Sweet Potato Burrito Smothered in Avocado Salsa Verde
Sweet potato burritos with black beans, smothered in a simple but flavorful avocado salsa verde sauce. These vegetarian burritos are easily made vegan.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on October 22, 2024
Where do you call home? Home used to be such a simple concept, but I’ve struggled to define it lately. For the first few years of life, home was where I lived with my parents in a small town near the Oklahoma panhandle. Home had brown tile floors that I tottered across at the heels of my red-haired cousin. My family, friends and belongings were all there. Things got more complicated when we moved to an Oklahoma City suburb and I left for college, but now that I’ve moved out of my home state, I really don’t know what or where home is.
I visited Oklahoma the week before last for the first time since moving to Kansas City. There I was laughing with my dearest friends around a table at our favorite Mexican restaurant, but my old apartment wasn’t mine any more. The town that I had lived in for the past eight years felt like home, once removed. I spent a few nights at my parents’ place, too. They moved to a bigger house after I left for college; I still don’t know where all the light switches are. I suppose it will always be home since my parents are there but it feels a little empty now that my brothers have left the nest, too.
Here I am in Kansas City, which is feeling more like home. Everything has its place now, including Cookie, who is curled up by my feet on our new couch. We can call it home for now, I guess?
I’m not exactly sure what to call this burrito, either. I do love how Mexican food has a different word for every traditional incarnation of tortillas, cheese and fillings/toppings. Burritos, tacos, tostadas, huevos rancheros, quesadillas, nachos: each tasty in its own right.
What we have here is a lightly baked burrito of modest size—a borderline enchilada, really. It’s stuffed with roasted sweet potatoes, roasted red peppers and black beans, smothered in a zesty avocado sauce. I wanted to incorporate as much sauce as I possibly could in this burrito, so I just drowned the burrito in the stuff from above. At that rate, eating the burrito required a fork, so why bother rolling in the sides of the tortilla? Might as well sprinkle the insides with cheese and bake it for a few minutes so it all sticks together instead.
I had originally planned to make an avocado crema with sour cream, but after blending avocados in the food processor, it was evident that puréed avocados are plenty rich and creamy on their own. I thought about making a homemade salsa verde, but all the tomatillos I could find were subpar this late in the season. I skipped on over to the salsa aisle with an excuse to take a shortcut (who doesn’t like a good shortcut?).
At home, I blended the avocados with flavorful salsa verde, fresh lime juice, cilantro and garlic. The end result is an avocado salsa verde reminiscent of the sauce covering my favorite burrito at the aforementioned Mexican restaurant, Pepe’s. Add a dollop of sour cream and it’s sublime.
Maybe we don’t need a word for this super fresh burrito-enchilada hybrid after all. It’s good; let’s leave it at that.
Recipe Notes
- Roast the sweet potatoes ahead of time and warm them up a bit before assembling the burritos for a quick weeknight meal. You could also bake a batch of them and wrap them up for later, reserving the avocado sauce and toppings for the last minute.
- The taste of the avocado sauce is dependent on the type of salsa you use. I recommend a mild salsa verde made with tomatillos.
- The avocado sauce will keep well in a jar in the fridge for a few days. If you find that the surface is browning over time, cover the surface of it with with plastic wrap to minimize contact with air.
- If you have leftover sauce, it doubles as a stellar salad dressing on romaine lettuce.
- You don’t necessarily have to bake these burritos (warm tortilla, black beans and sweet potatoes should melt the cheese) but I preferred the faintly crunchy exterior of the baked burrito.
- This burrito could easily be made vegan by omitting the cheese and sour cream. Still delicious, I promise!
Sweet Potato Burrito Smothered in Avocado Salsa Verde
Sweet potato burritos with black beans, smothered in a simple but flavorful avocado salsa verde sauce. Recipe yields 4 to 6 burritos, depending on the size of your tortillas and how full you stuff them.
Ingredients
Burritos
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 2 red bell peppers
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon smoked hot paprika or chipotle powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne (omit if sensitive to spice)
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 4 to 6 whole wheat tortillas
- 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 to 2 cups shredded Jack cheese or cheddar cheese
Avocado Salsa Verde
- 2 ripe avocados
- 1 cup mild salsa verde, homemade or jarred
- 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 lime, juiced
- ¼ cup packed cilantro leaves
- Up to 2 tablespoons water, to thin as necessary
- Salt, to taste
Toppings
- 1 ½ cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- Sour cream, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean-up. Scrub and peel the sweet potatoes (or leave the skin on to save time). Slice them into large, bite-sized chunks, about 1 to 1 ½-inches wide/long and ½-inch deep. Cut the bell pepper into 1” wide strips. On the prepared baking sheet, toss the sweet potatoes and bell pepper with the olive oil, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper (if using), and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Arrange the veggies evenly across the pan. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes, stirring halfway, until they are golden and caramelized around the edges.
