Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tacos with Avocado-Pepita Dip
These roasted sweet potato tacos feature spicy black beans and avocado-pepita dip. Delicious! This taco recipe is vegetarian (easily vegan) and gluten-free.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 5, 2024
Confession: Last week, when I shared some of my favorite savory sweet potato recipes, I intentionally omitted this one because the photos made me cringe. These tacos totally deserved to be included!
I photographed them again yesterday afternoon under gorgeous fall sunlight, and I’m sharing the recipe with you today in case you’ve skimmed past their original photos. I’m not sure these photos do them justice, but they’re definitely an improvement. Orange and green are a garish color combination, which might make these a fun Halloween dinner, now that I think about it.
When I originally shared this recipe well over two years ago, Cookie was healing after her accident (we don’t like to talk about it) and we were just getting settled into my current little house. I was thrilled to finally have my own dishwasher, washer and dryer, which I still appreciate to the moon and back.
Now, Cookie’s back in tip-top shape, and I’m gearing up to move us to a more functional living space. I’m surrounded by fabric samples and can’t stop waffling back and forth between bed frame options. Help!
Watch How to Make Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tacos
My love for tacos remains unchanged, and these tacos are as delicious as ever. This hearty taco recipe features spicy roasted sweet potatoes, black beans for protein, and a spectacular avocado spread made with freshly toasted pepitas for texture and savory notes. Top them off with some salty crumbled feta, more toasted pepitas and some crunchy pickled jalapeños (not shown, but highly recommended) for a well-balanced fall dinner.
These tacos are the taco version of my beloved sweet potato burritos. When I remade the recipe, I tweaked the spices a bit and made a few little edits for clarity, so this recipe is better than ever. I hope you love it, and please do let me know how it turns out for you in the comments!
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos
These roasted sweet potato tacos feature spicy black beans and avocado-pepita dip. So delicious! This taco recipe is vegetarian (easily vegan) and gluten-free (see recipe notes for details). Recipe yields 8 to 10 hearty tacos, enough for at least 4 servings.
Ingredients
Roasted sweet potatoes
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes (3 to 4 medium sweet potatoes), peeled and sliced into 1-inch chunks
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (omit if sensitive to spice)
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
Spicy black beans
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small yellow or white onion, finely chopped
- Fine salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained (or 3 cups cooked black beans)
- ⅓ cup water
- 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar or lime juice
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Avocado-pepita dip
- 2 avocados, pitted
- 1 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro (mostly leaves, some small stems are ok)
- ½ cup pepitas
- 1 small jalapeño, seeded and roughly chopped, or ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (go easy if sensitive to spice)
- 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 medium lime) or 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- 2 tablespoons water
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Everything else
- 8 to 10 small corn tortillas
- Crumbled feta
- Suggested garnishes: Pickled jalapeños or pickled radishes or pickled red onions, torn cilantro, hot sauce, etc.
Instructions
- Roast the sweet potatoes: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean-up. Toss the prepared sweet potatoes with the olive oil, cayenne pepper (if using) and salt. Arrange in a single layer and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, tossing halfway, until the sweet potatoes are tender and caramelizing at the edges.
- Prepare the black beans: Warm the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and a sprinkle of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have softened and are turning translucent, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add the cumin and chili powder and cook for about 30 seconds while stirring. Pour in the beans and water. Stir, cover and reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer.
- Cook for 5 minutes, then remove the lid and use a potato masher or a fork to mash up at least half of the beans. Remove from heat, stir in the vinegar, season with salt (I added over ¼ teaspoon) and pepper, and cover until you’re ready to serve.
- Make the avocado dip: First, toast the pepitas in a skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until they are fragrant and starting to make little popping noises, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
- Scoop the avocado flesh into a food processor or blender. Add the cilantro, jalapeño, garlic, lime juice, water and salt. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides of the processor/blender as necessary. Add almost all of the pepitas (reserve a few tablespoons for garnish) and process just until the pepitas are chopped into small pieces (some remaining texture is desirable). Taste, and add more salt if necessary. Transfer the dip to a small bowl for serving.
- To warm the tortillas, heat a large skillet over medium heat and warm the tortillas in batches, flipping to warm each side. Alternatively, you can warm them directly over a low flame on a gas range. Stack the warmed tortillas on a plate and cover with a tea towel to keep warm.
- To assemble the tacos, spread black beans down the middle of each tortilla, then top with some sweet potatoes and avocado-pepita dip. Garnish with feta, pepitas, and anything else that strikes your fancy. Repeat with remaining tortillas and serve.
Notes
Make it dairy free/vegan: Skip the feta, and definitely add something pickled to make up for it.
Make it gluten free: Make sure your tortillas are 100 percent corn/certified gluten free.
Serving suggestions: These tacos would be awesome with a side of simple seedy slaw (which you could also pile onto your tacos for some more crunch). If you’d like to serve a simple green salad with these tacos, try topping this lime-marinated kale with feta and pepitas.
