Stuffed sweet potatoes are one of my favorite meals. They are so easy to throw together and so very versatile. This recipe is for a perfect barbecue pulled pork recipe to top a simple baked sweet potato. Alongside a side salad or your favorite vegetable, this is an ideal meal for the whole family!
My crispy Brussels sprouts recipe is the perfect healthy side to go alongside this easy stuffed sweet potato recipe!
Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
One of my all-time favorite foods is a nice baked sweet potato. Of course, you need more than just a sweet potato to create a full meal. So, this recipe for stuffed sweet potatoes has become a new family favorite. My simple slow cooker pulled pork recipe pairs perfectly with the sweetness of the sweet potato and the spicy hint of smoky flavor in the barbecue sauce.
Can I Microwave the Sweet Potatoes?
If you are short on time, or if it is summer heat and you don’t want to turn on the oven, a microwave is a good alternative. The outer skin doesn’t get as crispy, so it can be a bit harder to hold up under the pork, but the flavor is just as good as if you had oven-roasted the potatoes before loading them with pulled pork. A stuffed sweet potato doesn’t have to be complicated, so if microwaving is more manageable – that’s the way to go! You can also cook your sweet potatoes in the slow cooker, this is another easy way to prepare them ahead of time.
What is the Best BBQ Sauce for Pulled Pork?
My personal preference if I am not making my own homemade BBQ sauce is to use Stubb’s BBQ sauce or Sweet Baby Rays. Both options taste amazing, and both brands make spicier or sweeter options to fit your preferences. If you don’t have either of these at your local store, simply use your own personal favorite jar of BBQ sauce for this recipe.
More Sweet Potato Recipes
Sweet potatoes are full of antioxidants and are packed with lots of naturally sweet flavors. They adapt quickly into sweet recipes but are also great for savory meals like this one.
If you’re looking for another sweet potato recipe, try my twice-baked sweet potatoes recipe. This recipe is definitely more on the side of sweetness but is still a great side dish for any meal. I especially like to prepare this recipe when I have leftover baked sweet potatoes from another meal.
Ingredients
- Onions
- extra virgin olive oil
- Pork loin roast
- Chili powder
- Brown sugar
- Cumin
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Minced garlic
- BBQ Sauce
- Apple cider vinegar
- Worcestershire sauce
- Sweet potatoes
How to Make Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
This recipe is best when you cook the pork loin in a slow cooker, so my first step is always to prepare the slow cooker. I then season the meat and sear it in a hot skillet on all sides for about 45 seconds to 1 minute. Then transfer the seared pork to the slow cooker.
Mix the broth, minced garlic, apple cider vinegar, and 1 cup barbecue sauce in a medium-sized bowl. Add the broth mixture to the slow cooker and cook the pork on low heat for 8-9 hours, basting the pork a few times while cooking. If in a hurry, you can also cook on high for 4-5 hours.
Prepare the baked sweet potatoes by placing them into the oven about 1 hour before the time your meat will be ready. Alternately, begin cooking in the microwave about 20 minutes before the time to eat. Cook in 5-minute increments in the microwave until tender.
Once the pork has cooked through, remove it from the slow cooker and pull/shred it with forks. Add 2 cups of reserved cooking liquid from the slow cooker to the pork and onions. n
Open your sweet potatoes and top with pork, then drizzle bbq sauce over the top.
Pulled Pork Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 sweet onions cut into chunks or sliced
- 3 pounds boneless pork loin roast
- 2 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar (divided) you will reserve 1/2 tablespoon for the sauce
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 cup Bar-B-Q Sauce
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 8 medium-sized sweet potatoes
- 1/4 cup *optional barbecue sauce for topping
Instructions
- Spray the inside of a slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Add onions to the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Trim fat from pork. In a small bowl, mix chili powder, brown sugar, cumin, salt, and pepper. Rub mixture evenly over pork.
- Add 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to a large skillet. Turn heat to high and when the skillet and oil are hot, sear the pork on all sides for 30-45 seconds per side.
- Place seared meat in a slow cooker resting on top of onions (if necessary, cut meat to fit into the slow cooker).
- In a medium-sized bowl mix together the beef broth, minced garlic, barbecue sauce, and apple cider vinegar. Pour over the pork. Cover and cook on low heat for 8-9 hours or on high for 4-4.5 hours.
- 45 minutes before pork is ready, set oven to 400º F. Wash sweet potatoes and pierce each sweet potato several times with a fork. Place the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet lined with foil. Bake for 45 minutes, until potatoes are tender. (To save time you can microwave your sweet potatoes! Puncture each sweet potato several times with a fork. Evenly arrange potatoes in a microwave-safe dish. Cook on high for 4-5 minutes for the first potato, plus 2-3 minutes for each additional potato. Flip potatoes halfway through cooking.)
- After the pork has cooked, remove the meat from the slow cooker and place it in a large bowl.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove onion chunks and place them in the same bowl as the pork. Using two forks, pull the pork apart.
- Add two cups of the cooking liquid to the shredded pork and onions and stir to combine.
- Using a knife, slice sweet potatoes down the middle, creating an open center. Fill each sweet potato with 4-ounces of the meat mixture.
- Optional: drizzle ½ tablespoon of BBQ sauce back and forth over the top of each potato.
Notes
Calories from fat: 28
Fat: 3g
Saturated Fat: 1g
Cholesterol: 73g
Sodium: 1036mg
Carbohydrates: 42g
Fiber: 4g
Sugar 23g
Protein: 26g
SmartPoints: 10
Nutrition
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