These Guajillo Sweet Potato Tacos are so incredibly delicious and I am not even really sure how to put in to words how amazing these are. I guess a picture is worth a thousand words? Hah!
I will go ahead and say that this recipe is a tad bit more time consuming than most of my entrée recipes on here. It is a labor of love but SO worth it. I love a quick meal but sometimes I just really want to enjoy the process of taking time to prepare a meal and be okay with that. I think that cooking can really be an awesome time to unwind, relax and truly be thankful for the meal you are preparing.
Okay. So lets talk about the recipe some. Guajillo chiles have slowly become one of my favorite dried chiles to cook with. They are not overly spicy and have a very fruity flavor lending a really nice balance.
You will first make this guajillo sauce and then basically stew the sweet potatoes in the mixture so as they soften they will continually infuse with the guajillo flavor.
This taco was inspired by one I had at Big Star in Chicago. It is actually quite different but they had a creamy date sauce on top of this mole carrot filling. It all of the sudden clicked with me that a date sauce is the perfect combination with a spicy dish.
This creamy date sauce is actually completely dairy-free because I use cashews as the base. As always, I prefer to use Date Lady for the dates because the flavor and texture is SO much better. It is not completely necessary for this dish if you don’t want to make it but I would highly recommend trying it at some point since they really are supposed to be paired.
I used Siete Tortillas for this recipe but you could easily use corn or homemade cassava tortillas. It really is your personal preference.
I hope you enjoy taking the time to make these tacos. I promise you will be incredibly happy with the end result.
Enjoy!
Guajillo Sweet Potato Tacos
- Prep Time: 35
- Cook Time: 45
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
The best vegetarian taco recipe! Spicy guajillo stewed sweet potatoes topped with a creamy cashew date sauce.
Ingredients
Guajillo Sweet Potatoes
- 1 ounce guajillo chiles (I used these)
- 1 red onion, chopped and divided
- 1.5 cups water, divided
- 2 Tbsp lime juice
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 – 6oz can tomato paste
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 cup cilantro
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- 2lbs sweet potatoes, cubed
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
- ½ red onion, chopped
Creamy Date Sauce
- 1 cup soaked cashews* see notes
- 3 dates, pitted (I used Date Lady)
- 2 Tbsp lime juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup non-dairy milk
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup cilantro
- ¼ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp sea salt
Taco Shells and Toppings
- 8–10 tortillas ( I prefer to use Cassava)
- 3–4 radishes, sliced
- 1–2 avocado, sliced
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
- Spicy pickled onions</>
- 2–3 Tbsp cilantro
Instructions
- Heat a medium saucepan to medium heat. Seed the dried chiles and tear them in to large pieces and toast them in the pan for 1-2 minutes. Make sure they don’t burn.
- Add 1 cup water, ½ cup red onion, lime juice and maple.
- Let the mixture lightly simmer for about 10 minutes so the chiles can soften.
- Carefully add the hot mixture to a blender along with the tomato paste, red wine vinegar, cilantro, garlic, salt, cocoa powder, and oregano and blend until smooth.
- Heat a large stockpot to medium heat and add the guajillo sauce and the remaining ½ cup water to the pot along with the chopped sweet potatoes, jalapeno and the remaining red onion. Put a lid on the pot and let it simmer for 35-45 minutes, stirring frequently so it doesn’t burn or stick to the bottom of the pan. Cook until sweet potatoes are softened.
- While the sweet potatoes are cooking add the soaked cashews to the blender along with the other ingredients and blend until smooth. Set aside or store in an airtight container.
- When the sweet potatoes are done heat some tortillas and fill with sweet potatoes, date sauce, avocado, pickled onions, pumpkin seeds and cilantro.
- Serve immediately and enjoy.
Notes
- You can soak the cashews in water for about 4-6 hours and then strain and rinse. You can also quick soak them by placing them in a saucepan covered with water and bringing them to a boil and then taking them off the heat. They can soak for about 30 minutes and then strain and rinse.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
Keywords: vegetarian guajillo tacos, guajillo tacos, guajillo sauce, sweet potato tacos, guajillo sweet potato tacos
Leave a Reply