Island Sweet Potato Casserole tastes like Costa Rican food, full of depth, a little spicy and a little bit sweet.
Island Sweet Potato Casserole with black beans and pineapple.
Island Sweet Potato Casserole
Island Sweet Potato Casserole was inspired by the foods Don and I eat when we visit Costa Rica. I like to eat vegetarian meals a few times a week, and Don is always happy to eat whatever I serve. (He's the best husband!) This is a very tasty casserole. We will be eating more vegetarian meals as the prices of meat rise with the pandemic. (Have you seen the price of beef? At least in our area, it's outrageous!)
The first time I made this, I had some leftover pineapple and and lots of sweet potatoes, and I wanted to use them up. I like sweet potatoes, coconut milk, black beans and rice together so I started with these basic ingredients and looked at my spices to see what might be complementary. The hot paprika really jazzes up this recipe. I'm pleased to say that Island Sweet Potato Casserole is quite yummy. It joined my list of recipes I make often.
Discovering a Flavor
A little story about hot paprika...years ago a colleague gave me some Hungarian paprika as a gift because she knows I love to cook. She didn't tell me it was hot. Since I had only eaten smoked paprika and sweet paprika, I didn't even know there was such a thing! I used about a teaspoon of it in something I was making and it was so HOT! I have used it more sparingly since then.
What You Need
I like cayenne, but Don doesn't find it appealing. He loves the taste of the hot Hungarian paprika, however. It adds flavor in addition to heat. I love it. Try it. I think you will become enamored with it, too. It makes a huge difference in this recipe. You will also need knives, a cutting board, measuring cups and spoons, pans, a bowl, a jelly roll cookie sheet, and a casserole dish for baking. Do yourself a favor and buy a full set of good pans with a casserole dish.
Island Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe
Author: Recipe Idea Shop
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked brown rice
- 1 15.5 ounce can black beans drained and rinsed
- 4 small sweet potatoes peeled and diced
- 1 medium red pepper diced
- 2 green onions sliced, white and tender green parts only
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon dried marjoram
- ⅙ teaspoon hot Hungarian paprika or cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup crushed pineapple drained
- 1 13.66-ounce can coconut milk
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 450F degrees.
- Place the sweet potatoes, red pepper, green onions, half the minced garlic and 2 tablespoons oil in a bowl. Stir to coat the vegetables evenly with the oil.
- Bake the vegetable mixture on a parchment-covered jelly roll pan or cookie sheet for about 20 minutes (or until tender when pierced with a fork), stirring after 10 minutes.
- Remove the vegetables from the oven and set aside.
- Reduce oven temperature to 350F degrees.
- Over medium heat in a saucepan, heat the remaining oil until hot.
- Add the ginger and garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.
- Add the cloves, marjoram, paprika or cayenne pepper, and cardamom. Stir.
- Add the coconut milk, salt and pineapple. Stir and continue cooking for about 3 minutes.
- Place the rice in the bottom of a 5" x 7" casserole dish.
- Spread the black beans over the rice.
- Spread the cooked sweet potato mixture over the beans.
- Pour the coconut milk mixture over the sweet potato mixture.
- Bake at 350F degrees for about 30 minutes until hot and bubbly.
More Recipes To Try
- Vegan Mac and Cheese
- French Barley Salad
- Barley Apple Walnut Salad
- Brown Rice Salad with Cranberries and Nuts
- Baked Rice
- Yellow Rice and Beans
- Vegan Mexican Red Rice
- Savory Sweet Roasted Butternut Squash Salad
- Lemon Rice
- Coconut Basmati Rice
Kathy acquired the blog, Recipe Idea Shop in 2024. She was raised on a farm in Arkansas where having a big garden and good food to eat was the norm. She shares recipes for homemade comfort food and new trending dishes.
Kathy began her blogging journey in 2011 when she founded PetticoatJunktion.com, a home décor blog focused on repurposing and upcycling furniture, and thrift store finds.