Southwestern Chicken and Sweet Potato Skillet

Southwestern Chicken and Sweet Potato Skillet is a flavorful one-dish dinner the entire family will love! Both nutritious and delicious, this high protein and high fiber meal comes together in less than 30 minutes.

Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free

Back to school season means lots of 1-dish dinners, like skillet meals and sheet pan meals, and this Southwestern Chicken and Sweet Potato Skillet does not disappoint!

When I’m at a loss of what to make for dinner I usually rely on Southwestern- or Mexican-inspired dishes. First, they’re flavorful. Second, my entire family will eat some component of the dish (hubs and I eat everything, my daughter loves beans and my son will at least eat cheese). And third, there are so many variations you can make – salads, nachos, fajitas, tacos, and of course, skillet meals.

This skillet meal is great because everything cooks in one dish. That means minimal clean up and that’s a win in this mama’s book!

This Southwestern Chicken and Sweet Potato Skillet is…

• Hella flavorful
• Easy to make
• A one dish meal
• Made with weekly grocery staples (at least in our house!)
• Great for leftovers

I’ve seen a lot of skillet dinners floating around Instagram and I knew it was time to make one. I had a ton of sweet potatoes at the time, so I had to include them. And that’s how this super flavorful easy weeknight dinner was born.

Ingredients to Make this Southwestern Chicken and Sweet Potato Skillet

The ingredient list definitely looks longer on this recipe than most of my recipes, but this is a fully balanced, complete, one-dish meal!

And I’d guess that if you cook regularly that you have a lot of the ingredients in your pantry, since a lot are pantry staple spices, especially.

You’ll need:

1. Chicken – see below for a vegetarian version
2. Spices, including smoked paprika, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and black pepper
3. Sweet potatoes
4. Onion
5. Bell pepper
6. Garlic
7. Chicken or vegetable stock
8. Fire roasted diced tomatoes (canned)
9. Black beans (canned is fine!)
10. Corn (fresh, frozen or canned)
11. Optional toppings: shredded cheese and/or cilantro

See? Not so bad! When you really look at every ingredient

Vegetarian Version of a Southwestern Sweet Potato Skillet

If you don’t eat chicken (or don’t have it), you can always make this a vegetarian southwestern skillet. Instead of cooking the chicken, skip straight to the sweet potatoes and add an extra can of black beans. Add cheese on top too!

How to Make Southwestern Chicken and Sweet Potato Skillet

This recipe is super flavorful with layers of flavor, but the best part is that it’s all made in one dish. Personally, I love to use my cast iron skillet for a recipe like this because it’s big, sturdy, and nothing cooks chicken better, in my opinion. The key is to wait until the skillet gets hot! I use this Lodge cast iron skillet, which is so affordable.

First, you’ll cook the chicken. You can add all of the spices individually or use a taco seasoning blend, if you’d like.

When the chicken is almost done cooking, transfer the chicken onto a plate.

Next, add some more oil and add the sweet potatoes, onions, and bell peppers. To ensure the sweet potatoes cook all the way through, be sure to chop them into small cubes (like 1/8-inch cubes). Once you brown the sweet potatoes, add the chicken stock to help the sweet potatoes cook more.

Once the chicken stock is fully absorbed and the sweet potatoes are soft to fork, add back in the chicken with the diced tomatoes, beans and corn, just until warmed through.

Sprinkle cheese on top and garnish with cilantro, if desired.

Other One-Pan Meals to Try

• Sheet Pan Chicken Sausage Fajitas
• Sheet Pan BBQ Tofu and Veggies
• Sheet Pan Turkey Meatloaf

Is this Southwestern Skillet a Balanced Meal?

YES! Even though it does contain multiple types of carbohydrates, more than the 1/4 of your plate I typically recommend, I do still consider this a balanced meal. Here are some tips:

1. Make sure to get enough chicken when you’re serving yourself. Typically I suggest starting with a 3-4oz portion to aim for a minimum of 20 grams of protein per meal.
2. Amp up the veggies. While this skillet dinner contains a lot of veggies – onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, you can always add more! I like to serve it over some crunchy greens.
3. Yes, there are 3 types of carbohydrates (beans, corn and sweet potatoes), they’re all high fiber carbohydrates too.

Kitchen Tools You’ll Need to Make this Southwestern Chicken and Sweet Potato Skillet

• Cast iron skillet
• Spatula

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XO