Healthier Smothered Sweet Potato Fries are a healthier, homemade version of a restaurant's loaded french fry nachos.
To kick the week off I want to share an awesome recipe + kitchen trick with you: Healthier Smothered Sweet Potato Fries + How to Make Ground Beef Go Farther!
First let’s address the Healthier Smothered Sweet Potato Fries.
These loaded french fry nachos are a riff on a dish from one of my favorite local restaurants — waffle-cut fries smothered with cheese, bacon, tomatoes, and green onions. Delicious, they are — but healthy, they are not!
That’s why I decided to make a “healthier” version using sweet potato fries which are topped with a modest amount of cheddar cheese, homemade guacamole, chopped tomatoes and green onions, plus seasoned, healthier “ground beef”.
The way that I not only make ground beef go farther while also making it healthier AND slashing the fat, is to cut the ground beef with finely chopped mushrooms!
This is one of my most favorite kitchen swaps to date. You cannot taste the mushrooms at all, there is NO funky taste nor texture to the final mixture, and while ground beef sells for $7.99/lb at the grocery store, mushrooms are usually $2-3/lb.
I’ve been making tacos, spaghetti sauce, and taco salads with this mix for the past 2-3 weeks and honestly, not a single person in my person has noticed. HA!
Start the Healthier Smothered Sweet Potato Fries with the sweet potato fries. You could absolutely go the homemade route but I love these Alexia Seasoned Waffle Cut Sweet Potato Fries.
Bake however many servings you’d like on a foil-lined baking sheet according to package directions.
While the fries are baking, get the mushrooms and ground beef cooking.
First process 1/2lb (8oz) mushrooms. White button, baby bella, or otherwise — it’s up to you!
Scrub the mushrooms clean, trim off any unruly stems, then place the mushrooms in a food processor and pulse until they’re the texture of cooked ground beef. Alternatively you can finely chop them by hand.
Now add the processed mushrooms to 1/2lb lean ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season with salt and pepper then cook until the ground beef is no longer pink.
Mushrooms have a high water content so don’t be alarmed if you have a lot of liquid in the skillet at the end. Just drain the whole thing as you normally would then return the mixture to the skillet.
I mean look – can YOU spot the difference?!
While the beef’s cooking combine the taco seasoning — I use my homemade taco seasoning mix which seasons 1lb of “meat”.
Add the seasoning into the mushroom and beef mixture along with 1/4 cup water then stir to combine and turn the heat down to low to keep warm.
Seriously – looks and taste wise – no difference!
Spoon the beef and mushroom mixture on top of the baked fries then add cheddar cheese and broil until melted. Serve topped with chopped tomatoes and green onion, and lots of homemade guacamole. That’s just ripe avocado mashed with garlic salt and lime juice.
Dig in and devour!
If you’ve got a picky eater, or someone who doesn’t like the taste or texture of mushrooms, this is a great way to sneak some veggies in.
Plus, as I mentioned, it’s a great way to make ground beef go farther and save a buck or 2 (or 3 or 4!)
Stick to using this ground beef swap in dishes that call for cooked ground beef, vs burgers or meatloaf since the mushrooms release a lot of moisture that will need to be drained off. Other than that, I hope you enjoy these fries and kitchen swap as much as we do!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1-1/4 lb frozen sweet potato fries, Alexia brand recommended
- 1/2 lb lean ground beef
- 8 oz mushrooms, processed or finely chopped
- salt and pepper
- 1 recipe homemade taco seasoning, see notes
- 1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- Toppings: tomatoes, green onions, guacamole, black olives
Directions
- Prepare sweet potato fries on a foil-lined baking sheet according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat then add beef and chopped mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper then saute until ground beef is cooked through. Drain well then return to the skillet. Add taco seasoning and water then stir to combine. Turn heat to low and keep warm.
- When fries are done baking, turn the oven to broil then top fries with beef and mushroom mixture. Top with cheddar cheese then broil until melted. Top with desired toppings then serve.
Notes
- Feel free to use a store-bought taco seasoning packet instead of making your own taco seasoning.
- For Lazy Girls' Guacamole: mash ripe avocado with garlic salt and a drizzle of fresh lime juice. Smash with a fork until smooth.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
This was amazing, filling but light. Hubby had no idea half of the “meat” was mushrooms!
Muwahaha! So glad it was a hit, Lisa! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating. :)
Hi! is there a way to find out the calories for one serving? Thank you! These were DELICIOUS!!!!
I’m so glad to hear that, Taylor!! I recommend using a service like MyFitnessPal.com for that information if you need it!
Make sure you warn any guests you might feed if you use the mushroom hack though! I have a family friend who does this and didn’t think to say anything about it. Issue is that I am allergic to mushrooms! It was a good thing I actually noticed a little chunk before taking a bite. Mushrooms are a common and sometimes deadly allergy, so its better to only use this trick when feeding your own family. :) Recipe looks really good!!
Looks yummy!
Store-bought grass fed ground beef is pricey! You can find packages of organic grass-fed for 4.99/lb at Costco and sometimes Aldi. But our favorite way to buy it is to support local farmers. We often get ground beef bundles from grass-fed farms through the Iowa Food Coop and once a year purchase a 1/4 grass-fed beef with a few of our other friends (at 3.00 per pound!) to stock the freezer with all cuts plus ground beef to last for many months. There are definitely more economical ways to get the health benefits of grass-based meats AND support the local economy. The 1/2 mushroom idea will just make it go that much farther. Thanks for the tip!
This is a fantastic post! The beef goes farther, and the calories of the meal drop…it’s definitely a win/win. Thanks for sharing!!
-Shannon
Thanks so much, interesting point!
Potentially dumb question! Have you tried making hamburgers this way? Just wondered if you would notice the difference that way being that your not cooking the meat first to add to a recipe.
TIA
No dumb at all! I would stick to using it in ground beef dishes as the mushrooms let out a lot of water, which might make the burgers fall apart. If you still want to try, I’d do a mixture of 3/4 beef (or other ground meat) and 1/4 mushroom!
Tried this tonight and loved it! My husband doesn’t typically like taco meat and he enjoyed it with your seasoning recipe. Delicious with the sweet potatoes – and a super smart sub with the mushrooms!!
My husband & I did this tonight with our taco salad and we are hooked! We looked up the nutritional value of mushrooms during supper & were amazed. Mushrooms are one thing that I have wanted to add to our diet but just haven’t searched for recipes. Thanks for the wonderful tip! (PS/ I love your blog. I am an Illinois Midwesterner transplanted to Florida.
These nachos look great, and what a fantastic idea with the ground beef — I’m in!
Question for you — do you post your recipes on MyFitnessPal? If so, how do I find you? If not, you should consider it!
I love your recipes…thanks for posting!
Not only does this look SO good, I love the changes you made. I also just noticed you don’t use sour cream or greek yogurt in your Guac?! This is new to me and I can’t wait to try it :D Thanks for such a great swap & recipe!
I am going to second all the comments on you being a genious! I tried your mushroom/ground beef trick tonight and my kids declared their tacos were the best ever. I didn’t tell them about the mushrooms but I am so grateful to you for this idea. My kids really dislike veggies so I always sneak them in their food. One more way to sneak it in!! Yay!!