How do I get the sweet potato cubes properly crisp in the oven?

With small cubes and plenty of space. I cut the sweet potatoes into cubes of around 1.5 cm (1/2 inch) and spread them over the tray in a single layer, without them touching. Stacked on top of each other they steam one another and turn soft instead of crisp. Fan heat at 200 C (400 F) is the best setting, and I turn them once halfway through.

Which tortillas work for sweet potato tacos?

Small tortillas of 12 to 15 cm (5 to 6 inches), either corn or wheat. Corn is the classic choice and tastes stronger, wheat is softer and tears less, which is more relaxed with children at the table. Either way it matters that you warm them briefly in a dry pan before filling, otherwise they crack when folded.

Can I make the sweet potato tacos vegan?

Yes, and it is only two ingredients. Replace the yogurt in the avocado cream with soy yogurt or a plant-based sour cream, and instead of sour cream for drizzling use a thinned cashew cream. The sweet potatoes, beans, red cabbage, tomatoes and avocado are vegan anyway.

What can I prepare ahead?

Almost everything apart from the avocado cream. The spiced sweet potato cubes keep for 3 days in the fridge once baked and crisp up again in the oven, the red cabbage can be shaved and the beans rinsed and ready. I make the avocado cream shortly before serving, because it browns otherwise. With plenty of lime juice and cling film pressed onto the surface it still holds for half a day.

What goes with the tacos as a side?

Lime rice or a simple corn salad come alongside here when there are more people at the table. Otherwise a bowl of salsa and a cut lime is enough. And since everyone fills their own, I simply put the toppings in small bowls in the middle, which is half the fun of taco night.

20 AUGUST 2026

Sweet Potato Tacos with Avocado Cream

By Verena Frei

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This post is also available in: deutsch

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Prep: 20 min
Cook: 25 min
Total: 45 min
Servings: 4 servings (8 small tacos)

Hello lovelies,

taco night is the one dinner in this house where nobody ever asks what we are having. My favourite version is sweet potato tacos with avocado cream: spiced cubes from the oven, creamy avocado, crunchy red cabbage and a squeeze of lime over the top. Everything stands on the table in bowls, everyone fills their own, and that is exactly half the fun.

Close-up of sweet potato tacos with avocado cream, red cabbage, beans and cilantro

The sweet potatoes go onto the tray already spiced, with paprika and cumin, and into the oven at 200 C (400 F) fan. What matters is small cubes and a tray where they do not touch, otherwise they steam each other soft. If you would rather have those crisp edges on a plate than inside a tortilla, turn them into my salad with roasted sweet potatoes and figs, where exactly the same cubes take the lead.

The other taco recipe on this site has been here a while longer and still gets made regularly: my jackfruit tacos with jalapeno, which are filled with the same movement of the hand, only with pulled jackfruit instead of oven vegetables. Make both on one evening and you have the best taco selection a kitchen can produce.

Sweet potato tacos arranged on a plate, photographed from the side

The avocado cream is more than a sauce, it is the glue that holds everything inside the tortilla. Avocado, plenty of lime juice, cilantro, a spoonful of yogurt and a pinch of paprika, and nothing more. There is almost always something left of the tortilla packet, and here that becomes a Mexican tortilla lasagna with cashew cheese sauce the next day.

Filled sweet potato tacos, one rolled and one open

When friends come over, filling them one by one gets too fiddly for me and everything lands on a single tray instead. On those evenings we have my vegetarian lentil nachos from the oven, built on the same bean and tomato base.

Sweet potato tacos from above with lime wedges on a plate

Ingredients for sweet potato tacos with sweet potatoes, avocado, red cabbage, red onion, beans and cilantro

I hope this taco night pulls everyone to the table as reliably for you as it does for us. And when the sweet potatoes ask for something warmer again in autumn, I cook them into my sweet potato risotto with dried tomatoes.

