Do you want to know something crazy?

When I was deeply entrenched in diet culture, I convinced myself that I didn’t like red meat.

And while I understand many people’s reasoning for not eating red meat, personally over the past few years, I’ve realized that I love it.

In fact right now if I had to pick my last meal on earth, it would be an amazing burger. Loaded with plenty of toppings and a delicious sauce, of course.

So I try to get creative with how I make and eat burgers. There are only so many ways that you can do a classic burger, you know?

And this Cheeseburger Stuffed Sweet Potato is not only so creative, it’s also just so good.

The recipe was originally made in partnership with the North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission.

Fun fact that I learned from them: sweetpotato is actually one word. I know, mind blown!

Apparently, “sweet potato” as two words describes a potato as sweet, while “sweetpotato” as one word talks about this specific potato variety. You learn something new every day 🙂

I wrote it out as two words because my spellcheck kept flagging “sweetpotato” as an error. But I totally plan to use it as one word in my everyday life moving forward!

Why You’ll Love These Cheeseburger Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

There’s so much to love about this recipe.

To start, the base is a deliciously roasted and perfectly caramelized sweet potato. Roasted sweet potatoes barely need anything in order to be amazing – and using these as the base is so good.

The roasted sweet potatoes are topped with a ground beef mixture that’s mixed with different spices. The beef adds plenty of filling protein and of course, the “burger” part of the cheeseburger.

Next, the sweet potatoes are loaded up with plenty of toppings: cheddar cheese, salty pickles, lettuce and tomatoes.

And the special sauce ties everything together.

This sauce is SO good. I know the ingredients in it may sound weird, but just trust me. Together, the special sauce is a perfectly mix of savory and sweet – you’ll want to put it on everything.

How To Make Cheeseburger Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Preheat the oven

Prepare your ingredients for these Cheeseburger Stuffed Sweet Potatoes and the burger sauce.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Bake sweet potatoes

Wash and dry the sweet potatoes well. Using a fork, pierce holes throughout the sweet potatoes, making sure to go all around the sweet potato.

Place on the baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes, until a fork can pierce them easily. I recommend turning the potatoes over once about halfway through cooking.

Cook ground beef

While the sweet potatoes are roasting, prepare the ground beef. In a large skillet, add the olive oil, diced onion, ground beef, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper.

Break the beef apart into small pieces and cook until medium high heat. Make sure to stir infrequently so that the beef can brown. Once cooked through and no longer pink, remove the skillet from the heat and set aside.

Prepare sauce

Prepare the sauce. Add the mayonnaise, pickle juice, sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, turmeric, and salt to taste to a small bowl or jar.

Whisk or shake

Whisk well to combine (or if using a jar, cover and shake the jar). Set aside.

Slice sweet potatoes

Once the sweet potatoes are done roasting, let them cool for about 5 minutes. Slice them in half lengthwise.

Assemble sweet potato

Assemble the stuffed sweet potatoes. Top each sweet potato evenly with the ground beef, cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and chopped pickles.

Garnish and serve

Sprinkle sesame seeds on top of the Cheeseburger Stuffed Sweet Potatoes and drizzle on the sauce.

If You Like These Cheeseburger Stuffed Sweet Potatoes, Try These

Burger Bowls with Crispy Onions and Special Sauce: Same sauce, similar ingredients, but in bowl version.
Cheesy Ground Beef Stuffed Peppers: Another cheese and ground beef pairing that’s so satisfying.
Caprese Chicken Cutlets: This high protein meal is also full of delicious textures and flavors.
Winter Roasted Vegetable Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing: Sweet potatoes are so good in this flavorful roasted vegetable salad.
One Pot Skillet Lasagna: This high protein, one pan meal is such a crowd pleaser.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Sweet potatoes: I used 6 medium-sized sweet potatoes in this recipe. It’s a pretty forgiving recipe though – you can use slightly more or less and add more or less of the cheeseburger filling as needed.
Olive oil: You’ll use olive oil to cook the ground beef.
Onion: Diced onion adds flavor to the beef. If you want, you can also add more diced onion to the top of the sweet potatoes.
Ground beef: I used 93% lean ground beef. You can use whatever you prefer!
Spices: You’ll need garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and turmeric.
Cheddar cheese: If you can, using a block of cheddar cheese and grating it yourself is always a little more flavorful than pre-shredded cheese. But in a time crunch, pre-shredded cheddar is totally fine!
Lettuce: Use romaine or iceberg lettuce and chop it finely.
Tomatoes: Any tomatoes work here – just make sure to chop them finely.
Pickles/pickle juice: You’ll add pickles on top of the sweet potatoes and use the pickle juice in the special sauce. I absolutely love bread & butter pickles.
Mayonnaise: A little mayo acts as the base of the special sauce.
Sugar: Just a bit of sugar adds sweetness to the special sauce – it’s so good!