These stuffed sweet potatoes are loaded with cozy, spicy-sweet fall flavors and are SO easy to make! Gluten-free, grain-free, and dairy-free, and whole30 compliant, too!
If you and I had to put our heads together and think of the ONE food that could be described as “fall on a plate” it would be this stuffed sweet potato recipe.
Pumpkin spice eggless chocolate chip cookies are A-L-S-O autumnal and all, but have you tried PEARS with savory-HERBACEOUS poultry seasoning, tart, chewy cranberries and BLACK WALNUTS?
Yep. These healthy twice-baked sweet potatoes are just a GOLDMINE of festive-fall-flavors.
why you will love this recipe
- I have this sneaky suspicion that, like me, once the cooler months hit, you just wanna spend most of your days curled up in front of a fireplace, wrapped in a fuzzy blanket and sipping on a ginger snap cookie steamer. What you do NOT want to do is spend time washing dishes after dinner.
Enter: the stuffed baked sweet potato. You remember them from the pecan pie healthy stuffed sweet potatoes and Mexican stuffed sweet potatoes.
- Sweet potatoes are super-healthy. They are a good source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber, and they are low in calories (good to know, if you plan on spending winter on the couch). Sweet potatoes are also rich in antioxidants, which can help protect your cells from damage. Some research suggests that eating sweet potatoes may help lower blood pressure and improve blood sugar control, and they may also have anti-inflammatory effects.
What is in Poultry seasoning?
Come fall, poultry seasoning is one of my “go to” herbs. It is the secret ingredient to making the BEST easy gluten-free stuffing, and is just this perfect marriage of savory thyme, marjoram, sage, rosemary, nutmeg and pepper that TINGLE your taste buds with COZY comfort.
And it promises that the flavor of these seemingly simple paleo vegan stuffed sweet potatoes, along with punchy onion and BOLD black walnuts, is going to be making you very excited about that potato situation that your life is currently in.
are black walnuts good for you?
Have you tried them? I was recently introduced to black walnuts in the vegan gluten-free brownie cookies, AND gluten-free whole30 paleo turkey meatballs, which are wild-harvested BY HAND, from local families and is based right near my hometown! No other tree in the U.S. is sourced and collected in this way!
Black walnuts (which are NOT English walnuts) also have more protein than any other tree nut and are high in heart-healthy fats, potassium, magnesium and iron.
Unique, bold, complex flavor? CHECK. From a sustainable source? YEP. Packing a nutrition PUNCH? HELLO.
INGREDIENTS
- 4 small sweet potatoes (about 10 oz each)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup onion, minced
- 1 1/3 cups Bartlett pears, diced and packed (about 2 medium pears)
- 1 tsp poultry seasoning
- 4 tsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries. minced (naturally sweetened for paleo/whole30)
- 2 tbsp black walnuts, minced
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat your oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with tinfoil.
- Place the potatoes on the baking sheet and bake until soft, about 45 minutes to an 1 hour. Set side for about 10 minutes until cool enough to handle. Additionally, reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees.
- While the potatoes cool, heat the olive up in a large pan on medium/high heat. Add in the onion and cook until it just begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Add in the pear and poultry seasoning and cook until the pears just begin to soften, 2-3 minutes.
- Slice down the center of each potato and gently peel back just enough skin so you can scoop into the potatoes.
- Scoop the insides of the potatoes into a medium bowl, making sure not to break the skin. Leave a little bit of the potato around the outsides, to help the potato hold its shape. Mash the sweet potatoes until smooth
- Reserve 6 tbsp of the pear mixture for later use and add the rest into the sweet potatoes, along with the maple syrup, salt and cinnamon. Stir until well mixed.
- Gently scoop the filling back into each potato to fill it, spread the reserved pear mixture along the center of each potato (about 1 1/2 tbsp per potato.)
- In a small bowl, mix the cranberries and black walnuts and then spread along the center of each potato, lightly pressing into the pear mixture.
- Bake another 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are hot and the black walnuts are lightly toasted.
- Let cool for 5-10 minutes and DEVOUR!
Tip and Tricks For Making Delicious Sweet Potatoes
- Keep an eye on the potatoes while they are in the oven. Given the temperature adjustment and the fact that some ovens are hotter than others, you’ll want to make sure they don’t burn (or are undercooked).
- 14 types of sweet potatoes are typically sold in the US and, contrary to popular opinion, this does not involve yams, which are something else entirely. What you should be looking for is the Beauregard variety, the most common kind found at a grocery store near you.
- When pairing pears with sweet potatoes, you can use any type of pear that you like. Anjou, Bartlett, Bosc, and Comice are all sweet and juicy, and work well with the starchiness of the sweet potatoes.
FAQs
I’m JUST suggesting (VRY VRY strongly) that you whip up some baked sweet potato BLISS (or start them out by making crock pot sweet potatoes to free up your oven), and here are some other dishes that have that spicy, savory and sweet combination that goes SO great with sweet potatoes:
Maple Baked Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Cauliflower Low Carb Paleo Vegan Stuffing
Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
Or you could J-U-S-T make 1 million sweet potatoes and see if anyone notices the lack of other options.
Once they’ve cooled, the potatoes can go in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag. If you are using a container, make sure to leave some space at the top to allow for air circulation. This will help prevent the sweet potatoes from becoming soggy or developing mold.
You can store them in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Just be sure to remove them from the refrigerator and allow them to come to room temperature before serving, as cold temperatures can affect the texture and flavor of the sweet potatoes.
