Wash, peel and chop the sweet potato into small cubes. Place in a bowl and cover with cold water. Let sit for 1 hour to release starch.
Drain and rinse sweet potato under cold water. Dry thoroughly with a towel.
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the spice mix: garlic powder, onion powder, dried parsley, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Toss together.
Spread the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet. Spray the potatoes with cooking spray and sprinkle 1 ½ tsp of the spice mix (save rest of seasoning for avocado dressing). Toss together.
Bake in the oven for 60 minutes, flipping them every 20 minutes. Bake until sides are golden brown and become crispy. Keep an eye on them in the last few minutes.
Rice Instructions:
While the sweet potato is baking in the oven, cook the rice according to package instructions on stove or in a rice cooker.
Add 3-4 cups of cooked rice to a bowl, toss with lime juice and chopped parsley (or cilantro).
Dressing Instructions:
Add 1 ripe avocado, water, and the rest of spice mix to a blender. Blend for a few seconds until smooth and creamy.
Taco Bowl Assembly:
Add 1 or 1½ cups cooked rice to serving bowls. Arrange with ¼ cup black beans, ¼ cup corn, ¼ cup tomatoes and ½ cup sweet potatoes on top of rice. Sprinkle fresh parsley or cilantro if desired.
Drizzle avocado lime dressing on top of everything and sprinkle with extra lime juice. Season with salt and pepper. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
You’ll need to soak the sweet potato first before you start baking them. This will help to release the starch which is the key to getting those crispy potatoes that we all love. They’ll need to soak for at least an hour, so it might be easiest to do this step earlier in the day when you’ve got extra time.
Once the sweet potato has had time to soak, dry them thoroughly with a clean tea towel. The more moisture you remove, the better. This will help with the crispiness!
It’s easy to batch prep and make extra sweet potatoes for leftover lunches.
These bowls can be assembled as mason jar salads for an easy meal prep idea.
The taco seasoning mix and salad dressing can be substituted with store-bought versions to save time.