Baked Purple Sweet Potatoes with Cheesy White Beans

These Twice-Baked Purple Sweet Potatoes are loaded with a creamy combination of white beans, Parmesan, garlic, and rosemary for an easy meat-free dish in under one hour. It’s a recipe created for a loyal reader who asked for “more vegetables.”

So read on for all the info you could want about purple sweet potatoes and detailed tips and tricks for this recipe. Or just grab some purple sweet potatoes, hit that Jump to Recipe button, and let’s eat more vegetables!

Purple sweet potatoes

You can use purple-fleshed purple sweet potatoes (called Stokes purple sweet potatoes) or Japanese white-fleshed, purple sweet potatoes (called Satsumaimo). Do you know the difference between sweet potatoes and yams?

Traditionally we’ve only had sweet potatoes in the United States. Those things we call yams at Thanksgiving? They’re orange-fleshed sweet potatoes.

However… now that ube crinkle cookies and other ube baked goods are growing in popularity, you’ll see true yams. Because ube is a purple yam, not a purple sweet potato.

To pick the best purple sweet potatoes, look for sweet potatoes that are firm, smooth, and free from mold or sprouting. Figure a half to a full sweet potato per person, depending on the size of your sweet potato, the size of your person, and what else you are serving.

Want more purple sweet potato recipes? Try mashed purple sweet potatoes with bananas, purple sweet potato latkes, or a purple sweet potato sourdough.

Beans

While I am generally an advocate for making things from scratch, canned beans definitely hold a place in my dinner planning because of their ease and convenience. Please feel free to use dried beans in this recipe if you are thinking ahead!

Want other easy recipes using canned beans? Try a garbanzo bean soup, cheesy white bean tomato bake, falafel waffles, Southwestern black bean burgers, or these white bean and quinoa balls with raisins and pine nuts.

Variations and substitutions

• Substitute any sweet potato if you can’t find purple sweet potatoes.
• Use any white bean or garbanzo beans.
• Sub out rosemary for any herb like thyme or oregano.
• Feel free to omit the cheese or use a vegan cheese.

Step 1: Slice the sweet potatoes in half. Put the olive oil in the bottom of baking dish and rub it over the cut halves (both cut side and skin). Sprinkle with salt and pepper and put the sweet potatoes cut side down in the dish. Bake for about 45 minutes until you can pierce the flesh easily with a fork.

Step 2: Meanwhile, rinse and drain the beans and combine them in a small bowl with the grated Parmesan, garlic, and rosemary.

Step 3: When the sweet potatoes have softened, flip them over so they are cut side up and top with the bean mixture. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes, until the beans have warmed and the cheese has melted. Serve immediately.

What to serve with loaded baked sweet potatoes

• Serve your baked purple sweet potatoes as a side to a simple roast or pan-roasted chicken breasts.
• Make it a complete vegetarian meal by adding some green vegetables and a simple salad like this Caprese salad with burrata and peaches or arugula pear salad.
• Add some quinoa, farro, or brown rice.

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