I’m loving these one skillet meals not only because they’re so easy to make, but because they’re so easy to eat. Instead of filling my plate with a main dish and a couple of sides, This Chorizo Sweet Potato Skillet has everything I need in one bowl. Carbs, fiber, protein, vegetables, and CHEESE. Ha, just kidding about needing the cheese (not kidding).
Anyway. Since making my Chorizo & Sweet Potato Enchiladas over three years ago, I’ve been in love with the sweet and spicy combo of chorizo and sweet potatoes. Spicy Mexican Chorizo and the subtle sweetness of sweet potatoes go so incredibly well together and I just can’t get enough of it. So, for this skillet meal I paired up the famous flavor duo and cooked them together with rice, black beans, and salsa (the same method used for the Southwest Chicken Skillet). I don’t know if there’s an easier way to pack in so much flavor with so little effort.
And, BONUS, this one freezes super duper well, so it’s a great candidate for stocking your freezer with ready to reheat meals!
Chorizo Sweet Potato Skillet
Servings 6Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.13)
- 1 sweet potato (1 lb.) ($1.50)
- 1/2 lb. Mexican chorizo ($2.75)
- 1 15oz. can black beans ($0.59)
- 1 cup uncooked long grain white rice ($0.33)
- 1 cup salsa (red or green) ($0.46)
- 1.75 cup chicken broth ($0.23)
- 1 cup shredded cheese ($0.90)
- 2-3 green onions, sliced ($0.20)
Instructions
- Peel and dice the sweet potato into 1/2 to 3/4 inch cubes (size matters, make them small). Sauté the sweet potato cubes in a large skillet with olive oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes have softened about half way through (they’ll cook more later).
- Add the chorizo to the skillet (squeeze it out of its casing if it came in links) with the sweet potatoes. Sauté the chorizo and sweet potatoes together, breaking the chorizo up into small pieces as it browns.
- Once the chorizo is fully browned, pour off any excess grease if needed. Rinse and drain the black beans. Add the beans, salsa, and uncooked rice to the skillet. Stir them into the sweet potatoes and chorizo until everything is well combined.
- Add the chicken broth, stir briefly, then place a lid on the skillet. Allow the contents of the skillet to come up to a boil, then turn the heat down to low. Let the skillet simmer on low for 30 minutes. Make sure it is simmering the whole time (you should be able to hear it quietly simmer away). If it is not, turn the heat up slightly.
- After 30 minutes the rice should be tender and have absorbed all of the liquid. Turn off the heat, fluff the mixture, sprinkle the cheese on top, then return the lid to trap the residual heat and help the cheese melt. Slice the green onions while the cheese is melting, then sprinkle them on top and serve.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Chorizo Sweet Potato Skillet – Step by Step Photos
First, peel and cut the sweet potato into 1/2-3/4 inch cubes. The easiest way to do this is to first peel the sweet potato, cut the sweet potato into rounds, then cut the rounds into cubes. If a few of your rounds are about the same size, you can stack them before cutting them crosswise into cubes. Making the cubes too big will prevent them from cooking through completely, so make sure not to go any larger than about 3/4 inch.
Sauté the sweet potato cubes in a large skillet with 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat for about five minutes. You want them to cook about half way through at this point. You’ll notice that they turn a little bit darker and slightly translucent as they begin to soften.
This is the type of chorizo I use. I only used 1/2 lb. for the entire recipe! Johnsonville is a large national brand and is available in most major super markets. It’s basically just pork sausage seasoned with Mexican spices. If buying another brand, make sure to check the ingredients and package well because not all chorizo is created equal (I bought some in a “tube” once and it was VERY fatty and not very pleasant). If your chorizo comes in links, simply squeeze the ground meat out of the casing.
Add the chorizo to the skillet and continue to sauté until the chorizo is fully browned. If your chorizo has let off a lot of grease, you may want to drain it from the skillet at this point (mine did not).
Next add one cup of your favorite salsa, one 15-oz. can of black beans (rinsed and drained), and one cup uncooked long grain white rice. You can use either green or red salsa, they both work great! Now stir these all together with the chorizo and sweet potatoes until everything is evenly mixed.
Lastly, add 1.75 cups of chicken broth to the skillet. Give it a quick stir.
