Apple Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Today's Apple Stuffed Sweet Potatoes recipe is the perfect easy and delicious fall recipe. This healthy sweet potato side dish is full of flavorful spices, and simple ingredients. It's perfect for a vegan Thanksgiving recipe, or a simple fall lunch.

What Makes These Apple Stuffed Sweet Potatoes So Healthy?

These Apple Stuffed Sweet Potatoes is one of my favorite fall side dishes, or light lunch recipe. It's packed full of nutrient dense ingredients, and free oil, refined sugar, and of course is vegan! Some of the health benefits of this recipe are:

• Promote Gut Health - Both apples and sweet potatoes are great for gut health. Apples contain pectin which acts as a prebiotic. Sweet potatoes contain both insoluble, and soluble fiber. This keeps your digestion regular and supports the good bacteria in your gut.
• Supports Eye Health - Sweet potatoes are full of the antioxidant beta-carotene. "Beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A in your body and used to form light-detecting receptors inside your eyes".
• Boosts Immune System - Every ingredient featured in this recipe has immune system boosting ingredients, even down to the spices. This recipe is full of Vitamin C, A, Potassium, Antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory nutrients.

Ingredients For These Apple Stuffed Sweet Potatoes:

• Sweet Potatoes - You can use any sweet potato variety. I love using Japanese sweet potatoes, because they're super creamy and sweet. However you can't go wrong with a classic orange sweet potato.
• Apples - I recommend using a firm apple variety. Softer apples can become mushy after cooking. I used Jazz Apples, but Pink Lady, HoneyCrisp, and Fuji will all work perfectly as well.
• Pecans - Make sure to use raw and unsalted pecans. They're creamier and therefore won't be as crunchy in the sweet potatoes.
• Date Syrup - I love using date syrup for a plant based sweetener, because it's lower in sugar, but higher in nutrients than other natural sweeteners. You can also use maple syrup for this recipe, but I strongly recommend using date syrup.
• Pumpkin Pie Spice - I always go for pumpkin pie spice for fall recipes, because it typically has all the spices you need mixed in already. If you can't find pumpkin pie spice, you can use: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.
• Salt - Helps to bring all the flavors together.

How To Make These Apple Stuffed Sweet Potatoes:

These Apple Stuffed Sweet Potatoes are super easy to make. It only requires a few simple ingredients, and doesn't take long to make at all.

First, begin by cooking the sweet potatoes. If you have time, baking the sweet potatoes in the oven for about 40 minutes at 400 is the best. It will leave you with a sweet and creamy sweet potato. However if you are in a time crunch you can also microwave the sweet potatoes. They will not be as creamy, but it takes less than 10 minutes, so it's a great time saving trick.

While the sweet potatoes are cooking, begin making the filling. To make the filling, finely dice the apples and roughly chop the pecans. Add the apples and pecans to a pan along with the date syrup, water, and spices. Mix and cook until the apples began to soften.

Once the sweet potatoes are baked and soft, remove from heat and cut lengthwise down the middle. Split the sweet potatoes and mash it with a fork. Once you've made a bed of mashed sweet potato, scoop the apple filling into the sweet potatoes. Top with extra date syrup and enjoy!

Frequently Asked Questions:

Should Sweet Potatoes Be Soaked Before Roasting?

In order to make sweet potato fries, or roasted sweet potato wedges, it's important to soak, or boil the sweet potatoes so that you can achieve a crispy outside. Is this necessary when roasting sweet potatoes whole? It's not!

In order to achieve the perfect baked sweet potato all you have to do is poke holes in them with a fork. Let them bake until you see a thick golden syrup begin to ooze out of it. When you cut into the sweet potato you'll be left with a creamy perfectly baked sweet potato!

Can I Turned These Apple Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Into A Sweet Potato Casserole?

One of the things I love about these Apple Stuffed Sweet Potatoes is that they can easily be turned into a delicious casserole! If you plan on making a large amount of these sweet potatoes this is actually what I recommend you do.

In order to turn these stuffed sweet potatoes into a casserole, all you have to do is bake the sweet potatoes as you would. It's important to remember that you will probably have to double the recipe. Once the sweet potatoes are baked completely, scoop out the insides and place in a casserole dish. Mash with a potato masher.

Make the apple pecan filling as you would. Scoop the filling on the mashed potatoes. Serve immediately, or cover with foil and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Can I Meal Prep These Stuffed Sweet Potatoes?

One of the many reasons I love these sweet potatoes is because they're a great meal prep food. I like to make a batch of them at the beginning of the week and pack them for a week of healthy lunches. I recommend using about half the amount of date syrup when meal prepping these sweet potatoes, because the sweet potatoes will absorb all the sweetness, and you'll want to top it with extra date syrup anyways.

Related Vegan Sweet Potato Recipes:

• Taco Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
• Rainbow Sweet Potato Kale Salad
• Sweet Potato Beet Burger
• Sweet Potato Spring Rolls
• Paleo Sweet Potato Brownies