Moroccan Sweet Potatoes are filled with a delicious, savory mixture of chickpeas, onion, garlic, apples and fresh cilantro, seasoned with a spicy & flavorful Moroccan spice blend called “Ras el Hanout.” Keep them vegan or add “Smoked Yogurt”.
These healthy Moroccan Sweet Potatoes are roasted and stuffed with a delicious and savory mixture of chickpeas, onion, garlic, apples and fresh cilantro, seasoned with a spicy & flavorful Moroccan spice blend called “Ras el Hanout.”
I love this meal because it’s fairly low in fat and calories, high in nutrients, and very filling and satisfying. With the cooler fall weather, I find my appetite is voracious! I literally want to eat everything in sight.
Sweet potatoes are one thing I turn to when I feel myself getting a little out of control. They are naturally filling, full of fiber and when roasted, their natural sugars caramelize. Ras el Hanout, if unfamiliar, can be found here at our store, or can easily be made at home. Keep this meal completely vegan, or drizzle lightly with my new favorite thing – “smoked” yogurt, for extra wow.
I have the “smoked” in quotes here because, even though we actually have been smoking yogurt in our smoker – which is over the top amazing – it’s a more arduous process than I expect most people have time for. So here’s a faster, easier way of mimicking this – by simply adding smoked paprika to yogurt. It has become our favorite condiment around here, and I often drizzle it over roasted vegetables and soups. It’s a keeper, for sure.
Split the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise, and roast cut side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
When they are done, flip them over …..they will be soft and caramelized.
While they are sweet potatoes are roasting, saute the onions, garlic, chickpeas and apples.
Below on the right, is the Seattle Based Ras el Hanout Spice Blend we carry at our store. It is lovely.
The left comes from Trader Joes. Each blend is slightly different, with different levels of heat.
Traditionally, it’s a blend of spices you probably already have at home: cumin, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and cayenne.
I actually make the filling a little spicy, purposely, because when it’s together with the sweet potato, the heat dissipates.
So season up the chickpea-apple filling with the Ras el Hanout. Then make slit in the soft sweet potatoes and place a few heaping spoonfuls over them. Keep them in a warm oven until ready to serve.
Sprinkle with fresh cilantro and scallions, and a drizzle of the “smoked yogurt.” Or keep them vegan!
These Moroccan Sweet Poatoes even taste great the next day. Just heat them up in the oven!
On the home front. We are in the middle of a nice, peaceful lull, between catering weddings and catering holiday parties… and time feels so luxurious. This is my favorite time of year, not only because life slows down for us, but because it is fall here, and this season most of all, moves me to my core with its beauty.
I can’t stop marveling at all the trees and what they do each year. For a few short weeks they began dropping their brilliant colored leaves, showering the earth with their reds and golds, and the sight of this is mesmerizing, hypnotic. It settles me in a way I can’t explain.
Somehow the whole story of life and death is contained in these falling leaves, and it feels so beautifully honest.
The beauty and joy of it, the loss and sadness too. So fleeting, this life of ours. Yet somehow it all feels so perfect and right. All of life, just as it is, even with how hard it can be at times. And I feel teary and yet giddy, expansive, embracing like I can actually hold all of it. And of course, this is the point in our walk, where Brian looks over and sees the look on my face as I’m staring up at the trees and asks me what drugs I am on. 😉 Perhaps we come with “built-in” drugs.
Perhaps the universe grants us moments of grace from time to time, that help us integrate all our experiences here, into the great wholeness. Who knows, but I savor these moments greedily.
More recipes you may like:
- Kyoto Style Sweet Potatoes with Miso, Ginger and Scallions
- Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Ginger
- Moroccan Chickpea & Sweet Potato Salad
- Baked Sweet Potato Fries with harissa!
- Thai Sweet Potato Soup w/ Lemongrass and Ginger
Enjoy and have a cozy weekend!!
