Southwestern Sweet Potato Skillet
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Southwestern sweet potato and ground beef skillet is loaded with fresh veggies and topped with cheese and avocado. A healthy, easy, and delicious dinner that your whole family will love. Ready in 30 minutes!
This post first appeared over at Eazy Peazy Meals: https://www.eazypeazymealz.com/southwestern-sweet-potato-and-ground-beef-skillet/ where I’m a contributor.
I have been majorly into the skillet dinner trend, it’s the perfect way to get a healthy dinner on the table in no time flat, with super easy cleanup. This southwestern sweet potato skillet is sure to please your entire family and is ready to rock and roll in 30 minutes.
We have a running joke in my house, what takes me 30 minutes to make would take Jordan a solid 4+ hours. My boy is SLOOOOOOOW in the kitchen. Sometimes that’s awesome, like when he spent 3 hours perfecting a bacon leek gratin the other night (OMG, it was amazing!). I, on the other hand, am the queen of grabbing all the fresh ingredients that we have in the fridge and transforming them into a quick and healthy dinner. Quickly. Did I say quickly?
Sweet potatoes, ground beef, bell peppers, garlic, onion and southwestern spices all perfectly sautéed together in one skillet. Topped with cheddar cheese, creamy avocado, and freshly diced tomato, this skillet dinner serves 6, but I wouldn’t have a hard time knocking out the entire thing in one sitting. Just kidding, that would be crazy, I would save some for lunch the next day 🙂
Southwestern Skillet Tips
- The sweet potatoes are steamed in the skillet to reduce cook time
- A fun and super casual way to serve this southwestern sweet potato skillet is with organic tortilla chips. Dip right into the sweet potato, cheese, and avocado goodness.
- You could easily add, take out, or replace any of the vegetables in this skillet dinner. I’ve made it with zucchini and yellow squash, or Brussels sprouts would be delicious too!
- This is the perfect example of my “mostly plants” food philosophy. Yes, this dish has ground beef but only 1 lb. and it serves 6, with a ton of plant-based (read: veggies) goodness to boot
- For a vegetarian version, you could easily swap black beans for the ground beef
If you don’t own a cast iron skillet, I must ask… why not??? Get your tush in gear and grab yourself one. I use Lodge Cast Iron and am madly in love! But you can also check garage sales (or yard sales, or tag sales, whatever you call them) for some well-loved pans that need a little rehab. Sometimes the older they are the better!
Once you secure yourself that beloved cast iron skillet you can make:
One Pan Roast Chicken and Cauliflower
Ratatouille Shakshuka with Kale and Feta
Ground Beef and Zucchini Skillet Supper
and if you love sweet potatoes as much as me? Try this sweet potato noodle salad with lime and jalapeño dressing!
Check out my grass-fed ground beef recipes roundup for more tastiness!
Southwestern Sweet Potato Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 2.5 cups sweet potato, skin on – diced (approx 2 medium sweet potato)
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup onion, diced (1 medium)
- 1 cup red bell pepper, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 6 ounces baby spinach
- 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded eliminate for paleo version
- 1 cup fresh tomato, diced
- 1 avocado, sliced
Instructions
- Brown ground beef in a large cast iron skillet. Add 1 Tbs chili powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, and 1/4 tsp salt. Stir well to coat the beef with all of the spices. Cook for 5-7 minutes, or until well browned.
- Remove beef from the skillet and reserve. Wipe out pan, remove all residual fat.
- Add sweet potato to skillet with 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook for 5 minutes until the sweet potato is tender and the water absorbed.
- Remove cover and add onion, bell pepper and garlic to the skillet and all remaining spices. Pour in additional 1/4 cup of water and stir well. Cook until onion is tender 5-7 more minutes. If mixture begins to stick add additional water 1/4 cup at a time and cook until completely evaporated. Add beef back to the skillet and stir well. Add spinach to the skillet, cover for 2-3 minutes or until spinach has wilted.
- Remove skillet from heat and top with shredded cheese, freshly diced tomato, and diced avocado.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Eliminate cheese for a Paleo version
- I use a lean ground beef for this recipe at least 90%.
- You could easily swap black beans for the ground beef for a vegetarian version
Nutrition
Meet Abra Pappa, MS, CNS, LDN
Abra is a licensed nutritionist, seasoned home cook, and forever flavor-chaser. She’s spent more than two decades exploring the connection between food and health—and just as long obsessing over what makes something truly delicious. Abra’s Kitchen is where those two loves meet, with recipes that celebrate vegetables, follow the seasons, and make you excited to cook.
Great tasty meal!
Yuuuuuuup. Making this one. Delish!
Hope you love it Lilly 🙂