Black Bean & Sweet Potato Tostadas make the perfect weeknight (30-minute) dinner recipe. The black beans and sweet potatoes are lightly seasoned and sautéed up together and then stacked on tostada shells and topped with a creamy salsa (YUM!) and some fresh lettuce for crunch and veg.
What do you look for in weeknight dinners?
I have a few criteria that I use when I consider whether a recipe is a weeknight recipe or not!
- FAST – takes 15-30 minutes to make
- BALANCED – most food groups are covered
- FAMILY FRIENDLY – it’s a meal I’ll serve to the entire family
It’s a process that I’ve definitely streamlined in the last few years, aka, since I had kids! Spending time in the kitchen is something I enjoy, but weeknights are just not the time for slow, complex meals that take an hour to put together. And it’s definitely something that I’ve become a LOT more aware of since launching my meal plan service. All of the meals that I put on the plan have to come together in about 30 minutes (sometimes less and once in a while, a bit more!) because that’s just realistically what people have time for. In fact, when I did an informal poll on facebook asking how much time you all spent on dinner, the most popular answer was around 20-30 minutes.
And so I’ve been really focused on meals that take 20-30 minutes from start-to-finish and some that may take 10-15 active cooking time (how much time it takes to prep something) and then a longer bake in the oven or slow cooker. It’s not always easy, but with some calculated shortcuts and an expectation that food and meals don’t have to be perfect, it’s definitely doable.
This weeknight dinner of Black Bean & Sweet Potato Tostadas is the perfect combo of sweet and spicy, cool and creamy, soft and crunchy. The black beans and sweet potatoes are lightly seasoned and sautéed up together and then stacked on tostada shells and topped with a creamy salsa (YUM!) and some fresh lettuce for crunch and veg.
It takes about 15 minutes to prep and 15 minutes to cook, so Black Bean & Sweet Potato Tostadas definitely fall under the weeknight dinner category in my mind, what do you think? Let me know what you think and be sure to tag me (@myeverydaytable or #myeverydaytable) so I can see your creations!
Black Bean & Sweet Potato Tostadas
PIN Black Bean & Sweet Potato Tostadas for later!
Black Bean & Sweet Potato Tostadas
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: dinner
- Cuisine: mexican
Description
Black Bean & Sweet Potato Tostadas make the perfect weeknight (30-minute) dinner recipe. The black beans and sweet potatoes are lightly seasoned and sautéed up together and then stacked on tostada shells and topped with a creamy salsa (YUM!) and some fresh lettuce for crunch and veg.
Ingredients
- 1 medium-large sweet potato
- 1/2 white onion
- 1 head romaine lettuce
- 1 medium avocado
- 15 oz. can black beans
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup salsa
- 8 tostada shells
Instructions
- Prep Ingredients:
Peel and dice the sweet potato.
Dice the onion.
Wash and chop the romaine.
Slice avocado.
Drain and rinse black beans. - Heat large pan (non-stick if you have it) over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan and when oil is hot (it should shimmer) add sweet potato and onions to pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Add 1 Tbsp. water, turn heat to low, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add spices and beans to pan, stir to combine, and cook for 2 more minutes.
- While beans are cooking, stir together sour cream and salsa.
- Assemble tostadas: layer sweet potato mixture over shell, drizzle with creamy salsa, and top with romaine and avocado.
Notes
- Get your kids involved. They can: rinse beans, measure spices, stir together creamy salsa, assemble their tostadas.
- Tostada shells are crispy corn shells that are flat. You should be able to find them in the Hispanic aisle or near the tortillas.
Keywords: vegetarian, black beans, sweet potatoes
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