fan of sweet potatoes? You can swap for some regular white potatoes.
- Spices & Herbs: I used whole cumin seeds, chili powder, oregano, garlic, smoked paprika and coriander for the ultimate taste in these tacos.
- Oil: The oil helps to bring the spices and herbs to life in these tacos and also helps the sweet potato to caramelize better. I use a high heat oil like avocado oil for this.
How to Make Black Bean Tacos
All the cooking for our tacos happens directly on our sheet pan. Start by cutting your sweet potatoes and then spread them out on a large baking sheet. Toss with oil and your spices and place them in a preheated oven for 25 minutes, making sure to flip them every 10 minutes or so to get them to evenly roast.
At the 25 minute mark, remove the tray from the oven, add in your black beans and toss along with the potatoes to get them coated with some of the spices and oil on the sheet pan. Place back in the oven for an additional 5 minutes along with some tortillas wrapped tightly in foil to heat through.
Remove from oven and assemble tacos as desired.
Tips for the Perfect Tacos
- Toss your sweet potatoes as they bake to prevent them from burning. I toss them at least once half way through to make sure they are roasting evenly.
- Cut your sweet potato into smaller pieces to decrease cook time. Cutting them bigger will increase cooking time, so adjust as needed. Cooking time will vary for other factors like your specific oven, so just check on them periodically to make sure they are roasting well.
- Heat up the tortillas before adding the filling. You can heat them up in the microwave or on a warmed skillet for 1-2 minutes per side. Warming them helps to soften them and make them less likely to break when enjoying.
- Leave room for toppings. Similar to how I handle burritos, you don’t want to overstuff your tortillas either. It will make them more messy and more likely to fall apart as you eat them. Add 2-3 spoons of the filling and that should leave enough room for extra toppings you wish to enjoy.
Frequently Asked Questions
This sheet pan taco recipe can be prepped in advance. You can cook the taco fillings in advance for easy meal prep through the week. Leftover filling should be placed in airtight containers after they have cooled and can be kept in the fridge for three to four days. Store tortillas separately so that they do not get soggy. You can reheat it in a skillet to help toast the sweet potatoes back up before serving.
While these tacos are delicious as is, this tacos are also great with extra toppings like diced avocado, fresh tomatoes, pickled onions, salsa, and fresh cilantro. I also keep some sliced lime wedges on hand to squeeze some lime juice over top to help bring all the lovely spices together in this dish.
Since we are using corn tortillas, this recipe is naturally gluten-free. Avoid flour tortillas or corn tortillas that are also mixed with flour to avoid any gluten containing ingredients if you have any allergies of concern.
More Taco Recipe Inspiration
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Black Bean Tacos with Roasted Sweet Potato
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 tacos 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
All you need is one sheet pan and 10 ingredients to enjoy these tasty Vegan Black Bean Tacos loaded with roasted sweet potatoes. Spiced to perfection with chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika and oregano.
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet potato, cubed into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces
- 1 tsp dry oregano
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp salt plus more to taste
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- 1, 15 oz of black beans, rinsed and drained
- 3–4 sprigs fresh thyme, destemmed
- 6–8 corn tortillas
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F. On a lined baking sheet, add your cubed sweet potato, plus all of your herbs and spices. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and then drizzle on your oil.
- With your hands, toss your sweet potatoes to fully coat then spread them out evenly on your sheet pan.
- Place two whole garlic cloves, unpeeled on a small piece of foil with a small drizzle of oil and wrap it tightly in the foil. Then place the wrapped garlic on one end of the pan.
- Place the sheet pan in the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes. For even cooking of your potatoes, toss your sweet potatoes half way through to make sure they are roasting evenly and not burning.
- After the cooking time has elapsed and your sweet potatoes are starting to brown, remove from the oven. Carefully remove the garlic from the pan and set aside.
- To the pan, add in your black beans and thyme and toss everything to coat well with the roasted spices and sweet potatoes. Spread everything back out on the pan.
- Wrap your tortillas in foil and place them on the baking sheet as well. Place the whole sheet pan back in the oven for 5 minutes to warm everything through.
- Once cooked, remove the garlic from their peels, mash them with a fork on the sheet pan and toss to coat with the beans and sweet potatoes before serving.
Notes
Toss your sweet potatoes as they bake to prevent them from burning. I toss them at least once half way through to make sure they are roasting evenly.
Cut your sweet potato into smaller pieces to decrease cook time. Cutting them bigger will increase cooking time, so adjust as needed. Cooking time will vary for other factors like your specific oven, so just check on them periodically to make sure they are roasting well.
Heat up the tortillas before adding the filling. You can heat them up in the microwave or on a warmed skillet for 1-2 minutes per side. Warming them helps to soften them and make them less likely to break when enjoying.
Leave room for toppings. Similar to how I handle burritos, you don’t want to overstuff your tortillas either. It will make them more messy and more likely to fall apart as you eat them. Add 2-3 spoons of the filling and that should leave enough room for extra toppings you wish to enjoy.
If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, then let me know what you thought in the comments below! And if you loved it, don’t forget to rate it too. Feel free to follow on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok for the latest nutrition tips and recipe videos.
★ Catherine
Easy, delicious and filling!
Makes my day to hear. Thanks Alexandra! 🙂
I qm hoping to make this this qeek and was wondering should I use avocado oil or olive oil to roast the sweet potatoes. The ingredients list says avocado and the directions say olive oil. Which one should I use or can I use them interchangeably innthe same amount?
Sorry for the confusion! Either works. I liked using avocado oil or olive oil. For this, I’d say avocado if you have it as it is higher heat oil. Hope that helps!