Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tostadas

This post is brought to you by ALDI.

Eep! I’m so excited about this recipe that I want to hit publish and share it with you right this minute. I know how much you enjoy spicy sweet potatoes, black beans and avocado together—you all have such good taste—and I’ve already been keeping this one under wraps for a few weeks now.

I should probably tell you the story behind these tostadas. A few months ago, I went on a fun girls’ weekend trip to Nashville with a couple of friends. We all share equal enthusiasm for good queso, margaritas and tacos.

Thanks to Yelp’s infinite wisdom, our hungry and thirsty selves landed at a restaurant called Bakersfield for a very late lunch. Apparently it is a small chain. There, we promptly ordered a pitcher of apple margaritas and some truly spectacular queso. I settled on the “papas,” their black bean tostadas, and some portobello tacos.

I loved how they served their tostadas on a bed of romaine lettuce. Tostadas are inherently tricky to eat. Do you pick them up? Try to break through the crispy tortilla with a knife? The romaine offered the perfect solution. Take a fork and knife to the tostadas, which is a lot easier to do with lettuce padding the underside. Plus, the romaine is crisp and fresh, which are two essential components to a great tostada (or taco, for that matter).

So, I took notes, and those tostadas combined in my head with my sweet potato tacos and burrito recipes. We ended up here, with crispy baked tortillas spread with “refried” black beans, topped with spicy roasted sweet potatoes, avocado, and fresh cilantro, all served on a bed of lime-and-feta romaine salad. I just know you’re going to love them.

These tostadas are a very hearty vegetarian dinner option. The recipe as written yields quite a lot of food. If you intend to have leftovers, I’d store the components separately (wait to dress the lettuce just before serving, if possible).

Perhaps the coolest feature of these tostadas is that I bought all of the ingredients at ALDI, one of my go-to grocery stores. ALDI is different from your average grocery store, but it will feel familiar if you have ever explored grocery stores in Germany (my first ALDI experience was in Germany during my semester abroad) or elsewhere in Europe.

The first difference you’ll notice is that you’ll need to insert a quarter to get a shopping cart, which is refunded when you return it (a brilliant incentive to return the cart to its proper home). You’ll also want to bring your own bags, and be prepared to bag up your items. Those are a couple of ways that they keep costs down, which you will definitely appreciate when you see how low your total is at check-out.

I appreciate ALDI because their products are super affordable, and they now offer a wide variety of my favorite ingredients. Their organic options include spinach and mixed greens, frozen berries, coconut oil, honey, milk, canned beans, salsa and tortilla chips. You can also find quinoa, a wide variety of cheese (all rBST-free), cheap avocados and limes (hello, guac!) and lots of other fresh produce.

I’ve introduced some friends to ALDI and now they shop there all the time. Since I’m always trying to show that home-cooked meals can be healthy, affordable, and doable all at the same time, I’m excited to announce a new partnership with ALDI. I’ll be sharing three more recipes using ALDI ingredients over the next couple of months.

If you haven’t experience ALDI yet, go explore one and let me know what you think! Also check out their new Hello, Healthy blog, which offers meal plans, videos and recipes from bloggers like me (these tostadas made the cut).

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tostadas

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Author: Cookie and Kate
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 50 mins
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 1x
Category: Entree
Method: Baked
Cuisine: Mexican

★★★★★

4.8 from 26 reviews

This vegetarian tostadas recipe features roasted sweet potatoes and healthy “refried” black beans, served on a bed of crisp salad. It’s gluten free and easily vegan (see recipe notes). This recipe yields 4 generous servings; leftovers keep well for a few days (see storage notes), or you can halve the recipe for fewer servings.

Scale

Ingredients

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

1 ¾ pounds sweet potatoes (about 3 medium), peeled and sliced into ¾” pieces
1 tablespoon SimplyNature Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
½ teaspoon chili powder
Salt

Refried Black Beans

1 tablespoon SimplyNature Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cans (15 ounces each) SimplyNature Organic Black Beans, rinsed and drained
½ cup water
½ teaspoon sea salt grinder, more to taste

Crispy Baked Tortillas

8 corn tortillas (you need 100% corn tortillas; others won’t get crispy!)
1 tablespoon SimplyNature Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for brushing

Crisp Lime Salad and Garnishes

18 ounces romaine lettuce, roughly chopped
⅔ cup (about 4 ounces) Happy Farms Preferred Feta Cheese Crumbles
¾ cup finely chopped red onion, divided
¼ cup SimplyNature Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)
Sea salt grinder to taste, if necessary
2 ripe avocados, pitted and thinly sliced
Small handful of fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
Hot sauce or salsa, for serving

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Instructions

To roast the sweet potatoes: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit with two racks placed near the middle of the oven, leaving a few inches in between the racks. Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
Place the sweet potatoes on one of the prepared baking sheets, then drizzle the olive oil on top and sprinkle with the chili powder and several dash of salt. Toss until the sweet potatoes are lightly and evenly coated with oil and spices.
Bake until the sweet potatoes are tender and caramelized on the edges, about 30 to 35 minutes. Set aside, but leave the oven on for the crispy tortillas.
Meanwhile, to cook the refried beans: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil until shimmering. Add the garlic and cumin and cook, while stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add the drained beans, water and salt. Let the mixture come to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often, and reducing heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer. Remove from the heat and mash the beans with a potato masher, pastry cutter or fork until the mixture is thick and spreadable. Cover and set aside.
To prepare the crispy tortillas: On the remaining prepared baking sheet, brush both sides of each tortilla lightly with oil. Clear off the other baking sheet by transferring the roasted sweet potatoes to a serving bowl, but reuse the parchment paper. Arrange 4 tortillas in a single layer across each pan. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, turning halfway, until each tortilla is golden and lightly crisp. Set aside.
To prepare the salad: In a medium serving bowl, combine the chopped lettuce, feta, about ½ cup of the red onion (reserve the rest for garnish), olive oil and lime juice. Toss to combine, and add a pinch of salt if the flavors don’t quite sing yet. Divide the salad between 4 low, wide salad bowls or dinner plates.
To assemble the tostadas, spread black beans over each tortilla, and place each one on a bed of salad. Top each tortilla with a few slices of avocado, followed by the sweet potatoes, and a sprinkle of red onion and cilantro. Serve with your favorite hot sauce or salsa on the side.
Tostadas are best consumed promptly. If you have leftovers, store individual components separately, if possible. Leftover black beans make a good side, and they’re also a great quesadilla filling.

Notes

Make it gluten free: Use certified gluten-free/100% corn tortillas.
Make it dairy free/vegan: Omit the feta cheese. You might like to add some pickled jalapeños or a few dashes of hot sauce to make up for feta’s salty kick.
Change it up: These tostadas would be great with a variety of roasted vegetables, not just sweet potatoes! Cauliflower and butternut come to mind. You could also skip the roasted veggies for lighter tostadas.
Storage suggestions: If you intend to have leftovers, it’s best to store individual components separately rather than assembling the tostadas all at once. If possible, store the salad and dressing separately, and toss only as much as you need together before serving.

▸ Nutrition Information

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.

This post was created in partnership with ALDI and I received compensation for my participation. Opinions are my own, always. Thank you for supporting the sponsors who support C+K!

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