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Smothered in a zesty ginger tahini sauce, this Thai-style vegan sweet potato recipe is a simple vegan dinner that’s full of flavor.
Do you have a cookbook collection? In all honesty, the vast array of cookbooks in this world sometimes overwhelms me. There can only be so many recipes, right? But the more I’ve read, the more I realize that each cookbook is a unique perspective based on a one-of-a kind individual — an actual person, not an anonymous faceless author who sits in a sterile test kitchen. Ina Garten is a real person, and so is Giada De Laurentiis, and that person who wrote The Joy of Cooking. Each person’s story and method for creating recipes is equally valid. So the more cookbooks the better, not the other way around! Keep reading for this vegan sweet potato recipe, which is from — you guessed it — another cookbook! It’s Minimalist Baker’s Everyday Cooking.
About the book: Everyday Cooking
While we were in Portland recently, we had the pleasure of spending time with dear friends Dana and John, the sweet minds behind the website Minimalist Baker. They’re the type of people where you can laugh and eat loads of Mexican food with and then turn around and be completely vulnerable and real. I was so inspired to speak with Dana about some health issues that caused a recent struggle with hair loss (which she shared about here on the Jess Lively podcast).
And speaking of real life people who write books, Dana has just written a fantastic one: a cookbook called Everyday Cooking. All the recipes are beautifully shot and plant-based / vegan. We love that her approach to eating is similar to ours: she’s not 100% vegan, but shares plant-based recipes to inspire eating more vegetables and follows this approach most of the time (which is what we’re all about too).
This easy baked vegan sweet potato recipe
Picking up the book, I immediately gravitated towards this Thai-style vegan sweet potato recipe. And the verdict after making it? Fantastically delicious. The tahini ginger sauce and spiced chickpeas balance the sweetness of the potatoes, and topped off with a chili garlic sauce and cilantro, it became an instant household favorite.
Now, what makes this baked sweet potato recipe easy? This recipe has a great simple hack to decreasing the time to make a baked sweet potato in the oven. What’s that, you say? Slice the sweet potato in half instead of baking it whole! Slicing the sweet potato in half cuts down on the baking time: instead of about 45 to 60 minutes, you can cook it in about 25 to 30 minutes! It’s a great time saver, and we rarely bake sweet potatoes whole anymore. One difference if you slice the sweet potato in half instead of baking whole: you’ll have to rub them with a bit of olive oil. That’s a small consolation for the time saved, in our opinion!
As you look at the ingredients in this vegan sweet potato recipe, you might think it’s a long list. However, most of the ingredients are spices or things that are easy to stock in your pantry. While the sweet potato bakes, saute the spiced chickpeas and mix up the tahini drizzle. The tahini sauce would be simple to mix up in advance as well.
Order the Book
Minimalist Baker’s Everyday Cooking
More sweet potato recipes
As you can see, we’re kinda sweet potato obsessed! Outside of this vegan sweet potato recipe, here are some of our favorite sweet potato recipes:
- Baked Sweet Potato with Moroccan Lentils
- Healthy Loaded Sweet Potato Rounds
- Poached Eggs and Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Pizza with Brie
- Moroccan Stew with Chickpeas & Sweet Potatoes
- Sweet Potatoes with Thai Peanut Butter Sauce
- Baked Sweet Potatoes with Goat Cheese & Lentils
- Broccoli Cheese Baked Sweet Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Hash Browns
- Best Instant Pot Sweet Potato Recipe
- The Trick for Crispy Sweet Potato Fries
- All-Star Sweet Potato Chili
- Loaded Sweet Potato Skins
- Vegan Sweet Potato Soup with Harissa
This recipe is…
This Thai-style easy baked sweet potato recipe is vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free.
Thai Vegan Sweet Potato Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Smothered in a zesty ginger tahini sauce, this Thai-style vegan sweet potato recipe is a simple vegan dinner that’s full of flavor.
Ingredients
For the sweet potatoes
- 4 medium sweet potatoes, halved (1 1/2 pounds)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the chickpeas
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained (or 1 ½ cups cooked)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground or fresh ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
- ½ tablespoon coconut oil
For the ginger tahini sauce
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
- ¼ cup tahini
- 1 lime, juiced (2 tablespoons)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
- 2 to 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon chili garlic sauce
To garnish
- 2 green onions
- ¼ cup cilantro, finely chopped
- 1/2 lime, quartered
- ½ teaspoon chili garlic sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and rub the halved sweet potatoes with the olive oil on all sides. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes (or more, depending on the size of the potato), or until very tender to the touch. Set aside.
- In the meantime, heat a medium skillet over medium heat. In a small bowl, toss chickpeas with the garlic powder, cumin, ginger, coriander, maple syrup, soy sauce, and chili garlic sauce.
- Once the skillet is hot, add the coconut oil. Saute the chickpeas until visibly browned and slightly dried out, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
- To prepare the sauce, add all of the ingredients to the same bowl used for the chickpeas. Whisk to combine. Then add 1 to 4 tablespoons hot water to thin until pourable. Taste and adjust the seasonings as desired.
- To serve, place the baked sweet potatoes on serving plates. Gently press into the middle of the potatoes to make a well for the chickpeas. Add the chickpeas and top with the sauce and garnishes of choice.
- Store leftovers (separately), covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or a 350°F oven until warmed through, about 20 minutes.
Notes
Reprinted with permission from Minimalist Baker’s Everyday Cooking by Dana Shultz
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Thai Inspired
So awesome! Wife and I are transitioning to a more plant based diet – and we loved it! Any way to post the calories and macros so I can log it ?
Thank you so much!
So glad you enjoyed! I added the nutritional info to the recipe card.
Love this recipe, made it this week for the first time and it was delicious. I especially liked the ginger tahini sauce, great alternative to peanut based satay!
Wow! This makes an amazing meal, I love the combination of flavors and textures.
I love so many of your recipes but this might be my FAVORITE! So so good! We’ve made it several times. I’ve also shared the recipe with others.
So glad you enjoyed it! Actually, all the credit for this one goes to Minimalist Baker — it’s from her cookbook! She’s fantastic :)
These are so very, very good. I am not sure if I have the words to describe how much I liked these!
I have totally been on the sweet potato train lately! Breakfast, lunch dinner, nothing is off the table. Looking forward to trying this one!
I believe the tahini was left out of the ingredient list in the recipe! ;-)
Updated now — thank you!!! :)
Too many cookbooks overwhelm me too, to be honest. I think people would be surprised to know how few I own. ;-) But once I get into one I get pretty wrapped up in it because as you said each has a unique backstory and voice which is what makes the recipes jump off the page. And I wish I could make these Thai baked sweet potatoes right now! Saving to make soon though!
Haha, I agree that it can be overwhelming! Of the books you own, which are your favorites?? Let us know if you give this a try — it’s definitely a keeper :)
Oh Ottolenghi’s books by far. :-) I also love Amy Chaplin’s, At Home in a Whole Food Kitchen.
Looks delish!