Mediterranean Sweet Potatoes at Home

Mediterranean Sweet Potatoes are bursting with flavor and simple to make. These oven-baked sweet potatoes are loaded with a satisfying mix of roasted chickpeas, a quick roasted bell pepper salad, and a creamy lemon dressing.

This recipe is vegetarian, but you can always add a side of grilled chicken or grilled steak.

The Best Mediterranean Sweet Potatoes

Over the past few months, I’ve shared two versions of sweet potato-stuffed meals: these Southwestern Stuffed Sweet Potatoes and a “Mexican Street Corn” inspired Loaded Sweet Potato.

And today I’m sharing a third: Mediterranean Sweet Potatoes. These straightforward baked sweet potatoes are filled with Mediterranean flavors from the salad, to the chickpeas, to the creamy lemon dressing on top.

How To Make Mediterranean Sweet Potatoes

1. Bake the potatoes and chickpeas: Wrapping potatoes in foil and baking can take over an hour. To save time, cut the potatoes in half and place them face down on a tray, directly in the oven (no foil). This method caramelizes the exposed flesh of the sweet potato. Bake the chickpeas alongside the potatoes.
2. Assemble the topping: While the potatoes bake, prepare the creamy lemon dressing and a simple Mediterranean salad.
3. Serve: Fluff the baked sweet potatoes with a fork, add the topping, crispy chickpeas, and finish with spoonfuls of the sauce.

How To Meal Prep

• Bake enough sweet potatoes for the week: This, of course, is based on how many you’d like to eat that week. I wouldn’t recommend keeping the cooked potatoes past a week. Let the potatoes completely cool and package in separate containers.
• Prepare the topping and sauce: Depending on how many servings you’ll be prepping, you might want to double both the salad topping and sauce. Store the salad topping mixture, feta cheese, chickpeas, and sauce in separate containers.
• Assemble the loaded sweet potato: At lunch time, warm the sweet potato alongside the chickpeas, add the salad topping, feta cheese, sauce, and enjoy!

Quick Tip

Note on serving sizes: The actual serving sizes of this recipe can vary depending on a few factors: the size of your sweet potatoes, how much topping you add to each potato, and individual appetites. I find these extremely filling, so one heavily loaded half is enough for me!

Serve These Alongside

• Garbanzo Bean Salad with an Italian dressing
• Strawberry Salad with a citrus vinaigrette
• Cowboy Caviar satisfying black bean salad
• Quinoa Black Bean Salad with a creamy cilantro dressing
• Panzanella Salad with a balsamic vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 3 medium sweet potatoes (10 to 11 ounces each)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt
• 1 cup chopped English cucumber
• 1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
• 1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup chopped roasted red pepper (about 1 roasted bell pepper; I buy already roasted bell peppers)
• 1/4 cup kalamata olives (thinly sliced)
• 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup feta cheese (skippable)
• 1 can chickpeas
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh oregano (finely chopped)
• 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt (not lite)
• 2 tablespoons mayo (full-fat)

Method

1. Heat oven to 400°F. While oven is preheating, prep the sweet potatoes: Scrub potatoes, cut them in half (lengthwise), and place on a large sheet pan. Drizzle olive oil over them and rub oil onto both sides of the potatoes. Sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon salt evenly over the flesh side of the potatoes, then place the potatoes flesh side down on the pan. Sprinkle about 1/4 teaspoon salt evenly over the skin of the potatoes. Bake 30–37 minutes (depending on the size of potatoes/preference for tenderness) or until the skin looks shriveled and potatoes are tender. A 5–6 ounce potato will cook in around 25–27 minutes, 6–8 ounce in around 30 minutes, and 9–11 ounce in around 33–37 minutes.
2. Toss rinsed and drained chickpeas with olive oil, spices, (salt and pepper to taste) and place on a separate sheet pan. Cook at the same time as the sweet potatoes (bottom shelf), around 20–25 minutes.
3. While the sweet potatoes bake, prepare the topping. In a large bowl, combine chopped cucumber, tomatoes, parsley, red pepper, and olives. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Toss to combine.
4. In a small bowl, add together all the dressing/sauce ingredients: minced garlic, chopped oregano, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, olive oil, Greek yogurt, and mayo. Whisk to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper (I add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper). Whisk and keep nearby.
5. Once sweet potatoes are fork-tender, remove from oven. Flip the potatoes flesh side up and smash down the insides a little bit with a fork. Divide roasted chickpeas, salad topping, sauce, and feta cheese equally among the potatoes. Enjoy immediately.