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Moroccan Sweet Potatoes
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Total Time: 55 mins
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: Vegan main
- Method: roasted
- Cuisine: Moroccan
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Healthy Moroccan Stuffed Sweet Potatoes w/ Ras El Hanout, chickpeas, apples, onion, garlic & cilantro is vegan, or drizzle with delicious smoked yogurt.
Ingredients
- 2–3 medium yams- cut in half lengthwise, skin on
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 an onion – diced
- 1/2 an apple – diced
- 4 garlic cloves, rough chopped
- 1 can chickpeas, drained & rinsed or sub 1/2 lb chicken breast
- 2 teaspoons Ras el Hanout spice blend
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, divided
- 1/4 cup chopped scallions
“Smoked” yogurt drizzle
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt or soy yogurt (this is best with low fat or full fat, not fat-free)
- 1/8 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- pinch salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Place yams, cut side down on parchment lined baking sheet and roast for 30-40 minutes until tender.
- While yams are roasting make filling. Saute onion and apple in olive oil, in a large skillet, over medium high heat for 2-3 minutes. turn heat to medium. Add garlic. Saute 4 more minutes then add chick peas and spices, salt and pepper. Continue cooking a few more minutes. Stir in maple syrup. At this point, it may seem a little spicy, but when stuffed into the sweet potato, the flavors will mellow a bit. Stir in half of the cilantro. Turn heat off.
- When yams are tender, flip them right side up, and slit the middle gently with a knife and divide the filling, spooning it over the yams. Place back in a warm oven until ready to serve.
- Garnish with fresh cilantro and scallions and a drizzle of “smoked” yogurt.
- To make the “smoked yogurt” mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Place in a squirty bottle and keep in the fridge.
Notes
This is the Seattle Based Ras el Hanout Spice Blend we carry at our store. It is lovely.
Or make this homemade version: Ras El Hanout
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ½ a sweet potato with the filling (no yogurt)
- Calories: 346
- Sugar: 4.6 g
- Sodium: 421.8 mg
- Fat: 4.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 71.8 g
- Fiber: 12.4 g
- Protein: 7.1 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
How do you think this would be as a stuffing for acorn squash?
I bet it would be delicious!
Loved this flavorful and delicious recipe. I made the yogurt with smoked paprika, but I am curious about the smoked yogurt and would love to try it. I’m sure it would be yummy on roasted veggies. Have a recipe to share?
Hey Danette. I don’t have an official recipe but basically I put yogurt in a shallow pan in our electric smoker, over another pan of ice, stir a few times for about an hour.
What is the difference between a yam and a sweet potato? Our stores typically only care sweet potatoes.
Thanks.
Hi Brenda- It depends on where you are.;) So here in the US, the terms are used interchangeably. Here, a yam is a type of sweet potato. A yam has creamy orange flesh and redish skin, a sweet potato has a creamy beige interior with a light tan exterior. Where ever you live, you want to use the kind that has a creamy interior, not a stringy interior. Hope this helps.
This dish had great texture and flavor. Make sure you use yams and not regular sweet potatoes.
Yes, Yams for sure!
Great recipe. Delicious and filling. This was my first time using Ras el Hanout and I really like it. I’ll definitely be making it again.
Excellent Eli, glad you tried it!
Sooooo delicious! Soooooo easy! Made it first time microwaving sweet potatoes, 2nd time made stuffing day before, reheated, and served on oven-baked sweet potatoes (thousand times better!) with drizzled smoked yogurt. Both times skipped fresh cilantro and scallions. Glad i bought that spice/wonderful taste!
Great to hear Camille!
I have been making this for a long time. It is so good! Today I thought I would cut the sweet potato in chunks and roast with the rest of the ingredients. When it came out of the oven, my son (who loves to cook) asked if I was making soup! What a great idea! I am going to try that next time I make it.
Thanks for sharing this recipe!
That is a great idea! Love it Linda and thanks for sharing!