The Charlie Special (sweet potato black bean bowls)

I cannot even tell you how we stumbled on these sweet potato black bean bowls. Or when it was Charlie decided they were one of his favorites. Honestly that doesn’t matter, what matters is our family having another well balanced and delicious meal that all of us will enjoy. Bonus is that it makes amazing meal prep and leftover options!!

I love bowl recipes because I can prep the components at another point and then when dinner time comes I’m just warming and assembling. Sometimes the bowl ingredients end up in a tortilla as tacos or burritos, or on top of chips as nachos. Sometimes I top the veggies and beans with a fried egg and have for breakfast. It’s flexible and that’s exactly what busy families need – simple meals and ingredients that can FLEX to meet their needs.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Bowls (or the Charlie Special)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 large red onion, diced 

2 garlic cloves minced

2 large sweet potatoes diced 

2 cups extra protein (steak, taco meat, shredded chicken, scrambled eggs, your choice!) 

14oz can no added salt black beans, drained rinsed

2 cups corn kernels

1 cup diced bell peppers and 1 cup spinach, optional

1 teaspoon ground cumin 

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon black pepper 

2 limes, quartered

1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese

1 avocado, cored and diced salsa of choice *Charlie always goes with tomatillo

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil. Arrange sweet potatoes, garlic and onion on the baking sheet. Coat with olive oil, cumin, salt and pepper. Roast for 25- 35 minutes until potatoes are softened and slightlybrown.
2. Warm your proteins, pepper and spinach (if using) and corn kernels.
3. Set this up as a serve yourself bar! Some nights we add in brown rice, or quinoa, some nights we warm tortillas and make burritos.