Ground Beef Sweet Potato Bowl with Hot Honey and Cottage Cheese

These viral ground beef sweet potato bowls with hot honey and cottage cheese are so good.

If you’re looking for a balanced protein forward lunch or dinner, these sweet potato ground beef bowls are the answer. Seasoned ground beef, sweet potatoes, cottage cheese come together under a generous drizzle of hot honey.

Viral bowls aren’t new but it usually takes something that really taps into our deep social psyche for it to stay viral the way this one has. These bowls are all over TikTok because they’re photogenic, hearty, budget-friendly, quick, easy, and customizable.

What is the viral ground beef sweet potato bowl?

I first saw the viral hot honey beef bowl on TikTok. There are so many. I couldn’t figure out who made it first, but pretty much everyone who’s been making it is saying it’s the best high-protein meal they’ve tried in a long time.

Essentially, it’s a bowl filled with roasted sweet potatoes, taco-seasoned ground beef, avocado, and cottage cheese, all drizzled with sweet and spicy hot honey. I’ve seen people adding herbs and leafy greens, but basically, the core bowl is sweet potatoes, beef, cottage cheese, avocado, and hot honey. People love them because of the balance of fats, fiber, and protein.

How to make a hot honey sweet potato beef bowl

1. Roast the sweet potatoes – peel and cube the sweet potatoes, toss them in a bit of neutral oil and season generously with salt and pepper. If you’re a cinnamon fan, give them a light dusting then roast the sweet potatoes until crisp and brown on the outside and creamy and sweet on the inside. I love using the air fryer for this, but an oven (see below), toaster oven, or simply frying in a pan will work too.
2. Cook the ground beef – cook the ground beef in a skillet, breaking it up in to a crumble. Season with taco seasoning and a touch of tomato paste. You can make your own homemade taco seasoning (see this easy recipe here) or just buy a packet from the store. Personally, I like making it at home because you can customize it and control the salt content.
3. Prep the avocado – Cut a ripe avocado into cubes or slices.
4. Build the bowl – Grab a bowl and lay down a bed of crispy sweet potatoes. Add some of the seasoned ground beef, a generous scoop of cottage cheese (give the cottage cheese a sprinkle of salt and a generous amount of freshly cracked black pepper), and the avocado. Drizzle generously with hot honey and dig in.

Oven method

To bake the sweet potatoes in the oven:

1. Heat the oven to 425°F.
2. Add the sweet potatoes to a parchment paper lined baking sheet in a single layer.
3. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are golden on the edges and soft and cooked through.

Cottage cheese sweet potato beef bowl ingredients

• sweet potatoes – crispy roasted sweet potatoes dusted with salt, pepper, and a touch of cinnamon. Adds fiber and fullness to your bowl.
• lean ground beef – lean ground beef is what’s going to make up the bulk of the protein. It’s seasoned with taco seasoning with a touch of tomato paste for richness and flavor. If you’re not into beef, you can definitely substitute in ground chicken, turkey, pork, or crumbled firm tofu.
• cottage cheese – I feel like the cottage cheese is the star of the show! It gives everything a creamy cheesy bite and ties everything together.
• avocado – the avocado adds a beautiful creamy bite, healthy fat, and yes, even more fiber.
• hot honey – a generous drizzle of hot honey makes this bowl just the right amount of sweet and spicy.

Hot honey

Spicy, sweet hot honey is everywhere. Hmm, thinking about it, you could interpret hot honey in two ways, temperature or spice. In this case, we’re talking spice. Hot honey is spicy, sweet, and the contrasting flavors make everything somehow taste better. The main brand of hot honey out there is Mike’s Hot Honey, which we have and I like.

How to make hot honey

You can buy hot honey from the grocery store, online, or make your own at home. All you need is honey, crushed red pepper flakes, and apple cider vinegar.

Hot honey recipe

1. Add 1 cup of honey to a small sauce pan, along with 1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes and 1 tsp apple cider vinegar.
2. Gently heat the hot honey mix for 2-3 minutes while stirring until it bubbles gently and you start smelling the pepper flakes heating up.
3. Once the honey bubbles and reduces a bit, remove from the heat and let infuse for 5-10 minutes.
4. Strain out the pepper flakes once the honey is infused to your liking. Let the hot honey cool and use as desired. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Cottage cheese

For the uninitiated, cottage cheese is a soft, and mild fresh cheese that comes in different curd sizes. Personally, I love Good Culture cottage cheese, which has small, soft curds that are incredibly creamy and flavorful. I love it so much that I eat it plain as a snack. It’s perfect in this bowl.

I feel like people are sleeping on cottage cheese. It’s one of my favorites – creamy and full of protein and nutrients. It’s a great choice for people looking to get a lot of protein in their diets. I feel like if you’ve tried cottage cheese and don’t like it, it just means that you haven’t tried the right cottage cheese.

There are three main differentiators when it comes to cottage cheese:

Curd size

Curd size is pretty self-explanatory. Small curds are tight and finely textured. When you look at it from far away, the small curds give the impression of a blended cheese. Large curds on the other hand, are very distinct in shape. They’re more like little nuggets of cheese in creamy whey.

Fat content

There are typically three choices when it comes to fat in cottage cheese, ranging from fat free (0%) to full fat (4%). Right in the middle is low fat (1-2%). Personally, I like regular/full fat cottage cheese for the creaminess. As the fat content goes down, the calories lower but so does the creamy , rich flavor.

Live culture vs acid

Commercial cottage cheese is made two ways, either with acid or live cultures. Live culture cottage cheese is probiotic and better for gut health, while also being more flavorful. The live cultures give cottage cheese a deeper, more complex creamy taste with virtually no sourness.