Place the lid on the skillet and allow it to come up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer, with the lid on, for 30 minutes. Make sure you can hear it simmering the whole time. Every range will have its “sweet spot” heat setting where the skillet will be simmering, but not so hot that the bottom scorches. Mine is just slightly above the low setting. Using a thick, heavy skillet will help it to cook thoroughly and evenly, too. (This is what it looks like AFTER simmering.) After 30 minutes, the rice should be tender and all of the liquid absorbed. If it isn’t, cover it back up and let it go for another 5-10 minutes. Like I said, every skillet/range is different. If the heat was set too low, it will take just a bit longer. If it was too high, it may be sticking to the bottom of the skillet.
Once the rice is tender and has absorbed all the liquid, turn off the heat and fluff it up with a fork to mix the ingredients back together.
Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top, then cover it back up with the lid. This will trap the residual heat and melt the cheese.
Slice the green onions while the cheese is melting, then sprinkle them on top.
Boxed skillet meals ain’t got nuthin’ on this Chorizo Sweet Potato Skillet!
Oh man, I already want to make a second batch!
This is so good! I made a few tweaks based on my family’s preferences: I doubled the recipe and used 12 ounces (total) of soy chorizo (from Trader Joe’s) because we have two vegetarians in the household. I also roasted the sweet potatoes in the oven, with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, and folded those in with the cheese and green onions at the end, though after freezing, thawing and microwaving it, I’m not sure that made much of a difference. I made it primarily as a hearty lunch, so froze it down into portions (about 1 1/2 cups is a huge portion).
My wife & I have made this several times…absolutely love it. Can anybody tell me what the serving size is? It only says the entire recipe makes 6 servings but I’d really like to know what that comes to by cup size.
I have been making this frequently for several years now. I love sweet potatoes and black beans, and this is the perfect marriage.
Over the years I’ve made it I have tailored it to our family’s tastes and the availability of ingredients.
I can rarely find chorizo without going out of the way so I started making Minimalist Baker’s tofu chorizo. Instead of cooking it first, I make the tofu chorizo on the side, and I mix up some extra of the dried seasoning blend to toast the rice in. Delicious and a great plant-based option!
Over time I’ve also left off the cheese and instead served the dish with a side of sour cream, as a taste preference.
Overall, love it. Another Budget Bytes staple recipe for me!
SO delicious, my husband was obsessed! So easy to make, and as a sweet potato lover, I loved this! A perfect, hearty winter dinner.
my new obsession- delicious and super easy to make
this recipe was OK, i used fake litelife meat instead of soy chorizo and i found that it was good but after 2 days I didn’t want to eat it anymore
I come back to this every year in the cold months! My skill as a cook has greatly improved through my twenties and I feel more confident changing up recipes, but today as I made this one I didn’t want to change a thing. Quick tip: use a quality salsa (nothing slimy, blegh). Mine is a chunky, locally-made red. Easy, filling, delish.
I love this recipe and I really want to make it tonight, but I only have gold potatoes at home and it’s raining out and I really don’t have it in me to shop. Has anyone ever tried this with regular potatoes?
I really wanted to like this! But it was really bland for us, it was hard to finish. I did have to use green enchilada sauce because the store was out of green salsa – I’m guessing the type of salsa used makes a huge difference, and/or maybe adding taco seasoning or a full pound of chorizo would help.
IMHO, it’s highly unfair of you to provide a low rating for a recipe, if YOU’VE made substitutions to the recipe as written. By doing so, you unjustly lower the overall recipe rating.
Does soyrizo work well?
I haven’t tried that in this recipe, but if you do please let us know how it turns out!
This is SOOOOO tasty! I love it and it’s that kind of comfort food gramma would make! Thank you for sharing! Does it freeze well?
Yes, this one should freeze very well. :)
Anyone make this in the instant pot? Time/suggestions? I think I’m going to try it!
How would this be with ground beef?
The chorizo lends quite a bit of flavor, but as long as you seasoned your beef well, I think it would make a great sub. xoxo -Monti
This is a favourite in our house! We use Spanish chorizo instead of Mexican because that’s all we can get here and just slice it into pieces the same size as the sweet potato. So delicious and so simple!
Probably my favorite recipe on your site!! Love it with green salsa, it’s fantastic! My partner and I like to sprinkle cotija on top, it’s so good :)
I use tomato sauce instead of the salsa and it’s delicious!