Sweet potato tacos: a taco night built entirely from real ingredients

A baked sweet potato makes a genuinely good taco shell, and a careful spice blend rebuilds the warmth of taco night without a single nightshade. This is a real dinner in its own right, built entirely from real ingredients.

What you are eating does honest work. Sweet potato is a source of beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A, involved in immune and mucosal health, and the grass-fed beef is a source of zinc, involved in immune regulation and gut-barrier repair. The avocado on top brings monounsaturated fat and is a source of potassium. This is a plate built to feed a body doing real work.

Source the beef from an animal raised well, and let the small gratitude be part of the meal. Before you eat, take a breath and look at what is in front of you: the color of the sweet potato, the green of the onion and avocado. The few seconds of presence are part of how the food serves you.

Ingredients

• 4 medium sweet potatoes
• 2 tbsp olive oil (for the potatoes), plus 1 tbsp (for the beef)
• 1/4 tsp sea salt (for the potatoes), plus 1/4 tsp (for the beef)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 tbsp nomato sauce (seed-free, clean-label; in place of tomato)
• 2 tsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp dried oregano
• 1/8 tsp ground ginger
• 1 large avocado, sliced
• 4 green onions, sliced

Note: the source taco blend includes chili powder and black pepper. Both are omitted here - chili powder is a nightshade and black pepper is excluded on AIP Core. The turmeric, ginger, oregano, garlic and onion powders, apple cider vinegar, and maple carry the taco flavor without them.

Method

Heat the oven to 400 F. Rub the whole sweet potatoes with the 2 tbsp olive oil and the 1/4 tsp salt, set them on a baking sheet, and bake until tender when pierced, 45 to 60 minutes.

While the potatoes bake, warm the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion until soft, add the garlic for a minute, then add the ground beef and brown it, breaking it up as it cooks. Season with the remaining 1/4 tsp salt.

Stir in the broth, nomato sauce, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, turmeric, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, and ground ginger. Simmer about 5 minutes until the liquid thickens slightly and coats the beef.

Split each baked sweet potato lengthwise and open it into a boat. Spoon the seasoned beef into the halves and finish with avocado and green onion.

Air fryer variation

The air fryer roasts the sweet potatoes hands-off while you make the beef on the stovetop. Rub them with oil and salt, then air fry at about 380 F for 35 to 45 minutes, turning once, until a fork slides in easily. Larger potatoes need the full time. Cook the beef in the skillet as above and fill.

Stovetop note

The beef is already a stovetop step. If you would rather skip the oven entirely, you can steam or boil the sweet potatoes until tender and split them the same way, though the baked flesh has a deeper, sweeter flavor.

*Adapted from a-clean-plate*