These roasted and stuffed sweet potatoes are filled with a delicious ground beef, spinach, and feta blend that’s so hearty yet healthy. Thanks to extra lean ground beef and a low calorie sauce, each potato has 21 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber with only 300 calories. And that includes all the extra crumbled feta you see piled on top!
This is an easy recipe to make, but I’ve included a visual walkthrough in the post below with tips on ingredient substitutions and other modifications. If you’re in a rush, there is a printable recipe at the bottom of the post as usual.
Step One: Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Regular readers may know that roasted sweet potato halves are my latest fixation food after making chicken stuffed sweet potatoes.
Slicing the potatoes lengthwise, rubbing with a bit of olive oil, and baking on a sheet pan with the cut side down creates beautifully creamy baked sweet potatoes with caramelized crunchy bits around the edges. It’s a personal revelation and so much better than a regular baked sweet potato, in my opinion. But you will have to try it for yourself.
In my experience, 40 minutes in a 450ºF oven creates perfectly baked sweet potatoes with crispy skin and the caramelized bottom we’re looking for. Once the potatoes are tender enough to poke with a fork, take a peek at the bottom. If there’s not much browning, don’t be afraid to give the potatoes a bit more time in the oven.
Can I Use an Air Fryer?
While I’ve not tested this style of roasted potato halves in an air fryer, it should work fine in theory. I mentioned in my chicken stuffed potatoes a concern about the potatoes running through the grates of the air fryer basket as they cook. That could be alleviated by parchment paper in the basket or possibly even roasting the potato halves cut side up instead, since the air fryer typically does a better job of browning than a conventional oven.
Step Two: Cooking the Ground Beef and Spinach
One of the most important steps of this recipe is to make sure you achieve actual browning on the ground beef. Give the ground beef time in the pan to develop a nice brown crust on one side before touching it. With extra lean ground beef, we’ll take every bit of added flavor we can get.
And speaking of flavor, red onion is a perfect match for all the other ingredients here. It also provides some moisture to help deglaze the pan after browning the ground beef alongside the sauce.
The sauce for this ground beef and spinach combo draws inspiration from my garlic butter ground beef recipe but omits the butter since there’s a good amount of fat coming from the feta. Aside from garlic, the rest of the sauce is made with balsamic vinegar, honey, Worcestershire sauce, and black pepper.
Another vinegar will work in place of balsamic if that’s all you have on hand, but you may want to add a bit more sweetness via honey or another sticky sweetener like maple syrup. You can also get away with swapping Worcestershire for soy sauce or just a bit more balsamic vinegar.
Once the sauce begins to thicken in the pan after a minute or two, add three ounces of baby spinach and two ounces of crumbled feta cheese. I like to roughly chop the baby spinach with a knife just to ensure there aren’t any overly large pieces in the mixture. And by the way, in case you prefer crumbled goat cheese over feta, I think it works perfectly with this recipe.
Fold everything together and let the residual heat wilt the spinach. Everything should be evenly coated in the sauce and slightly melded together, perfect for topping roasted and smashed sweet potatoes.
Step Three: Stuffing the Baked Sweet Potatoes and Serving
Use a spatula to flip the sweet potatoes over and gently smash the center down to create a well in the center. Spoon in the ground beef and spinach mixture and top with more crumbled feta. The recipe calls for four ounces total, with half going in the pan and the other going on top of the stuffed potatoes.
Finish the potatoes with an optional drizzle of honey and a pinch of chili flakes and you’re ready to dig in. While they’re not the most aesthetic pairings for this dish, I think pickled beets or red onions work so well with the other flavors here. You may also want to put together a leafy green side like an arugula salad to round out the meal.
I hope you love these stuffed sweet potatoes! If you do, I’m always appreciative of recipe reviews and comments with feedback or ideas for pairings and modifications.
And in the off chance you have more sweet potatoes or ground beef to cook your way through, take a look at my Korean beef and sweet potato bowls or chili crisp beef and cauliflower skillet recipes next.
Until the next recipe, I’m signing off here.
Ground Beef and Spinach Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Roasted and smashed sweet potato halves topped with ground beef, spinach, and feta cheese.
Ingredients
- 3 large (about 10 oz each) Sweet Potatoes
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- Pinch of Kosher Salt
For the Ground Beef and Spinach
- 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
- 1 pound Extra Lean Ground Beef
- 1 small Red Onion, quartered and thinly sliced
- 4 cloves Garlic, crushed or minced
- 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Honey
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1/4 cup Beef Broth or Water
- 1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 3 oz Baby Spinach, roughly chopped
- 4 oz Crumbled Reduced Fat Feta, divided
Instructions
To Make the Sweet Potatoes
- Preheat your oven to 450ºF and line a half sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Slice the sweet potatoes lengthwise before coating in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Place the potatoes on the sheet pan cut side down and add a pinch of kosher salt over the tops.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork and browned around the edges of the bottoms.
- In the last 15 minutes of baking the potatoes, start on the beef.
To Make the Ground Beef and Spinach
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Once hot, add the ground beef. Cook for 3-4 minutes to brown one side before adding the red onion.
- Break the beef apart with a spatula and cook for another 3-4 minutes until the beef is fully cooked and the onion has softened.
- Add the garlic, vinegar, honey, Worcestershire, broth or water, and black pepper to the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the sauce thickens and evenly coats the beef and onion.
- Turn off the heat and add the chopped spinach and 2 ounces of crumbled feta cheese to the pan. Stir everything together to wilt the spinach before serving. Salt to taste.
To Assemble
- Flip the roasted sweet potatoes over on the sheet pan and press down in the center to create a well.
- Spoon the ground beef and spinach mixture into the potatoes.
- Sprinkle the remaining 2 ounces of feta over the top and finish with an optional pinch of chili flakes and honey drizzle.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1 sweet potato half with beef fillingAmount Per Serving: Calories: 300Total Fat: 9gCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 5gProtein: 21g
Skip to Recipe