I live in Texas, where people love their Mexican food.
I grew up eating it and what’s not to love? Spices, aromas, melty cheese…..just total comfort food. Well, I eat a plant based diet now, so no more traditional cheese. But, I do make a cheesy sauce and have found there is virtually a way to recreate anything. Practice, practice, practice. I have a couple of new “cheese” recipes coming on the blog.
This recipe though has nothing to do with enchiladas or cheese, just the major flavor components. Who says you need to eat an enchilada or taco to enjoy the Mexican flavors? I LOVE sweet potatoes, so I wanted to make them Mexican flavored and these are soooooo good. I baked 2 sweet potatoes for the recipe and ate all of it….it was that good. This sauce is incredible, creamy, spicy and takes just 5 minutes to whip up.
Thick, creamy and bursting in flavor…..I seriously could drink this stuff.
Just chop, bake and make the dip. Just 8 easy pantry ingredients. Doesn’t get any easier. Then devour.
Mexican Sweet Potatoes w/ 5 Minute Mexican Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 large sweet potatoes peeled & chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
- Sprinkle the potatoes with salt chili powder & cumin
Mexican Tahini Dip
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt (this will depend if your tahini is salted)
- 2 tablespoons (30g) fresh lime juice
- 3 tablespoons (48g) tahini
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup (don't omit, it balances the acidity and enhances the spice flavor)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons (22g) water
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 415°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Do not use foil, it will burn! Peel and chop the sweet potatoes and spread out evenly on the prepared pan. If you want to use a little nonstick spray or oil, feel free, I did not, but if you do they will cook slightly faster. Season generously with salt, chili powder and cumin. (I just eyeballed it) Bake for about 25 minutes until fork tender. Turn broil on for just a couple of minutes to brown the tops, watching closely to not burn.
- While potatoes are baking, prepare the dip. Add all of the ingredients to a small bowl and whisk really well with a fork for a couple of minutes until the dip is thick and smooth. Taste and add any more chili powder or spices if you want it extra spicy. If you want the dip thinner, add just a little more water, keeping in mind that it will dilute the flavor some. Serve the potatoes with the tahini dip and devour.
This was a really good recipe!
I made this tonight and it was so good! This will now be in my weekly rotation. Thank you!
I made it at work and was missing the onion powder and I was a little short on the lime. At first I thought it was kind of strange, but I used the sauce with my sweet potatoes and last night’s broccoli and carrots and I really enjoyed it. It was so good. I will definitely be using this recipe regularly. Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed it Stacy!
This sounds SO good! But I am allergic to sesame, so I can’t eat tahini. Have you any suggestions for a substitute? I’ve never found anything, but thought I would ask!
Almond butter is good too! Add more water if needed to thin to desired consistency.
Very good! I am Palestinian and wanted to find recipes to use up some tahini, wow was I impressed. My favorite tahini mexican dressing. It has the flavor profile of an msg laden bag of mexican Doritos, but in a healthy way. Sorry if that sounds weird, but I kept tasting it, and it was like I had tasted something like it before, then Doritos came to mind. Even though it has no cheese it takes your tongue in that direction! Great job!
Haha I love that! And I remember how delicious Doritos are, so I get it! So happy you loved this!
For the maple syrup, do you use the natural kind?
Yes, always, pure maple syrup.
Can these be roasted in the air fryer?
I am sure they can, but I don’t own an air fryer so I can’t give advice on how to adjust the cooking.
The Sweet Potatoes I buy do not have orange flesh, it’s a yellow/white color. Do you use yams or garnets – which I think are also yams in this recipe & others calling for sweet potatoes? I want to make this dish, plus your FUDGE with sweet potatoes, but I want to make sure I’m buying the right potato so it will turn out properly. Yams have more water in them than sweet potatoes do, plus the skin and flesh are different colors. Please let me know so I don’t make these recipes with the wrong ingredients. Thanks so much!
Hi Melanie, they are labeled sweet potatoes and are orange on the bags I buy. You definitely don’t want to use the white ones, they are much drier and less sweet. There are many varieties and colors of different sweet potatoes. But some stores mistakenly label yams to actual sweet potatoes. You want to look for the brownish-orange skin with the orange flesh.
OMG… I couldn’t find sesame seeds so I had to used natural peanut butter for the tahini sauce, and it still came out amazing.
Just made this sauce and its out of this world! Will be going on everything from now on!! Thank you
Do you have a brand of Tahini sauce that you like/recommend? I want to use the sauce with the black bean burgers.
Hi Mariann! I like the Simple Truth brand from Krogers and also the Dastony tahini from Whole Foods is excellent. It’s the best but it’s much more expensive so I pretty much always buy the Kroger brand now. So much cheaper. It works just great in this sauce!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I am the biggest Mexican food fan and have had such a challenge finding a good tortilla soup recipe – it always lacks flavor and tastes watery. This is absolutely delicious and the Mexican tahini is an essential touch! I added a touch of lime in the soup before pouring it in my bowl. Great touch! I can’t wait to eat this all week! Please keep these incredible recipes comin”!
I’m so happy you loved this, thank you!
I just made these sweet potatoes and tahini sauce. It is so good. What a great combination and that sauce is delicious! Best tahini sauce ever! 😊
Thank you so much Debbie! So happy you loved this sauce! I haven’t made it in quite awhile, I think it’s time I made it again!
This tahini sauce is a game changer for me. I’ve been making it for tacos, nachos, potatoes, everrrythang! I have a hard time not eating it by the spoonful!
Thank you so much Megan for this feedback, it is my favorite tahini sauce and you are right, so good on so many things!
Made this yesterday and I’m eating tahini sauce leftovers today with some potato wedges 🙂 Soooooo delicious!!! Thank you so much!
Yay!! So happy to hear that Barbara!! So glad you loved this!
I am addicted to this sauce, I put it on just about everything! My family is getting a little concerned 😉 For anyone who has not tried this, you must give it a try. It is with so much flavor! Thank you Brandi!!
Made this dressing and it’s SO darn delicious 🙂 I was eating it with a spoon before serving it with our dinner, ha! We drizzled it over baked sweet potatoes with your awesome Southwest Lime Corn Salad. Definitely going to be making this again and again! Thank you for the amazing recipe girl!!!
just made the dip in double quantities. Having it tonight with the sweet potato and with cumin chicken and squid on a salsa black bean salad. Planning to use the sauce on it all. Got 9 ppl here for dinner tonight so hope it’s a winner!
Oh wow! I hope everybody enjoyed it! It’s one of my most popular recipes/sauces and it really does taste good on anything! Thank you for making it 🙂
Delicious! Going to try it on burritos tonight. A+!
Yup, made this too. I do have an addiction, I know. It was awesome! Thanks for the great great recipes to fuel my addiction!
So glad you loved it Sophia, thank you so much! Haha!
Hi! I’ve been loving your recipes so far and I’d love to make this Mexican Tahini sauce. My significant other has an allergy to cumin. Do you know of a substitute or can I just leave out the cumin from this recipe? Will that alter the flavor profile too much?
Thank you!
Hi Meredith! I haven’t tried it without the cumin, but I would think it would still be good, it just will have less of a Mexican flavor since cumin is what really enhances the Mexican flavors. But I totally think it would still be delicious! You could add a bit of smoked paprika if you want for a smoky flavor, since the cumin will be gone. Let me know how it turns out!