Doughy on the inside, crispy on the outside, these AIP Sweet Potato Buns are light, fluffy, and so easy to fill with meat or veggies! The perfect hand pie for your allergen-free diet.
Table of Contents
The story behind these AIP Sweet Potato Buns
I’d been posting pictures on Instagram of beautiful empanadas, made of sweet potato dough. The first time I made them they were perfect, so I knew I’d have to practice again. Second time, too potato-y. Third time was darn good. Fourth time, I was all confident, I doubled the recipe. Naturally, I mucked it up. For the life of me that potato would just stick to the parchment paper and I could not roll out the dough. With a large bowl of floured mash in front of me, a skillet full of ground beef next to me… I decided to simplify my life: I would make papas rellenas.
Paleo Papas Rellenas
Papa rellena, which translates to stuffed potato, is a Cuban staple at any coffee stand or party. These little carb bombs are made using mashed potato dusted in flour & deep-fried, filled with traditional picadillo (onions, olives, raisins, tomato etc). Obviously all that wasn’t going to jive with me, luckily the “failed” dough worked better than expected!
Handy Foods
My failed sweet potato empanada dough turned into AIP Papa Rella success. I rolled up 8- 2 inch sized balls, made wells in them, spooned in some delicious ground beef. Closed them, rolled them in olive oil, set them in the oven & crossed my fingers The result… an AIP Stuffed Sweet Potato Bun! A super bread-like crispy outside, golden little balls. I was in love. Lighter than their traditional counterparts, not as greasy, yet crispy and portable, these stuffed sweet potato buns scream picnic food, party food & freeze me batch cook food! Sayonara empanadas, we have new meat-stuffed, sweet potato, paleo pastry in town! *you can fill these with anything, pulled chicken, greens & cauliflower cream or pulled pork!
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely you can use whatever you like.
Tiger nut flour or green banana flour should work just fine in place of coconut flour.
They can, but you will need a lot more flour as orange sweet potato isn’t as starch as white or purple sweet potato. Just go by texture.
The dough will work without it, but gelatin adds a nice chewiness to it.
Yes! They freeze well. Wrap up tight and freeze. Toast up and enjoy again a month or two later.
Cook with Confidence: Process Shots
Start by making the filling. Cook down the onions, carrots, garlic until tender then add-in the ground beef and seasonings. Mix and crumble until well browned.
Once the ground beef is nice and browned, add in the coconut aminos and lemon juice and cook down until the liquid has mostly evaporated. Set the filling aside and make the buns.
It’s worth it to peel and boil the white sweet potato, batata earlier on. Once it’s cooled mash it up in a bowl and add in the flours and seasonings.
Mix well, fold in the vinegar and drizzle in the olive oil. Then mix until you’ve got a nice smooth dough.
Roll the dough into 8 even sized balls. Use your thumb to make a well in the balls and shape them like a little cup in one hand.
Fill your potato ball with beef filling and pinch it shut. Then smooth it out. Dip it in oil so it’s nicely oiled on the outside.
Repeat this with all of the dough and place the stuffed buns on a sheet pan. Bake until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let them cool. Dig in and enjoy!
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AIP Sweet Potato Buns
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 40
- Total Time: 70
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: sides and snacks
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: Cuban
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Delicious sweet potato buns stuffed with seasoned ground beef and onions. A delicious Cuban-inspired AIP dish!
Ingredients
For the filling
- 1 small onion, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 carrot, minced
- 1/2 pound grass-fed beef
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
- juice of 1 lemon
For the bun
- 2 large batata or Japanese sweet potato, about 1 1/2 pounds, peeled & boiled (do this ahead of time)
- 2/3 cup coconut flour
- 2/3 cup arrowroot starch
- 2 tsp grass feed beef gelatin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp AIP baking powder
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup avocado or olive oil + more for coating
Instructions
Prepare the Beef
- In a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add in the minced onion, garlic, and carrots. Cook for 3-5 minutes until tender.
- Add in beef, break up with the spatula, add in salt and spices. Stir constantly until browned & crumbly.
- Add in coconut aminos and lemon juice. Lower the heat and simmer for a few minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Turn off heat, set it aside to cool.
Make the Buns
- Pre-heat oven to 400F. Bring a pot of water to boil.
- Peel and dice the batata (white or purple sweet potato), add them to the boiling water, cover, and boil until very tender. Then drain the pot and let the potatoes cool.
- Place cooled potato in a bowl and mash with a whisk until smooth. Add in the flours, gelatin, baking powder, garlic, and salt. Mix until well combined
- Fold in the vinegar. Then drizzle in the oil, slowly, while you mix the dough until well combined. If it doesn’t seem to be coming together with the spatula, try mixing it with your hands, you’re going to get them dirty in the next step anyway!
- Shape 8 2-inch balls, like if you were making meatballs. One by one, pick up a potato ball, using your thumb make a well in the middle with one hand while cradling it in the other hand.
- Spoon in 1 to 2 tablespoons of beef mixture. Then using your free hand, pinch together the potato dough to close. Now roll the dough between both hands to make it a ball again. Gently dip it in the extra oil and roll it again to evenly coat it.
- Place it on the sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Bake at 400F for 30-35 minutes until just golden. You don’t want to toast them because toasted sweet potato has an overpowering bitter taste!
- Just like traditional papa rellena, these Stuffed Sweet Potato Buns are HEAVY! Great on-the-go meal.