My all time favorite brand of cottage cheese is Good Culture cottage cheese (again, not sponcon, I just want to share the love). It’s a small-curd cottage cheese that’s super creamy and has live bacteria cultures.

Sweet potato cube size

When cutting your sweet potatoes into cubes, the ideal size is about 1 x 1 inch. The sweet potatoes will shrink a little in size as they’re cooking, so you don’t want to dice them. A 1×1 inch cube is ideal for forking, spooning, and has an excellent crispy outside to creamy inside ratio.

In case you have avocado choice-paralysis

Avocados are one of those fruits that is mysteriously difficult to pick. The pro move is to look for an avocado that’s mostly dark green (not yet black) that’s heavy and firm in your hand. When you gently cup it, it should be slightly resistant. Don’t get avocados that are missing the stem. The little nub is also a great indicator of ripeness. If it falls off with just a small touch, the avocado is either just ripe or over-ripe. It’s best to buy just before ripe avocados and ripen them yourself at home. It takes about 1-2 days for just before ripe avocados to ripen perfectly on the counter top.

How to meal prep ground beef sweet potato bowls

To meal prep sweet potato ground beef bowls, just prepare the roasted sweet potatoes and seasoned ground beef, then add your cold toppings on the day of. If you want to meal prep them for work or ultimate meal prep vibes:

1. Divide the sweet potatoes evenly into 4 airtight meal prep containers. Evenly divide the seasoned ground beef to the containers. Let cool slightly, no more than 2 hours at room temp, before covering tightly and placing in the fridge.
2. Gather 4 smaller airtight containers and scoop 1/2 cup of cottage cheese into each container. Season with salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Store in the fridge.
3. Divide the hot honey into meal prep sauce containers.
4. If you must, prep the avocado the night before for only two bowls. Cube the avocado, toss in a generous amount of lime juice and put 1/2 an avocado into each container. Repeat when you need the other avocado.
5. To enjoy: reheat the sweet potatoes and ground beef for 1-2 minutes depending on microwave strength. Top with the prepped cottage cheese, avocado, and hot honey. Enjoy.

Substitutions

This is a super customizable bowl and you can easily tailor it to your tastes. Instead of:

• ground beef -> try ground turkey or chicken.
• cottage cheese -> Greek yogurt is a great high protein replacement.
• sweet potatoes -> try butternut squash or even carrots.
• hot honey -> drizzle on regular honey and add your favorite hot sauce or chili crisp.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make sweet potatoes in the oven?

Yes, sweet potatoes are great roasted in the oven. Depending on what size you cut your potatoes, they will take about 25-30 minutes in a 425°F oven.

Can I meal prep ground beef sweet potato bowls?

These hot honey sweet potato beef bowls meal prep very nicely. Just remember to keep the cottage cheese, avocado, and hot honey separate so you can warm up the sweet potatoes and seasoned ground beef on their own.

Can I freeze sweet potato ground beef bowls?

You can freeze the cooked sweet potatoes and the seasoned ground beef but not the avocado or cottage cheese. It’s best to separate the roasted sweet potatoes and beef when freezing.

Can I use ground turkey/chicken?

Absolutely, ground turkey or chicken work well in this bowl. Unlike ground beef, even regular ground turkey or ground chicken will work.

What kind of cottage cheese is best?

Feel free to use your favorite cottage cheese. My criteria for cottage cheese is small curd, probiotic, full fat cottage cheese.

Do I need cinnamon?

Nope, if you don’t like cinnamon or you don’t have any at home, you can skip it. The cinnamon is just a spice layer that give the sweet potatoes a cozy fall warmth, it’s a nice to have but not essential.

How long will hot honey sweet potato beef bowls keep for in the fridge?

Cooked sweet potatoes and seasoned ground beef will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days and in the freezer for up to 1 month. If frozen, let thaw in the fridge overnight before warming up and eating. Freezing the cottage cheese and avocado is not recommended.

That’s it! I loved these bowls and Mike did too. They’re just a simple, throw it together kind of meal that will keep you full and fuel you for any sort of adventure you might be going on (for us, that’s skiing, the season is coming up so fast!).

Happy protein bowling,
xoxo
Steph

Ground Beef Sweet Potato Bowl with Hot Honey and Cottage Cheese

Viral ground beef sweet potato bowl with crispy sweet potatoes, taco-seasoned beef, cottage cheese, avocado, and hot honey

Serves 4

4.80 from 55 votes

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

• 2 medium sweet potatoes peeled and cubed
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon optional
• 1 lb ground beef lean preferred
• 2 tbsp taco seasoning
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 cups cottage cheese
• 2 avocados cubed or sliced
• 4 tbsp hot honey or to taste

• Toss the sweet potato cubes in the oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the cinnamon, if using. Air fryer method: In a single layer, at 400°F for 10-15 minutes, or until golden and cooked through, shaking halfway.Oven method: Heat the oven to 425°F. When hot, add the sweet potatoes to a parchment paper lined baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are golden on the edges and soft and cooked through.

• While the sweet potatoes are cooking, cook the ground beef in a large skillet over medium high heat. Break up the ground beef and stir in the tomato paste. Sprinkle on the taco seasoning. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and cooked through. Set aside.

• When the sweet potatoes are crisp and cooked through, assemble the bowls: divide the sweet potatoes and ground beef evenly between four bowls. Top each bowl with cottage cheese and avocados. Drizzle generously with hot honey and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

Ground Beef Sweet Potato Bowl with Hot Honey and Cottage Cheese

Amount Per Serving

Calories 520
Calories from Fat 241

% Daily Value*

Fat 26.8g41%

Saturated Fat 7.2g45%

Cholesterol 64mg21%

Sodium 837mg36%

Potassium 750mg21%

Carbohydrates 43.1g14%

Fiber 6.4g27%

Sugar 18.4g20%

Protein 29.8g60%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.