[Sweet potatoes] are a more filling, gluten-free, fiber-rich canvas for sweet or savory toppings than bread.
Good Morning Sweet Potato Recipe
Sweet spuds are *always* invited to breakfast
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Published Jan 22, 2025
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Caitlin Bensel/Eat What Elephants Eat
Cereal? Again? You can do better—and I don’t mean with scrambled eggs. Turn breakfast as you know it on its head with these good morning sweet potatoes from Dominick Thompson’s new cookbook, Eat What Elephants Eat.
“I have an undying love for wholesome sweet potatoes,” Thompson writes. “I batch cook them on the weekend so I can enjoy them for breakfast every day. They are a more filling, gluten-free, fiber-rich canvas for sweet or savory toppings than bread.”
You can use Japanese sweet potatoes or orange sweet potatoes interchangeably here. “[Japanese sweet potatoes] have a sweeter taste than orange sweet potatoes...They are also fluffier,” Thompson adds. Either way, they can be topped with everything from nut butter to hot sauce to fresh berries to be made even more scrumptious.
Excerpted from EAT WHAT ELEPHANTS EAT: Vegan Recipes for a Strong Body and a Gentle Spirit. Copyright @ 2024 by Dominick Thompson. Photography Copyright © 2024 by Caitlin Bensel. Reproduced by permission of Simon Element, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.
Ingredients
Sweet Potatoes
7 small to medium (6 to 7 ounces each) Japanese or orange sweet potatoes, skin on and scrubbed
2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as avocado or grapeseed
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Nut Butter and Banana Topping
2 tablespoons nut butter, such as cashew, peanut or almond
Banana slices
1 tablespoon seeds, such as hemp, pumpkin or sunflower
Cinnamon
Sweet Cashew Cream, Berry and Seed Topping
1¼ cups raw cashews
6 soft pitted dates, such as Medjool or Deglet Noor
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ cup fresh berries, such as blueberries, blackberries or raspberries
1 tablespoon seeds, such as hemp, pumpkin or sunflower
Hot Sweet Potato Scramble
One 14-ounce package firm tofu, drained and pressed
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1½ teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as avocado or grapeseed
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, or more to taste
Plain, plant-based milk (or water)
Avocado slices
Sriracha or other hot sauce
Directions
1. Make the Sweet Potatoes: Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
2. Use a fork to poke holes on all sides of the potatoes. Arrange them on the baking sheet, drizzle the oil over them, tossing to coat evenly, then sprinkle them with salt. Bake them until they are soft and can be easily pierced with a knife, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
3. If you’re making them to serve right away, slice a still-warm sweet potato down the middle and top it with your choice of toppings. If you’re batch cooking them for later, transfer the potatoes to a cooling rack to cool completely before storing them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
4. For Nut Butter and Banana Sweet Potatoes: Fill the potato with the nut butter. Top it with the banana and seeds, then sprinkle it with cinnamon to taste.
5. For Sweet Cashew Cream, Berry and Seed Sweet Potatoes: Make the sweet cashew cream. Place the cashews in a bowl and add hot water to cover them by about 1 inch. Soak them for 20 minutes, then drain well.
6. In a blender or food processor, combine the soaked cashews, dates, salt, vanilla and 1 cup water. Blend on high until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the cream to an airtight container and refrigerate it for 1 hour before using. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
7. Fill the potato with 2 tablespoons of sweet cashew cream, then top it with berries and seeds.
8. For Hot Sweet Potato Scramble: Make the tofu scramble. Slice the block of tofu in half horizontally. Season it on both sides with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and turmeric.
9. In a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until it shimmers. Add the tofu sheets and cook them until the bottoms are golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Gently flip them and continue cooking until the second side is browned, 3 to 5 minutes more.
10. Add the nutritional yeast and milk, then gently “scramble” (break up) the tofu into smaller pieces. Increase the heat to high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the remaining liquid evaporates, 3 to 5 minutes.
11. Fill the potato with the tofu scramble, then top it with avocado slices and hot sauce.
Nutrition Facts
147 calories
4g fat
26g carbs
2g protein
5g sugars
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Note: The information shown is Edamam's estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.