The Unique Canned Food Combo You Should Be Adding To Taco Night

Despite the stigma of canned food, with a little effort, you can make a truly delicious meal with various canned food combinations. While rice and beans are the typical go-to for taco night, try switching it up with some canned sweet potatoes and beans instead. It might seem like an unusual combination, but the sweetness of the potatoes combined with the nuttiness of the beans creates a perfect pairing that can be incorporated in multiple ways as a side dish or a topping for your tacos. 

Before you head to the grocery store for canned sweet potatoes, it's helpful to know that the canned yams you see on the shelves are not yams at all — they're sweet potatoes. If you look closer at the label of a can of yams, you'll see the additional "sweet potatoes" label. 

You have plenty of options when choosing the canned beans for your tasty combo. Black beans are a staple in Mexican dishes and have an earthy, umami flavor that balances the sweetness of the potatoes. Kidney beans are another great choice for your canned combo. They have a mild, somewhat sweeter flavor than black beans and a firm texture.

As a bonus, canned sweet potatoes contain a significant amount of vitamins C and A, and canned beans are a good source of fiber and potassium. Also, using the canned versions will save you time in the kitchen, making it super easy to whip up a flavorful meal for taco night. 

Both canned sweet potatoes and canned beans are pre-cooked for your convenience — you can just heat them up and enjoy them as you choose. However, there are a few steps you can take to boost the flavor of this food combination. 

Canned sweet potatoes are often packed in a sugary syrup. While this is beneficial for making dishes like candied yams, it's not necessarily the flavor you want to pair with canned beans. Before heating or cooking them, drain and rinse them to remove some of the sugary sweetness from the syrup, creating a better balance for your sweet and savory food combination. 

Since canned beans are also cooked, you avoid the lengthy soaking process of dried beans. But just as with canned sweet potatoes, it's a good idea to drain and rinse canned beans since they contain a significant amount of sodium that can affect the flavor of your dish. 

For ultimate flavor, heat canned sweet potatoes and beans on the stovetop or roast them in the oven with some oil to crisp them up nicely. If you don't mind them a bit softer, you can heat them in the microwave and toss them together with olive oil and seasonings. 

If you're looking for a scrumptious side to pair with your tacos, canned beans and sweet potatoes make a colorful hash. Sautée them on the stove or bake them in the oven, mix them together, and add some herbs and seasonings to boost the flavor. Adding fresh herbs is a great way to liven up the taste of canned food. Try mixing some cilantro in with your sweet potato and bean hash — there's a good chance you already have some prepared as a garnish for your tacos, and it'll add a fresh, citrusy flavor to your side dish. 

In addition to a yummy side, sweet potatoes and beans can be loaded onto your taco for a tasty topper. The combination will add a touch of sweetness and earthiness to your ground beef that your guests will love. Mix it right in with the beef as it cooks on the stove, or make a hash and add it on top like a sweet salsa. You can also make vegan or vegetarian tacos by leaving out the meat and loading them with the tasty canned food combo.

Another way to incorporate them into your taco night is to make yummy vegetarian beet and sweet potato taquitos. Crispy and packed with a world of flavor, this dish incorporates beets with sweet potatoes and beans, as well as seasonings such as chili powder, salt, garlic powder, cumin, and smoked paprika.