Sweet Potato Tacos

This sweet potato tacos recipe with cilantro avocado coleslaw is easy and inexpensive. If you are looking for a great taco recipe that rocks but doesn't break the bank, this sweet potato recipe is for you.

When Taco Tuesday approaches, I start to get all creative and try to develop new recipes! And today's Taco Tuesday creation was a game-changer. In fact, I can't believe how well it turned out. Although I've made different types of sweet potato tacos, this one stands out. Not only is this sweet potato taco recipe easy, but it is also ridiculously cheap and fabulous. When my husband says, "these need to be on a menu somewhere," it makes me smile. 

Jump to:

• Sweet Potato Tacos Ingredients
• Sweet Potato Tacos Ingredient Substitutions
• How to Make Sweet Potato Tacos
• Avocado Cilantro Coleslaw
• Avocado Cilantro Coleslaw Ingredients
• Avocado Cilantro Coleslaw Ingredient Substitutions
• How to Grill Sweet Potato Tacos
• Serving Suggestions
• Recipe FAQs
• Tips
• Delicious Plant-Based Recipes to Enjoy!
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

With a simple sweet potato, you can make fabulous, flavorful sweet potato tacos with a few simple ingredients.

Sweet Potato Tacos Ingredients

• Sweet Potato: One sweet potato is all you need to make an entire meal for the whole family. The sweet potato is cut into thin slices, marinated, and grilled.
• Lime Juice: I prefer fresh lime juice and zest for additional flavor.
• Tajin Seasoning: Tajin seasoning balances salty, citrus, and mildly spicy flavors. It is like the flavors you get when you eat lime tortilla chips with roasted tomato salsa. Because it's a blend of seasonings, those flavors are concentrated. As a result, you only need a little bit to add a big dose of flavor to your food.
• Cilantro: Cilantro gives the sweet potatoes a fresh citrus flavor.
• Roma Tomatoes: Roma tomaotes are sumptuous for tacos because they have fewer seeds and less moisture, keeping them from getting soggy.
• Yellow Onions: White onions give the tacos a lot of flavor.
• Guacamole: I like fresh guacamole from the store deli or make my own.

Sweet Potato Tacos Ingredient Substitutions

• If sweet potatoes aren't your thing, try baking potatoes.
• Instead of fresh lime juice, try bottled lime juice.
• Cumin and chili powder are excellent substitutes for Tajin seasoning.
• Any tomato, like grape or cherry tomatoes, works well.
• Red onion is commonly used instead of yellow onion.
• Try fresh sliced avocado instead of guacamole.

How to Make Sweet Potato Tacos

• First, I only used one large sweet potato, which made 10 separate tacos.
• To make sure the sweet potatoes were all the same thickness, I used my mandoline on the ¼-inch slice level.

• Since I planned to grill the slices of sweet potatoes for my tacos, I parboiled them to soften them.

• Add potatoes to a pan and cover with water.
• Bring to a boil, and parboil for 6 minutes
• Place potato slices immediately in a colander and rinse with cold water to stop cooking.

• Then, place the cool sweet potato slices in a container, adding lime juice, zest, cilantro, and seasoning.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour or preferably overnight.
• As a result, the sweet potatoes are cool to the touch and slightly soft, so the marinade soaks into the sweet potato slices.

Avocado Cilantro Coleslaw

Again, vegan coleslaw with avocado and cilantro can be made beforehand, making dinner easier. The ingredients for the coleslaw match the marinade flavors, plus add a creamy avocado base.

Although I made this coleslaw for the sweet potato tacos, my husband pointed out it is a great side salad as well. Not only did he devour all his tacos, but he also filled a separate bowl with coleslaw and ate that too. 

