If there's one type of cuisine I couldn't live without, it would definitely be Mexican food. Rice, beans, peppers, salsa, avocados, tortillas...I just love it all.
I'm also a big fan of casseroles because they're warm and satisfying, and they usually make enough leftovers for lunch the following day.
For this casserole, we're layering spiralized sweet potatoes almost like you would a lasagna with salsa, black beans, peppers, onions, and cheese. It doesn't get much better than that, does it?
If you don't have a spiralizer, don't worry, you can still make the casserole using diced sweet potatoes instead. However, the benefit to spiralizing them is that they take a lot less less time to cook. Plus, for whatever reason, they're more fun to eat when they're shaped like spaghetti.
I threw in jalapeño and used medium salsa because we like spicy food in our house, but feel free to adjust the recipe to your personal preferences. You can always leave out the jalapeño and use your favorite mild (or hot, if you like) salsa.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 bell peppers, any color, cored and sliced
- 2 jalapeño peppers, cored and sliced
- 2 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen and defrosted
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- A pinch of salt
- 2 cups salsa
- 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups shredded cheese, I like a blend of Monterey jack and cheddar
- 4 medium sweet potatoes, spiralized
- Diced tomatoes, avocado and fresh cilantro for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, then lightly grease an 8x10" casserole dish.
- In a large skillet, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 3 minutes, until translucent. Next add the bell peppers, jalapeño, corn, chili powder, cumin, and salt then stir and continue to cook for another 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the salsa and beans, then set aside.
- Layer half of the spiralized sweet potatoes in the bottom of the baking dish then cover with half of the vegetable mixture and top with 1 cup of the cheese. Finish with the remaining sweet potatoes, vegetables and cheese, then cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove the foil, set the oven to broil and cook for about 5 more minutes, just until the cheese is lightly browned. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes, then garnish with diced tomatoes, avocado and cilantro before serving.
Gem (Breakfast and salads) says
This looks so delicious and colourful. Hearty and full of nutrients. Glad you left us with a no spiralizer option 🙂
Leah says
Yum! I had bought sweet potatoes on a whim, but didn't know how I wanted to cook them. I happened upon this recipe at just the right time, and definitely would not have thought to use the potatoes in this way. I used Follow Your Heart cheddar shreds instead of regular cheese, and cubed the sweet potato because I don't have a spiralizer. It's delicious and would make a great burrito filling (I warmed a tortilla and ate some of the casserole in it).
Sarah Cook says
I'm so happy you liked it, Leah! I just tried Follow Your Heart's parmesan for the first time this weekend and was really impressed. I'll have to check out their cheddar next!
Samantha Caiola says
Hello. My name is Sammy Caiola, I'm a health and lifestyle reporter at The Sacramento Bee and I'm writing about cooking with a spiralizer. I'd like to use your Mexican-inspire Sweet Potato Casserole recipe in my story. Would that be OK? I'd also like to use some of the photos, but I need to know who to credit for them. Please let me know as soon as possible.
Kahleen says
This sounds absolutely wonderful and I'm hoping to make for Sunday dinner tomorrow. We just got 16 lbs of beautiful red yams at 48¢ lb and I'm making sweet potato casserole for Thanksgiving and pies and spiralizing and stuffing and we are in heaven so this recipe was an Awesome find. Thanks so much!
Katie Trant says
Hey Kathleen! We're so glad you found this recipe helpful! And way to score such a good deal on those yams.