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These broccoli cheese stuffed sweet potatoes are an easy, healthy-ish weeknight dinner your whole family will love. Double this recipe to feed a crowd!
On the way back from the airport today (from a family vacation to Las Vegas), we heard renowned cookbook author Nigella Lawson on the radio talking about her new cooking show where she is a judge along with three male celebrity chefs. She strongly identified herself as a “home cook,” something altogether different from her celebrity chef cohorts. This made me think about our recent trip, where we dined at restaurants of our favorite celebrity chefs. It was certainly a thrill, but no matter how delicious the food is at a restaurant, Alex and I are passionate about home cooking. Keep reading for this brocolli cheese stuffed sweet potatoes recipe, and more on being a home cook.
On being a home cook
Alex and I have the utmost respect for restaurant chefs and love eating out to be inspired, but some of the best food we’ve ever tasted have been in people’s homes—friends, family, or our own (if we’re lucky!). But as a couple who cooks, we identify with Nigella. At our core, we are, you guessed it: home cooks.
There is a heart to home-cookery that brings joy to our lives. (And the restaurants we love the most attempt to recreate that heart as much as possible in a public setting.) So no matter how delicious the tuna ceviche and truffle pizza were, we’re excited to get back in our kitchen for meals like these—cheesy broccoli stuffed sweet potatoes. We’ll take that over fancy food any day.
How to make stuffed sweet potatoes
We created this brocolli cheese stuffed sweet potatoes recipe because, well, we’re obsessed with sweet potatoes! And luckily they’re one of the worlds healthiest foods, being full of nutrients, potassium and fiber. We thought we’d combine the coziness of a baked sweet potato with the even cozier ethos of brocolli cheese sauce.
Since we’re all about healthier spins, this cheese sauce is made creamy by a little bit of cheese and a bit of white beans that are whizzed in the food processor. Using white beans brings a lot of creaminess using a plant based protein, making for a healthy broccoli cheese sauce. We love how the cheese sauce turned out and might use it for things other than these stuffed sweet potatoes in the future.
So, broccoli cheese sauce + stuffed sweet potatoes: what do you think? Let us know in the comments below! And if you’re looking for more with broccoli, check out our Top Tasty Broccoli Recipes.
Looking for more easy dinner recipes?
Outside of these stuffed sweet potatoes, here are a few more easy dinner recipes we love:
- Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai
- Red Lentil Curry with Rice
- Artichoke and Quinoa Vegetarian Enchiladas
- Tomato Sage Chickpea Soup
This stuffed sweet potatoes recipe is…
Vegetarian and gluten-free.
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Broccoli Cheese Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
These broccoli cheese stuffed sweet potatoes are an easy, healthy-ish weeknight dinner your whole family will love. Double this recipe to feed a crowd!
Ingredients
- 4 large sweet potatoes
- 1 head broccoli
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- 15-ounce can white beans (1 ½ cups cooked)
- ¾ cup water
- 1 cup Monterrey Jack and cheddar blend shredded cheese (Mexican blend)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Prick the sweet potatoes with a fork. Place them in the oven and roast for 45 to 50 minutes, until tender, or slightly longer depending on the size of the potatoes.
- Meanwhile, cut the broccoli into florets. Mince the garlic. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil, then add the garlic. Wait until the garlic sizzles, after about 30 seconds add the red pepper flakes, the broccoli, and a few pinches of kosher salt. Sauté the broccoli until bright green and tender, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Drain and rinse the beans. In the bowl of a food processor, blend the beans, ¾ cup water, ½ cup shredded cheese, and the kosher salt. Taste, and add additional seasonings if necessary, or additional water to make the sauce more creamy. Add the broccoli to the cheese mixture.
- After the sweet potatoes are baked, cut out the centers and remove some sweet potato (which can be saved and eaten later). Place the cheese and broccoli mixture into the hole in each potato, then top with additional shredded cheese. Place the potatoes back in the oven for a few minutes until the cheese is melted. Serve warm.
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: stuffed sweet potatoes
I can’t wait to hear your creepy Mickey Mouse story. These sound delicious! And, it’s a lovely photograph.
Haha! Well, no real story — there are just lots of “knock off” characters dressed up like Mickey and Minnie and Elmo, but drinking beer and smoking cigars. It is a little disconcerting!
I’m with you…even while I love eating out on occasion, what I REALLY love is staying home and cooking up something delicious. It just feels so much more gratifying! These stuffed sweet potatoes look awesome. I’m a sweet potato fiend and they need to happen in my life!
I couldn’t agree more — both about cooking and sweet potatoes! :)
Beautiful photo! Just bought sweet potatoes and broccoli today. I think I’ll make these for dinner tomorrow. Yum!
Glad you had a great time in Las Vegas! Such a neat city. And I agree, home cooking is the best.
Thank you — the photo took a bit of work but we finally came out with something :) Excited to hear what you think!
Loooove the look of these! These would be a fabulous single-lady main too. I totally dig it!
Agreed — this would be a perfect single-lady main! Thanks, Katrina.
I woke up looking at this yummy sounding ingredient that it is on my list of food to pick up tomorrow. Thanks.
That seems absolutely delicious!
Yes to eating at home! It’s cheaper, healthier, often more delicious, and lets you bond with your friends or family in the kitchen. What’s not to love? This is one of the heartiest meals-in-one-dish I’ve seen in a while! And you can’t beat the 90% vegetable content. :)
I agree completely! Thanks, Eileen.
I’m with you on the home cooking and shooting sweet potatoes. Yours look incredible, though! I think part of the appeal of home cooking is because you form such strong memories to the meals you eat at home. Just my little theory…
Great theory! I’d agree with this — and also add to it the personal satisfaction of being involved in the process of creating a meal (which in turn, makes the memories even stronger). Love it!
oh man, Vegas is a crazy place. I try my best to never find myself there ;) These look great! I’ve been keeping away from sweet potatoes due to burn out but these look simple and tasty. I’ve heard a lot about that new show, we don’t have cable but I’ll keep my eyes peeled for when it is on hulu!
Have a great time in Vegas! And these sweet potatoes – YUM! Would love to have this for dinner tonight!