Thai Tempeh Vegan Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Recipe
A recipe for easy Thai tempeh vegan stuffed sweet potatoes topped with the most delicious peanut sauce! You’ll love this simple recipe that’s perfect for lunch or dinner! Serve with a simple cucumber salad for a balanced meatless meal.
Stuffed sweet potatoes are one of my favorite lunches, and this recipe for Thai tempeh vegan stuffed sweet potatoes is the best I’ve made! There’s something super comforting about a soft and sweet baked sweet potato with it’s tender and creamy interior, filled with a flavorful vegan filling of seasoned tempeh, nutty toasted peanuts, avocado and fresh herbs, all drizzled with a spicy peanut sauce.
If you’ve been relegating sweet potatoes to a side dish, you’re really missing out! Sweet potatoes are packed with filling, high-fiber carbs and tons of vitamins and minerals (hello almost 300% daily needs of vitamin A!). When baked and stuffed with a protein-packed tempeh filling, they make the perfect little satisfying lunch to fuel your afternoon.
I started making stuffed sweet potatoes ages ago when I realized how easy it was for meal prep. Bake a batch of sweet potatoes on the weekend, and they’re a great vehicle for stretching last night’s leftovers into another meal. I’ve filled them with leftover roasted chicken and cheese, my favorite vegan quinoa chili (or canned chili!), kale salad, and even extra taco filling. They’re a great pantry staple to have on hand to help reduce food waste!
Vegan Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Tempeh Filling
For plant based protein, I stuffed these spuds with a filling of crumbled tempeh sauteed with onion and garlic, and seasoned with a bit of soy sauce. If you’ve never tried tempeh, it’s a protein made with fermented soy beans pressed into a block. I know that description probably isn’t selling it, but you’ll have to trust me on this one! Crumbled and sauteed until slightly crispy and golden, it’s one of my favorite meat subs because it has such a similar texture and umami flavor. If you’re really not sure about it, make these with ground turkey or chicken instead!
How to Bake a Perfect Sweet Potato
While it is perfectly acceptable to microwave your sweet potatoes to make this vegan stuffed sweet potato recipe more weeknight friendly, they really do taste better roasted slowly in the oven. There’s a few tricks I’ve found for how to make the perfect sweet potato. First, make sure your sweet potatoes are longer vs the fatter, rounder sweet potatoes that take longer to bake, and can cook a little uneven. It’s also helpful to pick ones that are symmetrical for even baking.
Before baking, prick the sweet potato all over with the tines of a fork, which helps it cook with a sweet, creamy and moist interior. I also like to rub it with just a little bit of oil to keep the outside from drying out. Wrapping it with foil is controversial - some swear by it and others don’t! Personally, I don’t notice a huge difference so I’d rather not add foil to the landfills.
Thai Peanut Sauce for this Vegan Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Recipe
The star of this vegan stuffed sweet potatoes recipe is definitely the Thai peanut sauce! Just blend creamy peanut butter with lime juice, soy sauce, a bit of sriracha for heat, ginger, garlic and sesame oil. It’s a bit thick but I like it that way. If you’d like to make a pretty drizzle on your potatoes, spoon it into a zip top bag, cut off a bit of the corner and squeeze it out through there.
Feel free to save time with a bottled peanut sauce - we’re all about convenience here at The Joy of Eating! I personally like Sky Valley peanut sauce, San-J and Taste of Thai (affiliate links).
Thai Tempeh Vegan Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Recipe
Makes 4
Ingredients
4 medium sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon avocado or olive oil, plus 1 teaspoon
1/2 large onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, minced
8 ounces tempeh, crumbled
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 avocado, sliced
Cilantro, for garnish
Sliced green onions, for garnish
Toasted peanuts, chopped, for garnish
Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
Sriracha, for garnish
Peanut Sauce:
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sriracha
Juice of half a lime
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prick sweet potatoes all over with a fork. Rub with teaspoon of oil. Place on a baking sheet and roast for about 1 hour, flipping halfway, until tender. When you can insert a knife smoothly into the center they will be done.
Meanwhile, make the peanut sauce. Place all peanut sauce ingredients together in the food processor and blend until combined. Set aside until ready to use.
Next, make the tempeh. Heat oil in a medium skillet on medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until tender, about 4 minutes. Add tempeh and cook until lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes. Add soy sauce, cook another minute and turn off heat.
When sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut a slit in each one. Fill with a few slices of avocado, the tempeh mixture (it'll fall over the sides - that's okay!), and a drizzle of peanut sauce. Garnish with cilantro, green onions, peanuts, sesame seeds and sriracha.
If you like this Thai tempeh vegan stuffed sweet recipe, you might also like:
Spicy Sweet Potato Fries with Vegan Cilantro Cashew Dipping Sauce
Baked Sweet Potatoes with Miso Butter
Vegan Southwestern Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Chipotle Sauce