Recipe Notes:
- The filling on this recipe originally had radishes, sliced onion, turmeric, cinnamon, garlic, and coconut aminos. I changed it for 2 reasons. It made too much meat for the bun recipe and secondly, it wasn’t authentic to Cuban papas rellenas. This one is a little closer and also delicious while being simpler.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bun
- Calories: 265.6
- Fat: 13.4g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 28.6g
- Fiber: 5.6g
- Protein: 7.8g
Cheryl Lundgren says
I can’t wait to give these a try! They look amazing! And the directions are spectacular.
Cristina Curp, FNTP says
Thank you!
Amy says
These are great! I’m going to make them for the second time but want to use a blend of ground chicken and turkey, thinking of adding shredded zucchini, carrot, onion, garlic and for spices add cinnamon, thyme, ginger and rosemary. I’ll let you know how it goes, and I’d love if you have any suggestions for how you’d spice up the poultry which can be a little bland sometimes
Cristina Curp, FNTP says
That sounds amazing!!! I like doing garlic, onion, sage, thyme, turmeric and lemon peel on chicken, with a splash of balsamic for sweet or fish sauce for savory
Emmie says
these are good! i was wondering if you knew how much sugar was in these? they’re pretty sweet. super delicious!
Cristina Curp, FNTP says
There are no added sugars, the sweetness comes from the sweet potato, whatever the natural sugar count is, it’s calculated under the total carbs.
Twila says
Absolutely fabulous! Followed directions only used smoked salt in dough and sprinkled a little coarse smoked salt on top. Freezing to take camping… if they make it too the freezer that is!
Cristina Curp, FNTP says
Love that! Thank you!
Amy says
Made a batch of these for grab & go food for the week. Tasty! Already imaging making them with shredded pork or chicken. Have you ever tried making the dough with a stand mixer? I think I might try giving the kitchen aid a go next time.
Cristina Curp, FNTP says
I haven’t but it might make it easier
Cheryl Caplan says
The 2nd time I made these buns, I followed the recipe exactly and they turned out just like the photos and absolutely tasty! The 1st time I made these, I started boiling the 1.5 pounds of sweet potato before making a doubled batch of filling because I had 1 pound of ground beef and who wants to just have a half pound hanging around? Then, I went on to make the rest of the bun recipe but still with doubling on my mind. As I was pouring 2/3 cup of oil into the mashed sweet potato mixture, I realized my mistake. The end result was gloppy and in no way resembled a bun but the flavors were so delicious. Thanks for the recipe!!
Juli McDonald says
Can I bake the potatoes?
Cristina Curp, FNTP says
I recommend boiling them, baking changes the texture of the potato and makes them sweeter and much harder
Molly e says
These turned out so good! A little chewy on the outside and soft on the inside like a ‘real’ bun! These will be on our regular rotation.
Cristina Curp, FNTP says
Thanks Molly! So glad you enjoyed them!
Teresita says
Can I use regular sweet potatoes??
Cristina Curp, FNTP says
Yes, read the FAQ’s section 🙂
Holly says
If you have been able to reintroduce eggs could you sub for the gelatin?
Cristina Curp, FNTP says
I think you’re better off just leaving it out 🙂 The dough will hold.
Kirsten says
so excited to try these!! What do you recommend for reheating these? Or are they only good first day?
Cristina Curp, FNTP says
They store, freeze and reheat well. I like reheating them in the oven. Baking them at 300F until warm inside. The toaster oven works great.
Anne says
Looks like I need to trek to Wegman’s, they have “white sweet potato” available.
Cristina Curp, FNTP says
Yes, they have it with the tropical produce 🙂
Anne says
I’ve never been able to find these potatoes at the store, do they go by different names? Do I have to go to a specialty store for them?
Cristina Curp, FNTP says
It can also be called BATATA, I know that’s what Melissa’s produce labels it. Most Latin markets will have it. But I usually get it at Wegman’s or Whole Foods. Red skin, white flesh.
Holli says
Did this recipe used to have radish and/or cabbage in it?
Cristina Curp, FNTP says
Yes, I had radishes instead of carrots, I tweaked the recipe a bit, it’s getting new pictures too! I wanted to make it a little more like a traditional papa rellena. I also changed it so there wouldn’t be a ton of extra ground beef left over. But you can make it with the radishes if you want 🙂
Holli says
Hahaha I literally thought I was losing my mind. I’ve made these like five times. My husband just loves them and I’m doing a 4 pound batch of meat. Could you happen to tell me what the spice blend used to be. I tho got there was turmeric in there which we love. I can’t remember. Now the filling just calls for garlic powder twice and oregano?
Cristina Curp, FNTP says
Oh no! It was 1 pound ground beef, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp ginger 🙂 Sorry, yes, now it’s oregano, onion, carrot, garlic, again, a more traditional picadillo, it will be very tasty too! Promise 🙂
Holli says
Oh thank you so much! I just looooove turmeric and ginger. I made it this way this time we’ll see how the husband likes it.
Tina says
These are amazing! And they are soft and yummy the next day! A rare feat for AIP! I am excited to have something that will travel well. Thank you!
Lori Steinhoff says
Love these! I triple the dough and end up even with the meat. I have also just made the dough and baked them as “3 inch flat circles” for buns. My husband loves the “flatbread buns” toasted. I have to make these every week. He said he doesn’t need other bread anymore.
Cristina says
awesome!