Storage suggestions: Leftover taco components should keep well for a few days. Store them individually in the fridge, covered. Press plastic wrap against the surface of the avocado-pepita sauce to help prevent oxidation. Add a splash of water to the beans if they dry out during reheating.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
So happy to hear that Cookie is already getting better! Sending her lots of hugs. It must have been an exhausting time for you both. xoxo
The tacos look delicious, Kate! And the colors are simply gorgeous. I would love to serve these at a get-together!
Thank you, Sini! It has been a crazy couple of weeks. We got 10 inches of snow yesterday, which is making it awfully hard to keep Cookie’s bandage dry! These tacos would be the perfect addition to a Mexican-themed potluck. :)
I think I just found tonight’s dinner, these look like taco perfection! So glad Cookie is on the mend, I love your IG of her playing in the snow!
Oh yum!! I’m glad to hear that Cookie is ok. She is so adorable.
The pepita dip sounds amazing. I’m sure it would be just as good eaten with a spoon as it would be on top of a taco!
Thank you, Steph. I just snacked on some of the avocado pepita dip on tortilla chips—so tasty!
Can I please come over and you make these for me? k thanks.
So glad Cookie is on the mend. And keep sharing house pics. I love it!
Looking forward to these tacos for din tonight :)
Hey! So I’m listening to The Moth now. Hope those tacos turned out well!
So glad that Cookie is feeling better – these tacos look absolutely amazing!
I’m glad to hear about Cookie (sweet thing). Thank you for the lovely recipe. Take good care of you and Cookie. Have a Happy Week.
Kate, your recipes are wonderful. You are so talented!
Thank you, sweet Liz. Cookie says hi. :)
goodgolly what an awful scare…so happy Cookie is already snowdiving in her purple cast and will be fully recovered soon! Your tacos look delicious…the ingredient combination is so imaginative and full of yumful flavors…many thanks for sharing! :)
Thank you! I am so thankful that Cookie is healing well.
So glad to hear Cookie is on the mend! And your new place looks wonderful! Yes, I totally agree, there is never a bad day for tacos. They’re always welcome in my home. Loving the combo of avo + pepita, I will definitely have to try this :)
Yum! This sounds so good and I would have never thought to put roasted sweet potatoes in the mix, I will have to try this soon.
I love roasted sweet potatoes with black beans and avocado! Hope you give the combo a try soon!
I feel like I could eat that avocado-pepita dip with a spoon. Yum.
And that picture of Cookie made my day. Thanks for sharing :)
That pepita dip looks so good! So much goodness!
These tacos sound so good! Black bean and sweet potato is such a classic, hearty, sweet and spicy combination. The avocado and pepitas just take it over the top. Hooray!
Thank you, Eileen! I’ll never tire of the sweet potato/black bean/avocado combination.
Despite Cookie’s little bit of drama, it sounds like you’re settling in quite nicely! These tacos sound amazing – I’m totally nuts about sweet potatoes, pepitas AND avocado so I’m totally drooling over this!
Yum! I can’t wait to try these. I’ve always eaten a lot of vegetarian food but have recently decided to give up meat completely and I love your recipes. Also glad to see Cookie romping in the snow. Obviously she’s feeling a lot better :).
Thanks, Chris! Hope you love the tacos. Glad to hear that you’re enjoying my recipes!
This sounds delicious. I cant wait to try it.
these look wonderful!
Sweet Potatoes make a great combo for many things but tacos is got to be the best!
So happy Cookie is on the mend!! :)
These are my kind of tacos. I love all the veggies and that avocado dip sounds amazing!
our dinner tonight was inspired by this post! i sauteed the sweet potatoes with kale, made some guacamole, aaaand made kelsey’s (happyolks) soft shell tacos. my husband made some refried beans with an indecent amount of bacon fat.
Sounds so good, Margarita! Sweet potatoes and kale are such a delicious combination.
You are a genius and a fairy of whole foods. So glad we’re friends.
Oh my, thank you, friend! Let’s hang out soon.
Hey, I’m in Singapore (I’m American though). You have people all over! Thank you so much for all the recipes!
That’s awesome, Natalie! Thanks for reading from around the world. :)
I just moved to the UK and I’m going through mexican food withdrawl. I’m going to have to make these.
Oh, I hope you do! I lived in France for a few months and had serious Mexican food cravings.
I actually just moved from Paris! It was dismal, but there was a place called Candelaria in the Marais which was cooking up some pretty fine tacos and you could buy fresh tortillas from them.
Why am I looking at these right before dinner?!?! They look sooooooo good.
So happy to hear Cookie is on the mend! These tacos are screaming my name!
Ah, a First World kitchen! I am sooo happy for you! I remember the day I moved to an apartment that had a dishwasher, AND an in-unit washer/dryer. I nearly cried tears of joy and relief. Congratulations! So far, your new place is darling!
So glad Cookie is on the mend and so glad you shared these tacos with us! I love everything you do with avocados and can’t wait to try this sauce :)
I hear you re. the kitchen, Kate. It’s long been one of my life’s ambitions to get a dishwasher (haven’t achieved it yet!)
As for these tacos, I’m not a vegetarian but I could happily be one if I got to eat food like this every day! Love the idea of combining sweet potato with feta in a taco … yum!