Avocado Cilantro Coleslaw Ingredients

• Green Cabbage: Green cabbage has a vegetal, mildly peppery flavor, which is mellowed by cooking. It can give off a sulfurous smell during the initial cooking phase, but it dissipates as the sulfur compounds cook away.
• Red Cabbage: Red cabbage appears purple in color and has a similar, yet more complex flavor compared to green cabbage,
• Red Onion: Red onion gives the coleslaw a fresh yet tangy flavor.
• Red Bell Pepper: Red bell pepper provides a sweetness to the coleslaw.
• Shredded Carrots: Carrots add color and another level of sweetness.
• Jalapeno: The jalapeno in the coleslaw provides flavor and a little spice. The seeds and veins are removed to reduce the spiciness.
• Avocados: The avocados provide the creaminess to the salad.
• Lime Juice and Zest: Lime juice and zest add citrus to the recipe.
• Garlic: I prefer using fresh garlic whenever possible.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: Apple cider vinegar is tangy and provides an acidic quality to the recipe.
• Cilantro: Cilantro adds freshness to the salad.
• Water: Water thins the dressing and acts as an emulsifier without oil.
• Cumin: Cumin has a slightly sweet, warming flavor with a nutty element, and these qualities mean it's often seen as a savory alternative to cinnamon
• Garlic Powder: The flavor is garlicky but vastly different from fresh-chopped garlic. It tastes sweeter and much less assertive than fresh garlic but without the caramel undertones, you get from roasted garlic.
• Ground Pepper: Ground pepper adds more flavor.
• Sea Salt: Salt enhances all the flavors in the dressing.

Avocado Cilantro Coleslaw Ingredient Substitutions

• Choose a bagged coleslaw shredded with cabbages and carrots for a quick short cut.
• Baby bell peppers are a great substitute for red bell peppers and provide a lot of bright colors.
• Serrano peppers are often used in place of jalapenos.
• Hummus is an excellent substitute for avocado, or use prepared guacamole.
• Use bottled lime juice if fresh is not available. If you don't have lime zest, add a little more lime juice.
• Rice vinegar is similar to apple cider vinegar.
• For those who taste soap when eating cilantro, choose parsley or basil instead.
• Chili powder substitutes cumin in recipes.
• Instead of garlic, choose garlic powder.

The recipe, though simple, is extremely flavorful and compliments the sweet potato tacos.

For instance, all you need is avocado, limes, cilantro, cabbage, red bell pepper, red onion, shredded carrots, and jalapeno.

Other than a few seasonings, that's it! 

How to Grill Sweet Potato Tacos

Because the sweet potatoes are partially cooked, grilling takes a few minutes.

• Pre-heating the grill to 400 degrees, or medium, place the sweet potato slices directly on the grill.
• To get the beautiful grill lines, flip the potato slices every 4 minutes, 4 times, for 16 minutes. 

• Then, heat the corn or flour tortillas in a skillet on the stove or the oven all at once.
• And, then, this is my favorite part!
• Like a puzzle, each grilled slice of sweet potato slips perfectly into each corn tortilla. 

Serving Suggestions

Since I make this up as I go, I was thrilled that they fit so nicely, bending to accommodate the curve in the shell. Call it a small victory!

Then, I topped it with the avocado cilantro coleslaw I prepared earlier.

Next, I drizzled the tacos with sriracha vegan sour cream, which is optional. Then, add any additional toppings.

Tada.....sweet potato tacos!

With a few simple ingredients and a small budget, you can make 10 tacos. Generally, I am optimistic when creating a new Taco Tuesday meal. But this sweet potato recipe is the BOMB! 

Recipe FAQs

Tips

• Scrub the exterior of each sweet potato to remove any excess dirt and debris.
• When using a mandoline, cut the potato in half lengthwise first.
• Cut the sweet potatoes into ¼ inch thin slices.
• Always add salt to the water before parboiling.
• Rinsing the potatoes in cold water stops the sweet potatoes from continuing to cook after removing them from the boiling water.
• Marinating overnight provides the best flavors.
• If you don't have a grill, bake, air fry, or use a skillet on the stove to cook the potato slices.

Without a doubt, I love tacos and Taco Tuesday. If you love tacos as much as I do, check out this easy sweet potato tacos recipe.

Delicious Plant-Based Recipes to Enjoy!

If you love this sweet potato tacos recipe, give us a 5-star review and comment below. We would love to hear from you!

📖 Recipe