- Make the avocado sauce: Scoop the avocado into a food processor or blender. Add the salsa verde, garlic, and lime juice. Blend. Add the cilantro and blend again. Add water to thin out the sauce if desired; the sauce should glop easily off a spoon. Taste and blend in some salt or add another squeeze of lime if necessary. This sauce should taste like a real kick in the mouth; you’ll know you’re done when you can’t stop going in for another spoonful.
- Make sure the oven is still on at 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place your tortillas on another baking sheet lined with parchment paper. In the middle of each tortilla, put down a few strips of roasted red pepper, then pour ⅓ cup black beans down the center and top it all with ⅓ cup roasted sweet potato chunks. Sprinkle ¼ cup or more of cheese on top. Pull one edge of the tortilla over to the center of the burrito, then pull the opposite edge over to overlap a bit. Gently roll the burrito over. Repeat with remaining burritos. Bake your burritos for about 5 to 7 minutes on the middle rack, until the cheese is melted and the tortillas are lightly crisp.
- Carefully transfer each burrito to a plate. Smother it in avocado sauce, sprinkle with ample romaine lettuce, some chopped red onion, and a dollop of sour cream if you’d like. Enjoy. Leftover burritos keep well with sauce stored separately in the fridge, covered, for up to 4 days.
Notes
Make it dairy free/vegan: Omit the cheese and optional sour cream, or substitute vegan sour cream.
Make it gluten free: Substitute gluten-free tortillas, like Siete brand. They will be more delicate, but I believe you will have good results.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Absolutely fantastic, made I for the 10th time tonight, one of our go to meals now….thank you very much !
So awesome to hear, thanks Sandee!
made this yesterday and absolutely loved it! Great recipe!
Wonderful!
The sauce was so good! And toasting the burritos really added something to the recipe. I think I’ll toast all my burritos from now on!
Made these for dinner tonight. Wonderful!! Thank you so much! My partner and I rarely enjoy the same dishes, but we agree we love this. Thanks for helping our relationship and our vegetarian life. :)
Haha! The power of a good burrito ;) I’m so glad you both loved them!
Fantastic, has become a staple in our house.
Wonderful. :)
Y-E-S! Carnivorous bf LOVED it! We absolutely smothered it in the avo sauce/salsa. We added tomato and coriander (cilantro) on top too. Other housemate who is allergic to sweet potato had pumpkin (butternut). What a win.
PS We found this on your ‘vege recipes that are carnivore approved’ – stamp of approval !
Sounds delicious, Asako!
This was a hit with my husband and my ten year old granddaughter. I will be making it again and again!
Great! I’m so glad everyone loved it, Lisa.
I made this for lunch today and my husband could not stop raving the entire time he was eating it! He said it was so good that it ALMOST made him decide to be a vegetarian.
I can’t say enough about how good this is. It’s simple to make and absolutely delicious. I’ll definitely be making this again.
Thanks a million, Winnie! I’m glad it was a hit with everyone.
Made this for my meat eating friends and they loved it!!! So easy and yummy
Win! Thank you, Meg for your comment.
My girlfriend and I make this all the time and it has become one of our favorite meals and a gateway to the rest of cookie and kate.
Thanks for this great recipe
You’re welcome, Dan! Thanks for the review.
Both my husband and brother in law who are regular old meat eaters said, “I could be a vegetarian if everything tasted like this.” It’s also one of my kids favorite meals!
It’s that the best when that happens! Thanks for the review, Elizabeth.
Just made this for dinner tonight. Husband and I loved it! It took me quite a bit longer than 15 minutes to prepare it though. Amazing how the caramelized sweet potatoes tasted. Just wonderful.
They are so tasty! Thank you, Karla. I appreciate your review.
Looking forward to making this tomorrow as it looks delicious but do you have to cook the tinned black beans? It does not appear to say anything about the black beans until serving up.
Thanks
Please see step 3 and then the notes below. That should help answer your question!
I decided to use one sweet potato and a can of chickpeas to add a more crunchy texture and I highly suggest it. I also used goat cheese and spinach since that’s what I had on hand. This is SUCH a delicious recipe. 10/10 do recommend.
Thanks for sharing, Bailey! I’m really happy you loved it.
Made this recipe last night for a friend of mine who is going through cancer. She is always looking for good recipes that are healthy, yet flavorful and not bland. This recipe was the perfect amount of spice and easy to store for left overs as well. Will make again!
I’m sorry to hear about your friend! So kind of you to bring her delicious food. I’m so happy it worked so well! Thanks, Jill.
Superb veggie recipe. Didn’t miss having meat in my burrito at all! I used Spanish Manchego as I couldn’t get the Jack cheese, plus I added some chipotle paste to the black beans, and drizzled some of the juice from the jarred peppers in too. Will become a regular evening meal I think.
