This delightful broccoli and sweet potato recipe is simple to put together and makes an ideal side dish or light meal. Soft baked sweet potato halves are stuffed with flavorful roasted lemony broccoli and cheese. It’s flexible, economical and adaptable to your tastes.
Let’s make something fabulous with some sweet potatoes and broccoli
If you are looking for a way to work some sweet potato and some broccoli onto your plate, I have just the thing! These Broccoli Stuffed Sweet Potatoes are such a nice side dish or light meal. We’ve got soft buttery melted sweet potatoes topped with a mound of lemony roasted broccoli and melted cheese, how could we go wrong?
While the combination of sweet potato, broccoli and cheese is nothing revolutionary, what I love about this recipe is the texture. The baked sweet potato is melt in the mouth perfection and the roasted broccoli is more al dente and deeply flavored, with some crispy edges. There is melty soft cheese dotted throughout and there is crispy, stretchy cheese on top.
This is a recipe where I encourage you to raid your fridge and see if there is anything else you want to add. Other cheeses? Always welcome. Olives, artichokes or sundried tomatoes? Why not. A few stray mushrooms? Throw ’em in. Some hummus to dollop on top? Don’t mind if I do. Simple recipes like this are there for the twisting!
How it works
This is a simple dish that comes together in the oven. We bake the sweet potatoes in one dish and roast the broccoli in another, and then put it all together at the end with lots of cheese on top.
TIP: Don’t stress about some of that cheese falling off the sweet potatoes and into the pan – it will give your sweet potatoes a fabulous cheese skirt, as you can see in the final photos…
What to Know About Your Ingredients & Variations
- This is very forgiving recipe when it comes to quantities. You can get away with more or less broccoli, more or less cheese, etc. And since all sweet potatoes are a different size, you may find that you have a bigger or smaller mound of broccoli than what you see in my pictures. It’s all fine! I tried it a lot of different times with different ratios and it was always tasty so you can just use what you’ve got.
- If you want to make a lot more sweet potatoes, but don’t have much more broccoli, you can try adding a can of chickpeas to the mix – just roast it alongside the broccoli, doubling the spices and lemon.
- The recipe calls for a little goats cheese which adds a nice tang and some creamy texture but this could be ANY soft cheese. Feta, boursin, a herby cream cheese – or leave it out altogether and just use some additional grated cheese.
- We season the broccoli with smoked paprika and garlic powder. You can stick to salt and pepper if needs be, but these add some nice flavor to the dish.
Other Recipe Ideas for You
If broccoli and sweet potato are regulars in your fridge, check out some other ideas!
If you love stuffed sweet potatoes…
Cheesy Roasted Broccoli Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- olive oil, for roasting
- 2 sweet potatoes, halved lengthwise
- 3 cups chopped broccoli florets
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- salt and pepper, to taste
- ½ lemon
- 3 tbsp soft goat cheese , or butter
- 1 cup grated cheese, cheddar or a cheese blend
- optional – fresh herbs for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C / 400F.
- Brush the sweet potato halves on the open side with oil, then place them face down on a baking tray lined with parchment paper or foil. Brush the skins with a little oil and poke a couple of holes in each one with a knife. Place in the oven on the top shelf for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the broccoli by tossing it with the spices, salt and pepper to taste and enough olive oil to lightly coat the florets (3-4 tablespoons should be about right).
- After 20 minutes, move the sweet potatoes in the oven to the lower shelf. Scatter the broccoli onto another baking dish and place in the oven on the top shelf. Bake for a further 15-20 minutes until the broccoli is browned and crisp and the sweet potatoes are soft through.
- Remove the broccoli and sweet potatoes from the oven. Mix the lemon zest through the broccoli dish and then squeeze the 1/2 lemon's juice on top and mix again.
- Flip the sweet potatoes over and lightly mash with some butter.
- Scoop the broccoli over the top of each sweet potato half, adding dollops of goat cheese throughout.
- Cover with the grated cheese and place back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted to your liking.
- Serve with a scatter of fresh herbs if using.