Yours, Verena

TIPS

Verena's notes

Tip from my kitchen: cut the sweet potatoes smaller than you think. Cubes of around 1.5 cm (1/2 inch) turn crisp outside and creamy inside, larger ones stay floury in the middle. The tray must not be crowded either, so use two trays rather than one dense layer, otherwise the vegetable steams itself. I shave the red cabbage as finely as possible, because thick strips are simply in the way inside a small tortilla. The avocado cream gets plenty of lime juice, which keeps it green and at the same time brings the acidity that sweet potatoes need. And put the toppings on the table in bowls so everyone fills their own.

Sweet Potato Tacos with Avocado Cream

Vegetarian tacos with spiced sweet potato cubes from the oven, avocado cream, red cabbage, beans and fresh cilantro.

Course:Dinner
Prep:20 min
Cook:25 min
Servings:4 servings (8 small tacos)

Vegetarian

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EQUIPMENT

Baking tray
Parchment paper
Immersion blender or fork
Mandoline or sharp knife
Frying pan

INGREDIENTS

For the sweet potatoes:

2sweet potatoes about 500 gr (18 oz.)
2tspolive oil
1tsppaprika powder
1tspcumin
salt and pepper to taste

For the avocado cream:

1avocado
1lime juice only
2-3sprigsfresh cilantro
2Tbspyogurt or sour cream
1/2tsppaprika powder
salt and pepper to taste

To fill and serve:

8small tortillas
1small red onion
1/4red cabbage finely shaved
1-2tomatoes
1small tinblack or red beans
fresh cilantro a few leaves
1-2Tbspsour cream or yogurt

INSTRUCTIONS

Bake the sweet potatoes

Preheat the oven to 200 C (400 F), fan.
Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into small cubes of around 1.5 cm (1/2 inch).
Toss them in a bowl with the olive oil, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper until every cube is evenly coated.
Spread them in a single layer on a tray lined with parchment paper and bake for 25 minutes, turning once, until soft and crisp at the edges.

Make the avocado cream

Halve the avocado, remove the stone and scoop out the flesh.
Blend or mash it with the lime juice, finely chopped cilantro, yogurt and paprika until smooth.
Season with salt and pepper.

Prepare the toppings

Peel the red onion and cut it into fine dice.
Shave the red cabbage into fine strips with a mandoline or a sharp knife.
Dice the tomatoes, then drain and briefly rinse the beans.

Fill the tortillas

Warm the tortillas briefly in a dry pan until soft and pliable.
Spread each tortilla with avocado cream and fill it with the baked sweet potatoes, red cabbage, onion, tomatoes and beans.

Finish and serve

Drizzle with sour cream or yogurt and scatter over fresh cilantro leaves.
Serve immediately, while the sweet potatoes are still crisp.

Calories: 470 kcal
Protein: 10 g

GOOD TO KNOW

Frequently asked questions

With small cubes and plenty of space. I cut the sweet potatoes into cubes of around 1.5 cm (1/2 inch) and spread them over the tray in a single layer, without them touching. Stacked on top of each other they steam one another and turn soft instead of crisp. Fan heat at 200 C (400 F) is the best setting, and I turn them once halfway through.
Small tortillas of 12 to 15 cm (5 to 6 inches), either corn or wheat. Corn is the classic choice and tastes stronger, wheat is softer and tears less, which is more relaxed with children at the table. Either way it matters that you warm them briefly in a dry pan before filling, otherwise they crack when folded.
Yes, and it is only two ingredients. Replace the yogurt in the avocado cream with soy yogurt or a plant-based sour cream, and instead of sour cream for drizzling use a thinned cashew cream. The sweet potatoes, beans, red cabbage, tomatoes and avocado are vegan anyway.
Almost everything apart from the avocado cream. The spiced sweet potato cubes keep for 3 days in the fridge once baked and crisp up again in the oven, the red cabbage can be shaved and the beans rinsed and ready. I make the avocado cream shortly before serving, because it browns otherwise. With plenty of lime juice and cling film pressed onto the surface it still holds for half a day.
Lime rice or a simple corn salad come alongside here when there are more people at the table. Otherwise a bowl of salsa and a cut lime is enough. And since everyone fills their own, I simply put the toppings in small bowls in the middle, which is half the fun of taco night.

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A slice of Mexican tortilla lasagna with a golden cheese crust, bean and tomato filling and cilantro

Sweet Potato Tacos with Avocado Cream