I’m so glad to hear that Cookie is okay!! It does sound like she’s recovering, so that’s good. Yay for tacos!! My favorite food. Especially with sweet potatoes. The best.
Hi Kate. I only just discovered your blog (I was searching for a recipe for buckwheat pancakes after having eaten some at a friend’s house) and you are re-inspiring my love of cooking that has lain dormant for a while.
Sorry to hear about Cookie’s accident and glad she is recovering well. Enjoy your new house!
Anyway, I shall be making the peanut soba noodle slaw for lunch and then something very similar to this recipe for dinner with my nearly 13 year old daughter tonight. Black beans are harder to find in the UK but I have some! No sweet potatoes but will try that next time. I had to Google pepitas but happy to discover I have some in the cupboard!
Thank you so much for this blog. I am looking forward to working my way through the back posts of recipes. There seem to be many Mexican themed posts which are particularly to my liking!
All good wishes from the UK.
Andy
Andy, I’m so sorry I didn’t thank you for your thoughtful comment sooner. Thank you. I hope you are enjoying those Mexican recipes!
So glad to hear that Cookie is recovering and then you can start to relax and settle into your new pad. As for these tacos, it’s like you read my mind! I wrote down a rough plan of something like this for dinner later this week so this recipe is very timely indeed.
Hi Kate! I’ve been a fan of yours for a long time now, just wanted to say hi. These look delish!! I love all of your different options for main dishes.
Sigh, what I wouldn’t give for a dishwasher, garbage disposal, and of course more counter space! Oh! And a whole slew of these tacos and plenty of chips to go with that dip!
Taco are just such a comforting food! Love your flavour combination!
I made this burrito for dinner last night and i have to admit: these are the best burrito’s ever!! So yumm!
Thanks, Laura! So glad you enjoyed the taco recipe.
I love anything in a tortilla. Start adding avocado and cheeses, and I’m down. Looks delicious!
Amazing, by pure coincidence the day I discover your blog, I happen to have a pile of sweet potatoes to use up!
I cannot wait to try these tacos especially with the avocado dip. This is a good blend of taco ingredients. It is also perfect timing that I found this–I have home grown avocados in my kitchen.
Oh, I’m jealous of those home-grown avocados! Hope you loved the tacos.
What a good idea to swap out the rice in a burrito for some roasted sweet potatoes. But then I love sweet potatoes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
I love sweet potatoes at all times of the day, too!
Made these for a couple friends who came over for dinner……….you could hear a pin drop while we were eating, they were so DELICIOUS!!!!! And so healthy for you! I followed the recipe to a tea and it was great, will be another staple from your blog! I am so happy to hear that Cookie is doing better :) Hope your February is going well and you are staying warm!
Thank you, Katie! I’m so happy to hear you and your friends loved the tacos! I’ll have to make some for girls night soon. :)
Made these tonight. Delicious! They are definitely going into our family’s rotation. Thanks for making this a mouth watering vegetarian week for us!
Terrific news! Thank you, Tara.
Thanks for a great recipe, we enjoyed this for dinner tonight.
Happy to hear it. Thank you for commenting!
Leftover dip also worked great as a hummus substitute with carrots and peppers or other raw veggies you might have on hand! The creaminess was a nice contrast and it had some kick to it!
Great ideas! Thank you for sharing, Meredith.
wow these tacos look amazing! I’ve never thought of packing them full of sweet potatoes before, I am going to have to try that!
Thanks, Jenny! Sweet potato tacos are my absolute favorite.
I could survive on the avocado dip alone! This combines so many delicious flavors in a healthy good looking package! My husband usually considers anything vegetarian an appetizer so I was thrilled when told me to save this recipe.
Julie, so glad you’re both enjoying the tacos! You’re not the first to report that they have been popular with carnivorous guys. Hooray!
Could you recommend a substitute dip for those of us who aren’t fond of avacados? Thanks
Hi Robyn, great question. Salsa verde plays nicely with the other flavors in this recipe. So does sour cream. You could serve one or both of those on the side, or even mix some salsa into sour cream so it’s not so runny.
These were great! Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
(by the way, our dog, Teddy, loves plain baked sweet potatoes. when I was making this I think he thought we were taking his treat. little did he know I baked his plain ones first, then made ours with all the spices).
Cookie loves sweet potatoes, too! Actually, she’ll eat just about anything, but she especially enjoys roasted sweet potato. :)
I have tried (and loved) SO many of your recipes, but I think this one is my new favorite. You are amazing!
Thank you, Julie! So glad to hear it. P.s. We share the same last name. :)
All I have to say is WOW. These were FAN-tastic! My daughter and I made these last night and they were phenomenal! Thank you!
Thank you, Angela!
These were FANTASTIC, and so easy (even easier because I skipped the avocado sauce and just mashed up a rough guac). Topped with chopped cilantro and raw onion and didn’t miss the cheese. This is going on my (short) list of “so filling and satisfying you forget it’s vegan” recipes. Found your blog by googling “black bean tacos”…I’m glad I did!
Mary, that’s great to hear! So glad you loved the tacos. Your version sounds terrific.