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Easy Healthy Mexican Chicken Sweet Potato Boats

Healthy Mexican chicken stuffed sweet potatoes: a low-calorie, gluten-free dinner loaded with flavor and your favorite toppings.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 1
Course: Main
Cuisine: Mexican
Calories: 394
Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 6 medium potatoes
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 onion, halved
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 bay leaf
  • water, enough to fully cover the chicken
  • 2 cups enchilada sauce (authentic enchilada sauce, easy enchilada sauce, green enchilada sauce or your favorite store-bought enchilada sauce)
  • 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 avocado peeled, seeded and diced
  • 1/2 bunch cilantro, minced
  • 1/2 cup crumbled cotija cheese (or feta cheese)
  • 1/4 cup sour cream

Method
 

To make the sweet potatoes
  1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Poke holes all around each sweet potato with a fork.
  2. Cover in foil and bake for 45-60 minutes, until tender and easy to cut through. (The bigger the sweet potatoes, the longer they'll need to bake.)
  3. Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven, remove the foil and set aside until cool enough to handle.
To make the chicken
  1. In a dutch oven or pot, add chicken, onion, garlic, salt and bay leaf. Add enough water to cover the chicken and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook for 25 minutes, until chicken is tender and can be shredded with a fork.
  2. Remove the chicken from the pot with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate or cutting board. Shred the chicken, season with salt and set aside.
To assemble
  1. Heat the enchilada sauce and black beans on the stove or in the microwave, until hot.
  2. Cut the tops of each sweet potato into an oblong shape. (See the video in the recipe post for a visual example.) Scoop out a little of the inside so that you can fill it in with the toppings.
  3. Fill each sweet potato with shredded chicken, enchilada sauce, black beans, avocados, cilantro, cotija cheese and sour cream.

Nutrition

Calories: 394kcalCarbohydrates: 48gProtein: 26gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 51mgFiber: 11gSugar: 14g

Notes

Ingredient Swap: I often use leftover rotisserie chicken instead of poaching my own to save time, just shred it and warm it in the enchilada sauce.
Storage Tip: Store the components separately in the fridge.
The baked sweet potatoes and shredded chicken keep well for 3 days, but the avocado and assembled potatoes are best enjoyed fresh.
Make-
Ahead Trick: You can bake the sweet potatoes and poach the chicken a full day in advance.
I find letting them cool completely before storing makes assembly a breeze the next day.
Common Mistake: Don't skip poking the sweet potatoes with a fork before baking.
I learned the hard way that steam needs to escape, or you risk a messy oven.
Serving Suggestion: For a lighter meal, I sometimes skip the foil wrap while baking.
The skin gets delightfully crispy, and I eat the whole thing like a loaded boat.
Equipment Note: No Dutch oven? I regularly use a simple saucepan with a lid for poaching the chicken.
Just ensure the water covers the chicken.

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