I’ve actually made this Smoky Chicken and Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potato Meal Prep three times in the last month and a half (and I’m still not sick of it), so it’s about time I posted this wonderfully simple combo. Each component in this meal prep isn’t even a real “recipe” on its own, so I’m posting the directions for everything together in one recipe below. It’s simple food. Simply seasoned, simply cooked, simply good. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times—good food doesn’t have to be complicated.
For more information about meal prepping, how it works, and why I do it, check out Meal Prep 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Prepping and Portioning Meals, or check out my entire Budget-Friendly Meal Prep Archive.
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Options
Because this combo is so simple, it’s also quite flexible. If you don’t like green beans, broccoli is an excellent substitute. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are a good option when chicken breasts are too pricey. You can even use this spice rub on salmon, if that’s in your budget! If you don’t have a well stocked spice cabinet, a store-bought BBQ dry rub can be used in place of the spices listed to season the chicken. Want to take things a little further? Try a small drizzle of BBQ sauce over that chicken or add a simple slice of cornbread to round things out. And you can cook the chicken on a grill, or even on a countertop grill, like a George Foreman, if you prefer.
As Always…
Cooking times can vary quite a bit depending on your equipment, size of the food, and alignment of the planets (just kidding about that last part), so I’ve included visual cues to help you know when your food is finished. Keep an eye on your food as it cooks, poke at it a bit to test the texture, listen to the sound it makes, take note of the changing aromas, and with a lot of practice this part will become intuitive. For more tips, check out my 10 Tips for Recipe Success.
Smoky Chicken and Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potato Meal Prep
Servings 4Ingredients
Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- 2 sweet potatoes (about 3/4 lb. each) ($1.49)
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon ($0.05)
- pinch cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- pinch salt ($0.02)
Smoky Chicken
- 1 tsp smoked paprika ($0.10)
- 1 tsp brown sugar ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- freshly ground pepper ($0.02)
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2/3 lb. each) ($6.42)
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
Green Beans
- 1 lb. green beans ($0.99)
- 1 Tbsp butter ($0.12)
- pinch salt and pepper ($0.04)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Wash the sweet potatoes, pat them dry, and prick their skins a few times with a fork. Slice the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise, then place them on a baking sheet. Drizzle the cooking oil over the potatoes, then use your hands to smear the oil over their entire surface (skin and cut sides), leaving a liberal amount of oil on the baking sheet under the potatoes to keep them from sticking.
- Place the sweet potatoes with the cut side up, then sprinkle with cinnamon, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and a pinch of salt. Flip the sweet potatoes over so they are cut side down, then roast for 45-50 minutes, or until they are soft all the way through and the juices are caramelized and bubbling out of the holes in the skin.
- While the sweet potatoes are roasting, prepare the chicken and green beans. Combine the spices for the chicken in a small bowl (smoked paprika, brown sugar, garlic powder, cayenne, salt, and freshly ground pepper-about 20 cranks of a pepper mill).
- Pat the chicken dry, then sprinkle the spice rub over both sides. Heat a large skillet over medium, then add the cooking oil and swirl to coat the surface. Add the chicken and cook until they are deeply browned on each side and the internal temp has reached 165ºF. Remove the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest.
- While the chicken is cooking, prepare the green beans. Add about one inch water to a sauce pot and place a steaming basket in the pot. Add the green beans to the basket, place a lid on top, and place them over medium-high heat. Allow the water to come up to a boil and steam the green beans for 7-10 minutes, or until they are bright green and only slightly softened.
- Remove the green beans from the pot, pour out the water, and place the beans back in the pot without the steaming basket. Add 1 Tbsp butter and allow the residual heat from the beans to melt the butter. Stir to coat, then season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Slice the chicken breasts into strips. Divide the sweet potato halves, green beans, and chicken between four containers or plates. Serve immediately or refrigerate and reheat later.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Pyrex Glass Meal Prep
- Color Cutting Boards
- Baking Sheet
- Tongs
Nutrition
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Step by Step Photos
Preheat your oven to 400ºF. Wash and pat dry two sweet potatoes (mine are about 3/4 lb. each), then prick the skins several times with a fork. Slice the sweet potatoes in half length-wise and place them on a baking sheet. Drizzle 1 Tbsp cooking oil over the potatoes, then use your hands to smear the oil over their entire surface. Make sure some of the oil is smeared on the baking sheet too, to prevent the sweet potatoes from sticking. Sprinkle about 1/2 tsp cinnamon, a pinch of cayenne, and a pinch of salt over the cut surfaces of the sweet potatoes, then flip them over so they are cut side down.
Roast the sweet potatoes for 45-50 minutes, or until they are soft all the way through and the juices are caramelized and bubbling up out of the holes in the skin. You can use foil on the baking sheet for easy clean up, if you like, but I find that a quick 5 minute soak dissolves all the caramelized sugars.