Thank you, Roger!
This was amazing, and easy. We put the avocado sauce all over the burrito like an enchilada. Thank you!
You’re welcome!
This was so delicious! My husband and I both loved it, and I will be adding it to my repertoire of “go-to” recipes. I also added the crunch of the toasted pepitas from your Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos recipe. Thank you for continuing to produce healthy and delicious recipes!
You’re welcome, Cara! Thank you for your review.
We love this recipe and all recipes on this site! This recipe was easy, affordable and very tasty.
We’ve never made anything bad from Cookie & Kate. Can I leave a 5 star review for all your recipes!?
I would love if you left a five star review for all my recipes! :) Thanks for sharing, HS.
may I ask which Verde sauce you use?
Hi Sharon! Your favorite brand would do or you could make homemade salsa verde.
Wow, this was so good!! I don’t normally comment, but this was so delicious. All the other recipes I’ve tried on here have been really good too
I’m so glad you did, Jess! Thank you for your review.
We have made many of your recipes and love them every time. This is no exception – it was scrumptious!
Thank you for making vegetarian food so good and so easy.
We love your site and your recipes!
Hi. Making this for dinner tonight. Can’t get salsa verde anywhere or the ingredients to make it . Can I substitute a mild salsa instead? Thanks in advance!
Hi! Sure, that could work. Let me know what you think!
My wife and I made this recipe tonight and it was amazing! Excited for lunch leftovers tomorrow. Thank you for posting!
Well done, this made our familly recipe book for future use. Everyone loved it.
This was delicious! It was easy to put together and really didn’t take a lot of time. I was craving green squash, so sliced a couple of small ones up, tossed them with a small amount of extra virgin olive oil and sea salt and added them to the tray of sweet potatoes during the last 15 minutes the potatoes were roasting in the oven. I will definitely make this meal again. Thank you! PS: I love your book too!
Wonderful, Patty! Thank you for sharing. I’m happy to hear you love my cookbook, too :)
A keeper for sure! My husband and I both love these burritos. This is my first time posting a comment on your web site, even though I’ve made 6 or 7 of your recipes and we loved every one. I’m a convert to making your homemade red and green enchilada sauce. We always hated the salty canned sauce, but didn’t know of an alternative….until I found you!! I appreciate that your recipes are well-tested, as evidenced by the amounts working out well. My one suggestion is that, at times, it would be helpful to have an approximate weight on vegetables..since it’s hard to interpret small, medium, large. Thank you!
Hooray! I’m glad this one made you comment, Kathryn. Thanks for taking the time! I appreciate your feedback on weight. I try to provide when it makes the most sense.
These were SO good! I choose not to use dairy so I left out the cheese and sour cream but they were still great. I might add corn next time because I think it would be a good addition. The avocado sauce is one of my favourite sauces ever.
I made this tonight and it’s absolutely delicious! We are not vegetarian, but I like to take a break from meat a couple of nights a week. This will definitely become a part of those vegetarian nights. The avocado sauce was incredible. I cut the sweet potatoes about 1/2″ cubes, and they were cooked way before the 45 minutes. Maybe 30 minutes at the most. I also prepared kale according to your kale burritos recipe as a side for these burritos, and it was also so good!
I’m happy you loved this recipe, Marisa! I appreciate your review.
These are delicious! They’ve become a weeknight staple at my house and my fiancé and I love them. I have also made them for my 5 year old niece who calls them “green enchiladas” and is a big fan!
I loved this recipe! It made me love guacamole.It’s in my top five favorite dinners. Thank You.
You’re welcome, Dawn!
Absolute amazing!! We are not vegetarian and this is something will definitely make again.
Great to hear, Jen! Thank you for your review.
The burritos are delicious, but the avocado sauce is freaking magnificent!
Do you think these would freeze well if I put the avocado sauce inside the burrito? There’s just one of me and I’d like to freeze some when I make a new batch.
I don’t think the avocado sauce will be a great freezer option. Sorry!
If I make these ahead in the oven could I throw them in a slow cooker for taking to a potluck meal?
I haven’t tired it, so I can’t say for sure. Sorry!
A family favourite of ours and we’re making them again tonight. Many thanks!
I have made these burritos many times without reading the story. Pepe’s in Edmond, OK was amazing!!! Ate there all the time. Fun memory now that it’s closed.
This is one of our favorite meatless meals. We usually make a couple times a year. Noticed you updated the recipe using fresh bell peppers. We’re so used to using the jarred, that’s how we made them this week. But, will have to change it up next time.
Love these! They have become one of our favorite dishes. The oven temp of 425 is too high? We routinely burn the sweet potatoes if we follow the recipe and forget to lower the temp.