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Tuna Stuffed Sweet Potatoes (Healthy 30-Minute Dinner)
These tuna stuffed sweet potatoes are an easy, high protein dinner option that is made with simple, budget-friendly pantry staples. The baked sweet potatoes are filled with a lemon Dijon tuna salad and served along side a fresh spinach salad for a fast, healthy meal the whole family will love.
Maybe you’re like me and have lots of canned tuna or salmon in the pantry? (Yep. This recipe works great with salmon too!)
Maybe you’re also looking for a FUN way to turn that canned fish into a super tasty, budget-friendly, and EASY dinner for your family?
Total crowd pleaser – and SIMPLE as can be! This recipe makes for a COMPLETE NUTRIENT-PACKED meal while being easy on the budget.
These stuffed potatoes are great with shredded chicken or flaked salmon instead of tuna if that’s what you have at home; So experiment and find your FAVORITE way to make em’!
Most of these ingredients are probably in your kitchen right now, and if not then please note that this recipe is very flexible and forgiving, so add whatever you have on hand, and I’m betting you’ll LOVE your results.
Embrace improvising and adapting at this time because that has made cooking FUN for centuries!
❓Which do you like better, regular potatoes or sweet potatoes!?
🏆 While both offer nutritional benefits, sweet potatoes are considered a “superfood” because of all the vitamins and minerals they contain.
✅ Just as an example, 1 sweet potato contains almost 400% of your daily vitamin A requirements! They also contain vitamins B, C, and D as well as a wide range of minerals.
👀 They can help boost your immune system, protect your vision and reproductive health, and even help lower your risk of cancer.
❤️ Plus, they appear to help improve blood sugar control and cholesterol levels … and might even help keep fat cells from growing. 🤯
👩🏾🍳 They are also delicious mashed or roasted in the oven. Use them in soups, stews, chilis, or in any way you would use other potatoes.
REFERENCE: WebMD, Healthline
Why you’ll love these tuna stuffed sweet potatoes
- This is an easy high-protein dinner made with simple pantry ingredients.
- Tuna and sweet potatoes are both very budget friendly.
- This recipe is gluten free and full of nutrients from the sweet potatoes.
- Ready in under 30 minutes if you use one of my two tricks for making these faster!
- Customizable if you prefer to use canned salmon or canned chicken.
If you love this pantry meal, they you will also love our healthy avocado tuna salad, and other stuffed sweet potato recipes like Taco Stuffed Sweet Potatoes.
Ingredients:
Servings 4
- 4 medium sweet potatoes or yams
- 2 Tbsps olive oil or avocado oil, divided
- 2 (14oz.) cans tuna or salmon in spring water, drained and flaked
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1 Tbsp fresh chives, chopped
- juice from a fresh lemon, divided
- 2 tsps Dijon mustard
- sea salt and black pepper
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 4 heaping cups of baby leaf spinach
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees f.
Place the potatoes on a baking tray, prick the potatoes several times with a fork, rub each with a little oil over each of the skins, and season with sea salt. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until tender through the center.
In a medium bowl combine your drained tuna with the Dijon mustard, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, fresh chives, sea salt, and pepper to taste. Cover, then set in the fridge until needed.
While your potatoes are baking in the oven, make your salad. In a large bowl combine your fresh spinach, halved cherry tomatoes, remaining fresh lemon juice, 1
Tablespoon of olive oil, and sea salt, & pepper to taste. Toss well.
When your potatoes are finished baking, slice through the center of each potato as shown in the photos.
Spoon in your tuna mixture to the center and top with Greek yogurt as shown.
Serve potatoes while hot alongside your spinach salad and enjoy.
💚Rachel
Meal Prep Suggestions
To make these stuffed sweet potatoes even faster or to meal prep them, here is what I suggestion.
One: you can bake the sweet potatoes ahead of time and mix up your tuna salad. Then, when you are ready to eat them, all you have to do is warm up the sweet potato and stuff it with the tuna salad.
Two: If you didn’t prep ahead and you are strapped for time, try making these sweet potatoes in the air fryer. All you do is pop them in (no need for oil or salt or anything else on them), set the air fryer to 400°F and cook them for around 20 minutes. Test them with a fork to know if they are done. If the potatoes are really large, they could need an extra 10-20 minutes to cook. While they cook, make your tuna salad then put the two together and enjoy!
How to Store Leftovers
Whether you have leftovers or you are making these stuffed sweet potatoes ahead, the tuna salad and cooked sweet potatoes will both keep in the refrigerator in an air tight container for up to 4 days.
Rachel’s Tips:
🍋 ALWAYS use freshly-squeezed lemon juice from an actual fresh lemon. Bottled lemon juice from the store will give your salad a strange metallic or overly acidic taste. We want this salad to taste bright and fresh.
💡Want to get the most juice possible from each of your fresh lemons?
Of course, we do!
Here’s a quick trick:
On your counter or a cutting board, press and roll the lemon back and forth very firmly with your hands.
The rolling loosens and breaks down some of the citrus membranes and makes the outside a little more pliable. This makes it easier to squeeze which also means you’ll likely get more juice from your squeeze.
Let me know how this works for you!
🫒 Make SURE that you actually love the taste of the olive oil that you use for your salads such as this, because your salad will come out tasting very much like the oil you use. They each have their own unique flavor.
Recipe FAQ’s
Can I use canned salmon instead of tuna?
Absolutely! Canned salmon will work great in this recipe and provides even more omega-3 fatty acids.
Can I make tuna stuffed sweet potatoes ahead?
Yes, I added a section for this subject above, but in case you missed it, I recommend making the sweet potatoes and tuna salad separately, storing them in the fridge, then combining them when you are ready to eat. Both elements will last in the refrigerator up to 4 days.
Are sweet potatoes and tuna healthy for weight loss?
They are! Sweet potatoes provide a lot of nutrients and are considered a complex carbohydrate that will not spike blood sugar and cause weight gain. Tuna is high protein and contains healthy fats which both help you feel full longer so you don’t over eat throughout the day.
More Tuna Recipes You’ll Love:
Tuna Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 medium sweet potatoes or yams
- 2 Tbsps olive oil or avocado oil, divided
- 2 14oz. cans tuna or salmon in spring water, drained and flaked
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1 Tbsp fresh chives, chopped
- juice from a fresh lemon, divided
- 2 tsps Dijon mustard
- sea salt and black pepper
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 4 heaping cups of baby leaf spinach
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees f.
- Place the potatoes on a baking tray, prick the potatoes several times with a fork, rub each with a little oil over each of the skins, and season with sea salt. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until tender through the center.
- In a medium bowl combine your drained tuna with the Dijon mustard, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, fresh chives, sea salt, and pepper to taste. Cover, then set in the fridge until needed.
- While your potatoes are baking in the oven, make your salad. In a large bowl combine your fresh spinach, halved cherry tomatoes, remaining fresh lemon juice, 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, and sea salt, & pepper to taste. Toss well.
- When your potatoes are finished baking, slice through the center of each potato as shown in the photos. Spoon in your tuna mixture to the center and top with Greek yogurt as shown.
- Serve potatoes while hot alongside your spinach salad and enjoy.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
