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.
OMG!!!! This looks amazing! I love sweet potatoes, I love avocados and I love cheese. But really I LOVE Avocados!!!!
Okay.. drooling!! I love anything with guacamole, and if it resembles nachos.. even better! This looks awesome!
My hubby hates mushrooms (it’s a texture thing too)…I love them. I’m going to definitely try this and see if he notices. Thanks for the tip. :)
I’d definitely have to do this when my husband wasn’t looking. If he had any inkling there were mushrooms anywhere near his food he wouldn’t eat it. And I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the one person in the world who’d figure it out too. It’s too bad because I think this is a fantastic idea!
Those look delicious! Glad you’re remaking some good ones from Granite City!
PS They brought back the chicken caesar chalupa to their specials menu two weeks ago!
Tried this hamburger trick tonight! I made spaghetti with meat sauce. Feed some to my 9 month old daughter and she LOVED it! Thanks for the tip :)
That is amazing!! I’m going to have to try it with turkey though, since I can’t eat beef… hopefully it works just as well!
Fabulous! Just tried my first $7.99/lb grass fed beef tonight and have just enough left over from some mighty tasty burgers to give this a try – mushrooms, who’d of thought!
Thanks!
Carrie
Oh my gosh! These look and sound so so fantastic! Totally going to try them this coming week! Thanks bunches for sharing! :) xo
i had to say that Idaho thing aloud to understand it…then immaturely fell to gigles once i caught on . :)
do you think this would work with other ground meats, if theyre seasoned too? i am not a beef-eater but my parents occasionally enjoy it. also–that mushroom thing…ive seen a couple ‘shroom recipes floating around here lately. i wonder if your body is craving something in them(#preggoprobs)and your palate is trying to catch up. that’d be interesting, if so. <3
oops. giggles**
Holy guacamole! This looks insane!
Great idea! I’ll have to try it! I also sometimes use black beans. A combo of mashed and whole works well, I think. Thanks for sharing!
Woaa! Amazing idea! I know people eat mushroom burgers so they must taste somewhat like meat.