sheet-pan roasted sweet potatoes and chickpeas

with whipped feta

New year, new branding! Thanks to the fabulous Nhung Le for translating my extremely ambiguous vision of “making magic happen in the kitchen” into these beautiful illustrations. It is my goal to make cooking stress-free at the very least, but also, fun and exciting! I think these bright, bold images perfectly embody that essence.

Many of us are trying to eat less meat — both for economical reasons (meat is so expensive right now!) and health reasons. The difficulty I always have with meatless recipes is that they often feel like side dishes that should be accompanying meat, and I’m left feeling unsatisfied.

So here, we’re making fiber-rich sweet potatoes and protein-packed chickpeas the stars. First we toss them in a medley of warm, fragrant spices like cumin and turmeric, then roast them until they’re both slightly crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.

We’ll make use of the 20- to 30-minute roast time to quickly pickle some red onions and whip up a creamy, tangy feta spread. Or, if you’d rather watch Emily in Paris while your dinner cooks, just grab some store-bought pickled jalapeños and tzatziki and use those instead.

Spread some sauce over the bottom of your bowl or plate, pile the roasted veggies on top, and finish with lots of fresh herbs and pickled onions.

simple tips for eating vegetarian more often:

• Always include a protein serving — beans, lentils, nuts, Greek yogurt, quinoa, whole grains, tofu, tempeh, etc. — to ensure you stay full until the next meal!

• Start with a veggie dish you already love and build from there. Try cooking one of your favorite side dishes (say: roasted Brussels sprouts) and throwing a huge serving over quinoa with a scoop of Greek yogurt mixed together with lemon juice as a sauce. Delicious!

• Veggies + fried eggs = dinner. Again, start with a veggie dish you love (the leftover sweet potatoes from this recipe would be great) and throw a couple of crispy fried eggs on top with a sauce (again, today’s whipped feta would be great, or some store-bought pesto, or just hot sauce). Done.

• My go-to vegetarian meal is a veggie packed risotto made with brown rice or farro. Brown rice and farro are both high in protein, plus I add plenty of cheese. I’ve got recipes for tomato farrotto, butternut squash farrotto, roasted asparagus farrotto, and an InstantPot mushroom farrotto. You can swap in brown rice for any of those.

Sweet potatoes and chickpeas are both highly nutritious — this meal is basically a delicious multivitamin! It’s hard to even know where to start explaining their benefits.

Sweet potatoes are rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants fight off free radicals, AKA unstable molecules that cause inflammation and damage to our DNA. They’re also rich in soluble and insoluble fiber, which are really important for promoting good gut health.

Chickpeas are high in protein, and are another excellent source of fiber. Like sweet potatoes, the list of vitamins and minerals they provide is a mile long.

All of this aside, if you struggle to “stay full” when eating vegetarian meals, know that fiber helps keep us full! So this is a great vegetarian starter meal if you’re trying to eat more meatless meals but struggle with feeling unsatisfied at the end of the meal.

Also, whipped feta. Whipped feta will make you feel satisfied.

sheet-pan roasted sweet potatoes and chickpeas

Serves 4 (could feed 6 if you add a grain)

Cook time: ~15 minutes active, 45 minutes total