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A quick and comforting weeknight dinner featuring roasted sweet potatoes topped with a savory and slightly sweet sloppy joe mixture, packed with protein and easy to customize.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 sweet potatoes (or about 4 cups chopped)
  • 1 lb. lean ground beef or ground turkey
  • ½ yellow onion, finely diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
  • 1 tbsp. minced garlic (about 3 small cloves)
  • 1 jalapeno, seeds removed and finely diced
  • 1 tbsp. tomato paste
  • ⅓ cup ketchup
  • ¼ cup water
  • 2 tsp. brown sugar
  • 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp. smoked paprika
  • 1¼ tsp. chili powder
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. cayenne pepper
  • 3 tbsp. green onion, sliced

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment.
  2. For whole sweet potatoes: poke holes all over with a fork, place on the prepared sheet, and bake about 45 minutes until very soft and fork-tender.
  3. For sweet potato bowls: chop sweet potatoes into cubes, spray with oil, season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, spread in a single layer, and roast at 425°F for 30 minutes, flipping once halfway through.
  4. While potatoes bake, heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and add the ground beef or turkey.
  5. When the meat just starts to brown, add the finely diced yellow onion and red bell pepper and cook, stirring often, until the meat is cooked through and the onions are soft and translucent (about 12–15 minutes); drain excess fat if needed.
  6. Lower heat to medium, add the finely diced jalapeno and minced garlic, and cook about 2 minutes until fragrant and softened, then stir in the tomato paste.
  7. Add ketchup, water, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, chili powder, salt, and cayenne; stir to combine and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce bubbles and thickens, about 5 minutes.
  8. Slice open each baked whole sweet potato lengthwise and spoon about ¾ cup of the sloppy joe mixture onto each potato.
  9. If making bowls, layer roasted sweet potato cubes with sloppy joe mixture and top with sliced green onion, pickles, and pickled onion as desired.

Notes

For best texture, roast whole sweet potatoes at 425°F for about 45 minutes until soft; roast cubes for 30 minutes flipping halfway to achieve golden edges., Poke holes in whole sweet potatoes before baking to avoid steam buildup., Brown meat well and drain excess fat if necessary for optimal sloppy joe texture., Simmer sauce fully for at least 5 minutes to thicken and deepen flavor; adjust sweetness or heat to taste by modifying brown sugar or removing jalapeno seeds., Store leftover sweet potatoes and sloppy joe separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator., Sloppy joe mixture freezes well; thaw overnight in fridge before reheating., Avoid overcrowding pan when roasting cubes to promote crispiness., Top with green onions, pickles, pickled onions, crunchy slaw, sliced fresh jalapeno, or sour cream to brighten flavors., Can substitute ground turkey for beef and use different sweet potato varieties such as Japanese or purple for variation.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://theproteincook.com/sloppy-joe-sweet-potatoes/