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!
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