These street corn bowls are loaded with bold, smoky flavors and fresh, vibrant ingredients. Inspired by popular Mexican street food, this easy bowl combines seasoned meat, roasted sweet potatoes, and a creamy street corn topping for a satisfying, balanced meal. It’s perfect for meal prep or a quick weeknight dinner with big flavor.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Packed with big flavor from simple spices like chili powder and cumin
- A balanced bowl with protein, carbs, and healthy fats
- Perfect for meal prep and easy lunches throughout the week
- Inspired by mexican street corn salad flavors. If you like Mexican flavors, try our crockpot chicken tinga tostadas or our steak and rice bowl.
- Customizable with your favorite protein like ground beef, turkey, or chicken
- Loaded with fresh toppings like avocado, lime, and fresh cilantro
- A satisfying, nourishing meal the whole family will love
Ingredient Notes
This recipe uses simple ingredients, but a few swaps can help you customize it.
- Ground meat - Use ground beef, turkey, or chicken. You can also swap in shredded chicken or even chicken thighs. Looking for another ground beef recipe? Try the easy beef fried rice recipe or the crispy oven baked beef tacos.
- Sweet potatoes - Roast until tender and slightly crispy for the best texture.
- Corn - We love the fire roasted corn from Trader Joe's to add a little smoky flavor. But fresh, frozen, or canned all work. Fresh corn adds extra sweetness when in season.
- Blended cottage cheese - Adds creaminess similar to sour cream. You can omit for dairy-free or substitute with Greek yogurt.
- Seasoning mix - Made with pantry spices like chili powder and garlic powder, or swap for taco seasoning.
- Toppings - Add cotija cheese, red onion, or even black beans for extra flavor and texture.
See the recipe card below for a complete list of ingredients and measurements.
Recipe Tips & Variations
- Roast the potatoes well - Spread evenly on a baking sheet so they caramelize instead of steam.
- Cook meat properly - Brown the meat in a skillet over medium heat, breaking it into small pieces for even cooking.
- Adjust spice level - Add more or less chili powder depending on your preference.
- Make it a rice bowl - Serve over a base of rice for a heartier option.
- Add extra toppings - A squeeze of lime, extra fresh cilantro, or cotija cheese adds great extra flavor.
- Try a different protein - This works well as mexican street corn chicken bowls or even vegetarian with beans.
How to Make Street Corn Beef and Sweet Potato Bowls
For the full recipe instructions, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the diced sweet potatoes on a baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and toss to coat.
In a small bowl, mix together the seasoning blend. Sprinkle half of the seasoning over the sweet potatoes and toss again.
Roast for 25–30 minutes, stirring halfway through, until tender and lightly browned.
Step 2: While the potatoes cook, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground meat and cook, breaking it into small pieces, until fully cooked and no longer pink. Drain excess grease as needed. Stir in the remaining seasoning mixture.
Step 3: Add the cottage cheese to a small blender or small food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. (A large blender may not blend it well due to the smaller quantity.)
Step 4: Warm the corn in the microwave in 30-second increments, stirring in between, until heated through. Alternatively, warm it in a skillet over medium heat for 2–3 minutes.
In a medium bowl, combine the warm corn with the blended cottage cheese, avocado, lime juice, jalapeño, cilantro, remaining chili powder, and salt. Mix well and adjust to taste.
Step 5: Assemble the bowls with sweet potatoes as the base, followed by the seasoned meat, then a generous scoop of the street corn mixture.
Add any additional toppings like pickled onions or cotija cheese and serve.
Sweet Potato Beef Bowl With Street Corn FAQs
Blending the cottage cheese gives it a smooth, creamy texture similar to sour cream, which helps it mix evenly into the street corn topping. If you skip this step, the texture will be more lumpy, but it will still taste great.
Absolutely. Frozen or canned corn both work well in this recipe. If using frozen, thaw first; if using canned, drain well. Fresh corn will give the best texture and sweetness when in season.
Store components separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days. Reheat the meat and sweet potatoes in the microwave or skillet until warmed through. Add the street corn mixture fresh for best texture.
These street corn bowls are gluten free. For dairy-free, simply omit the cottage cheese or replace it with a dairy-free alternative. These can also be vegetarian street corn bowls with the use of beans instead of ground meat.
Other Quick and Easy Bowl Recipes
If you make this street corn bowls with ground beef and sweet potatoes recipe, please let us know how it turns out in the comments below and/or rate the recipe! Don’t forget to tag us on Instagram to show us your finished product—it makes our day every time we see you trying the recipes we love!
Street Corn Bowls With Ground Beef and Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
For the seasoning mix: (swap for taco seasoning if preferred)
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon paprika
- ¾ teaspoon salt
For the meat:
- 1 pound lean ground beef, turkey, or chicken
- 2 teaspoons olive oil or avocado oil
For the sweet potatoes:
- 2 large sweet potatoes, diced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
For the street corn:
- 2 cups corn (fresh, frozen, or canned - we like the frozen fire roasted corn from Trader Joes for this recipe too)
- ¾ cup cottage cheese, blended (feel free to omit for a dairy free option)
- 1 medium avocado, diced
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 lime)
- ½ large jalapeño, seeded and minced
- 2 tablespoons minced cilantro
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Optional toppings (but highly recommended!)
- Cotija cheese
- Pickled onions (how to make easy pickled red onions)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the diced sweet potatoes on a baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and toss to coat.
- In a small bowl, mix together the seasoning blend. Sprinkle half of the seasoning over the sweet potatoes and toss again.
- Roast for 25–30 minutes, stirring halfway through, until tender and lightly browned.
- While the potatoes cook, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground meat and cook, breaking it into small pieces, until fully cooked and no longer pink. Drain excess grease as needed. Stir in the remaining seasoning mixture.
- Add the cottage cheese to a small blender or small food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. (A large blender may not blend it well due to the smaller quantity.)
- Warm the corn in the microwave in 30-second increments, stirring in between, until heated through. Alternatively, warm it in a skillet over medium heat for 2–3 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, combine the warm corn with the blended cottage cheese, avocado, lime juice, jalapeño, cilantro, remaining chili powder, and salt. Mix well and adjust to taste.
- Assemble the bowls with sweet potatoes as the base, followed by the seasoned meat, then a generous scoop of the street corn mixture.
- Add any additional toppings like pickled onions or cotija cheese and serve.
Notes
- Save time/prep ahead:
- Prep components ahead - Mix the seasoning, roast sweet potatoes, and cook the meat in advance for easy assembly. You can also blend the cottage cheese ahead of time.
- Make the corn topping fresh - For best texture, mix the street corn just before serving.
- Batch for the week - Store in separate airtight containers for quick grab-and-go meals.
- Use shortcuts - Pre-diced sweet potatoes or frozen corn make this even faster.
- These street corn bowls are gluten free. For dairy-free, simply omit the cottage cheese or replace it with a dairy-free alternative. These can also be vegetarian street corn bowls with the use of beans instead of ground meat.
- The recipe can be found on My Fitness Pal by searching "BWB Street Corn Bowls." The nutrition content provided for each recipe is an estimate created through the My Fitness Pal database. Please be aware that the nutritional content of each recipe may vary based on the products you use, the precision of your measurements, and the source you use to obtain nutrition data. While we try to provide accurate information, we give no guarantee regarding the accuracy of the nutritional information provided.
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