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).
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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!
Is this also a good recipe to freeze and reheat for lunches?
Yes, this one freezes very well. :)
I made this early in the week to serve as my lunches all week and I am already starting to feel sad that I only have 2 days worth of lunches left. This is definitely going in to my dinner rotation.
I doubled the recipe and then added 1 more sweet potato because I love it so much. I also used a mild-ish red salsa because that is what I had on hand. I will probably try to figure out a way to use brown rice because that’s what we usually use — I’ll report back if I find a method that works.
I’m trying to be conscious of my portions, how much do you consider a “serving” to be?
For this one it was probably about a heaping cup full.
Okay so I’ve been a die-hard fan of you since the beginning of time (lies) but I never commented. I just sat and prowled with a full stomach. But do you think soy chorizo/bell peppers/vegetable broth would all be good additions/replacements?
Yes, I think that would work well! :)
I made this with soy chorizo, brown rice, and vegetable broth this week. It was delicious. Definitely going on my “favorite lazy recipes” list.
Made this with mild Italian sausage instead of chorizo, and it was wonderful! The chorizo + salsa would have been a little too spicy for this Midwestern Norwegian-Irish gal, so I’m glad it worked with a milder sausage. We will be enjoying the leftovers for the next few days, too!
Also, I recently discovered your site, and this is the third recipe I’ve made this week. Everything has turned out great. Thanks for all you do!
This was so delicious! Thanks for the awesome recipe. :-)
Can this recipe use chicken instead of chorizo?
You can, but you will be missing some of the flavor. Chorizo has a lot of spices and flavor in it that transfers to the rest of the dish. Here is a very similar recipe that I made using chicken: Southwest Chicken Skillet
How about using ground turkey(with homemade taco seasoning) ? Do you think that would sound good?
Yes, I think that would work really well! :)
I made this on Sat and used brown rice which I think was a mistake because after the 30min, the rice was still hard so in the end it turned out quite dry and bland. It looks delicious in the picture, mine just didn’t turn out that way, sad face!
Yep, unfortunately you can never just directly substitute brown rice for white rice. Brown rice requires more liquid and a longer cooking time. :(
I’m glad you tried it out already, but sad it didn’t turn out! We love brown rice so much we almost never have white rice.
My husband hates beans and sweet potatoes. My son hates black beans. Yet somehow, my whole family (and neighbor) LOVED this recipe! Yay! I’m cooking it for the third time tonight. This recipe is delicious and makes my kitchen smell wonderful. And only one pot to wash, double yay!
I would prefer to use brown rice, but I know I’d need to adjust. Do you have any insight or should I google tips?
Well, you’ll probably need more liquid (maybe 25% more?) and it will definitely take longer to cook… maybe 45 minutes? I can give guestimates, but without testing it and tweaking it, it’s hard to say exactly. :)
You could always use ten minute brown rice. :)
This is delicious!
Texas tip: Make this for dinner. In the morning, throw some in a pan with scrambled eggs and enjoy by itself or as a taco.
Eating this right now; it’s amazing!!!
I give this 5 stars but my husband would give it 6 if possible. He was super bummed I didn’t double the recipe. I let him eat most of the leftovers and he has asked me when I can make it again. Two big thumbs up!
Made this tonight. Delish!
I substituted rice for quinoa, and still added the poblano pepper (like in the enchilada recipe, my absolute favorite) and it was to die for! If you like these flavors, you must try the sweet potato and chorizo enchiladas.
Did you change up the liquid proportions at all when you subbed quinoa for the rice? I love the version with the rice, but have wanted to try with quinoa.