You can. Just place the stuffed sweet potatoes on a baking sheet in a single layer and freeze them until they are solid. Then put them in a freezer-safe container or bag and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. To serve, thaw the sweet potatoes in the refrigerator overnight and then reheat them in the oven or microwave until they are heated through.
Other Recipes You Might Like:
Creamy Healthy Carbonara with Sweet Potato Noodles
Easy Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients
- 4 Small Sweet potatoes (about 10 oz each)
- 1 Tbsp Olive oil
- 1/2 Cup Onion, minced
- 1 1/3 Cups Barlett Pears, diced and packed (about 2 medium pears)
- 1 tsp Poultry seasoning
- 4 tsp Maple syrup
- 1 tsp Sea salt
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/4 Cup Dried cranberries. minced (naturally sweetened for paleo/whole30)
- 2 Tbsp Hammons Black Walnuts, minced
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with tinfoil.
- Place the potatoes on the baking sheet and bake until soft, about 45 minutes to an 1 hour. Set side for about 10 minutes until cool enough to handle. Additionally, reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees.
- While the potatoes cool, heat the olive up in a large pan on medium/high heat. Add in the onion and cook until it just begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Add in the pear and poultry seasoning and cook until the pears just begin to soften, about 2-3 minutes.
- Slice down the center of each potato and gently peel back just enough skin so you can scoop into the potatoes.
- Scoop the insides of the potatoes into a medium bowl, making sure not to break the skin. Leave a little bit of the potato around the outsides, to help the potato hold its shape. Mash the sweet potatoes until smooth
- Reserve 6 Tbsp of the pear mixture for later use and add the rest into the sweet potatoes, along with the maple syrup, salt and cinnamon. Stir until well mixed.
- Gently scoop the filling back into each potato to fill it, spread the reserved pear mixture along the center of each potato (about 1 1/2 Tbsp per potato.)
- In a small bowl, mix the cranberries and black walnuts and then spread along the center of each potato, lightly pressing into the pear mixture.
- Bake another 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are hot and the black walnuts are lightly toasted.
- Let cool for 5-10 minutes and DEVOUR!
Nutrition Info:
Recipes written and produced on Food Faith Fitness are for informational purposes only.
Weight Watchers Points Per Serving: Freestyle SmartPoints: 12 Points+: 10. Old Points: 7
(per 1 potato, based off the recipe making 4)
Liz @ The Lemon Bowl says
These look so delicious!! I can’t wait to make them for the holiday season. 🙂
Taylor Kiser says
I hope you love them Liz!
Danielle says
These look lovely. Do you think we could get away without using the maple syrup? We try to avoid all sweeteners for the most part in our home.
Taylor Kiser says
I don’t think they would be nearly as good! I’m sorry!
Melissa says
Hi, I can not eat walnuts, could you sub pecans?
Taylor Kiser says
Sure thing! 🙂
Lois says
These look gorgeous and I am adding them to my Thanksgiving menu. Do you think some of this could be made ahead of time? And if so, which steps?
Thanks you so much for your response.
Taylor Kiser says
I bet you could bake them and mix it all together! Maybe even stuff the potatoes, then do the topping and second baking just before dinner!
Sarah says
I love cubed sweet potatoes (SP) roasted in the oven. Do you have any suggestions for altering this recipe to cook everything at once instead of using whole SP? Maybe cube and bake the SP for a shorter time then add the other ingredients after they’re done on the stove and bake a little longer so nothing is overdone?
Taylor Kiser says
I really can’t tell you as recipes are only tested as written – sorry! I hope you understand. sounds like your idea might work though! Let us know if you try!
Roxy says
Hi
Would be great to reviews by people who made & rated these recipes
Way more helpful than people saying “ looks great”!
Or maybe a separate section with results of people who actually made your recipe
Really beautiful site , just took a while to scroll through all the ads & compliments !
Taylor Kiser says
Hi! I can’t control what people say in comments – sorry! I approve all comments regardless of if they are reviews or “looks great”
Katya says
These have been sitting in my bookmarks for ages and finally I got round to making them 🙂
They’re perfect – I really like the subtle balance between the sweetness of the potatoes and pears and the savoury taste of the spice. There’s also a bit of a crunch thanks to the walnuts – but this may be just in my version as I only roughly chopped them, instead of mincing. Also, just because I’m lazy, I first cut the sweet potatoes in half, then baked them – it makes the scooping and filling up process much much easier! 🙂 Top notch recipe, thank you!
Taylor Kiser says
Wahoo! I am so glad you like them Katya!
Amanda says
Maple syrup makes these non whole30 compliant. You may want to change your note. Otherwise, these sound great!!
Taylor Kiser says
Thank you!
Victoria says
I have made this recipe about 2 or 3 times now, and it’s pretty easy and tastes great! I microwave the sweet potatoes to roast them instead of using the oven to save the 45 minutes and it’s certainly made this recipe a lot easier to make on a weeknight. The first time I made it, I couldn’t find black walnuts in my local grocery store, so I hapily used English walnuts. I was recently in a different grocery store, found them, was excited to try this recipe the way it was intended.
Please, learn from my mistake— taste these nuts before you add them to your pear mixture to make sure you like them. They taste like jet fuel. I sampled them only after I had dumped them onto my pear mixture, so I spent a *lot* of time picking them out, thankful that I had other nuts in the house to sub in. My partner needs to eat a lot of protein to keep up with his weightlifting, and even he couldn’t be convinced by the high protein value. I rarely leave reviews on recipes, but I thought it worth mentioning here that they were very bitter. If it’s your first time trying these nuts, make sure you sample them first because they do not have a mild taste!
Taylor Kiser says
Black Walnuts are a VERY acquired taste 🙂 Glad you love them with other nuts!