While the sweet potatoes are roasting for 45-50 minutes, you can work on the chicken and green beans…
Prepare the rub for the chicken by stirring together 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp brown sugar, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/4 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper (about 20 cranks of a pepper mill).
Sprinkle the seasoning over both sides of two chicken breasts (mine were about 2/3 lb. each).
Heat a large skillet over medium, then once hot add 1 Tbsp cooking oil and swirl to coat the surface. Add the seasoned chicken and cook on both sides until deep brown and the internal temperature has reached 165ºF. I highly suggest getting an instant read thermometer to take the guesswork out of cooking meat. There’s nothing worse than cutting into your chicken to find the inside still a bit raw. Once cooked, transfer the chicken to a cutting board to rest for a few minutes.
While the chicken is cooking, you can quickly prepare the green beans. Place one inch of water in a sauce pot, add a steamer basket, then add one pound of green beans (you can snap them in half first, if you prefer). Place a lid on the pot, then place the pot over medium-high heat. Allow the beans to steam for 7-10 minutes, or until they are bright green and still slightly crunchy. It’s best to slightly under cook these if you plan on reheating your meals later.
Once the green beans are steamed, remove the basket from the pot, pour the water out, then return the beans to the pot without the basket. Add 1 Tbsp butter and allow the residual heat from the beans to melt the butter. Stir to coat, then season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Finally, slice up the chicken breasts. The sweet potatoes should be done roasting at about this time as well, so now it’s time to pack up your meals.
Divide the sweet potato halves, green beans, and chicken between four containers. Eat immediately, or refrigerate and reheat later.
Do you take the skin off the potatoes
We leave the skin on!
I don’t have a steaming basket
You could just saute the green beans or steam them in the microwave! Just place them in a microwave-safe bowl with a couple tbsp water, cover the bowl with plate or plastic wrap and microwave for 4 to 6 minutes, until green beans are just tender. Carefully remove plate, drain any remaining liquid, and add the tablespoon of butter to the bowl. Toss to coat and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
Tastes amazing, added pumpkin and roasted it just like the sweet potato, also good with a fried egg or two.
So simple and flavorful
I peeled and diced the sweet potato to save a bit of time as I was starting this meal later than anticipated, but it was still delicious. I’ve been trying to find a good set of spices to use on sweet potatoes outside of the yearly sugarfest that is sweet potato casserole at thanksgiving. This had just enough sweetness and a nice bit of spice to be flavorful and delicious – even after we were full we still went and picked another piece of sweet potato off the baking pan, it was just so good. The chicken was great too – I’ve never used brown sugar with chicken in any capacity.
Really good! The seasonings were a perfect amount and the green beans very buttery. The sweet potato was so good! Sweet and savory
This meal prep was good. I really enjoyed the cinnamon flavors. The sweet potato was the best part of the meal! When I make this again I’ll use chicken thighs and maybe add an extra serving of veggies.
So amazing. The cinnamon on the sweet potatoes is so good. Will definitely be making again. If you’re in Europe, I recommend using more than 2 chicken breast – or two large ones.
Am I the only person to notice the ring in the green beans? It’s right there in the center of the first green beans picture, and then it’s on the side under some green beans in the last pic.
Haha! I had to go look to see what you were talking about… That’s actually part of the steaming basket. It has that little loop attached to a post in the center to give you something to hold onto when you lift the basket out of the pot or lower it into the pot. The sides of the basket are not rigid, so you can’t hold the basket on the sides. :)
How long will the food stay in the fridge?
I can depend on a lot of factors, including the conditions inside of your refrigerator and the freshness of your ingredients, but I usually keep my meal preps for about four days.
I just did it for the next week’s lunches and today’s dinner. It was sooo good! I put a bit more brown sugar in the chicken’s seasoning. Thank you for the recipe :) I will do it again.
How can I make this freezer friendly?
Hi Angie- Portion and let the components cool completely. Cover the surface with a sheet of parchment or plastic wrap. Then freeze.
Delicious! I made it a one pan dish by baking sweet potatoes for 25 minutes, adding chicken on opposite side at pan and continue baking for 15 minutes, then added oiled and salted shishito peppers for the last 10 minutes. Great flavors!
How should i cook the chicken if I prefer to do it in the oven?
Hi, Liz! You can cook the chicken in the oven but it will probably look and taste different than if the chicken is prepared in a pan. Since we haven’t tested this recipe with this cooking method, I don’t want to make any specific suggestions that might not give you a successful result. I would suggest referencing one of our baked chicken breast recipes for guidance (https://www.budgetbytes.com/garlic-herb-baked-chicken-breast/) and adjusting the seasonings to match this meal prep recipe. ~Marion :)
Can this be frozen?
Yes.