This Chili Lime Sweet Potato and Chicken Skillet recipe is a healthy one pan dinner recipe with delicious Southwestern flavor. Serve with a dollop of yogurt and a squeeze of lime!
When it comes to easy dinners, one pan meals are where it's at! Not only do they cook quickly and efficiently, but the clean up is so easy as well.
Our favorite one pan meals include this Enchilada Sweet Potato Skillet, this Winter One Pan Chicken and Veggies, and today's chili lime sweet potato and chicken skillet. This reader-favorite recipe packs in so much flavor for so little effort and is perfect for loading up with your favorite toppings!
Reasons you'll โก this chicken skillet
- it's gluten-free and dairy-free
- it is a complete one-pan meal
- perfect for meal prepping - although I do not recommend freezing!
Recipe video
Wondering how this skillet comes together? This one-minute video will show you how easy it is to prepare! You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel.
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Ingredients
- Chicken - boneless, skinless breasts work best, but chicken thighs will also work if you prefer that cut.
- Veggies - sweet potatoes, red and yellow bell peppers, and red onion, plus lime zest
- Canned - use canned black beans or make your own perfect black beans at home
- Stock - use store-bought chicken stock or make a batch ofย homemade bone broth
- Spices - chili powder, ground cumin, salt and pepper
- Olive oil - or any neutral oil
- Toppings - shredded cheese, cilantro leaves, lime wedges, Greek yogurt or sour cream, avocado [See tips for properly cutting an avocado, and not your hand!], and tortilla chips
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Meal prep tips
Here are some tips to make prep go smoothly:
- sweet potatoes- make sure you cut them small- ยฝ to ยพ inch cubes
- prep ahead- while you can chop the chicken, bell peppers & onion ahead and measure out the spices, it's best to chop the sweet potatoes fresh so they don't harden
- leftovers- you can also use this recipe for meal prep by cooking ahead and reheating through the week.
- storage- store in the fridge for up to 4 days.ย I do not recommend freezing.
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Recipe FAQ
Definitely! Omit the chicken and substitute vegetable broth for the chicken stock. You can double the recipe's black beans or try adding a can of chickpeas to add extra protein, if you like.
For another tasty vegan one pan dish, try this Vegan Moroccan Chickpea Skillet.
You can easily make this paleo by omitting black beans.
Serve
This recipe is alllll about the toppings! Here are some of our faves:
- sour cream (or Greek yogurt)
- shredded cheese
- cilantro leaves
- avocado or guacamole
- salsa or hot sauce
- tortilla chips for scooping
More skillet recipes
- Healthy Chicken Skillet with Cajun Potatoes and Veggies
- 19 Healthy Skillet Dinners
- Easy Balsamic Chicken Skillet with Tomatoes & Tarragon
- One Pan Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Apples
- One Pan Tuscan Chicken Pasta
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Chili Lime Sweet Potato and Chicken Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (roughly 2 large chicken breasts; cut into 1-inch cubes)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 4 cups sweet potato cubes (cut into 1-cm (ยฝ inch) cubes; approximately 1 large or 2 smaller sweet potatoes)
- 2 bell peppers (cut into ยฝ inch pieces)
- 1 red onion (1 small onion or ยฝ large onion; diced)
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ยผ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon lime zest
- 1 can black beans drained (540mL/18 oz)
To serve
- shredded cheddar cheese
- cilantro leaves
- lime wedges
- greek yogurt or sour cream
- avocado
- tortilla chips
Instructions
- In a large skillet or pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the chicken, and cook until no longer pink in the middle (roughly 8-10 minutes).
- Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a clean plate.
- Add the sweet potato, bell peppers, red onion, chili powder, cumin, salt, chicken stock and lime zest.
- Cover and bring to a simmer. Simmer (covered) for 15-20 minutes, stirring 2-3 times, until sweet potatoes are soft and cooked through. If the pan becomes dry, add more chicken stock.
- Add the black beans and cooked chicken breast, and cook 2 or so minutes until heated through.
- Serve with suggested toppings.
Storage
- Leftovers may be stored in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 4 days.
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Tips:
Video
Nutrition Information
© Sweet Peas & Saffron - Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
original photo from the 2015 post!
Meri Schroeder says
This was a good skillet meal - always a fan of skillet/one dish meals. I read through the comments that it was a little bland, so I tried to up the flavor by adding s&p and about 1/2 tsp of garlic powder to the chicken. My other additions were about 10 cherry tomatoes cut in 1/2, and some leftover corn. I added about 1/2 tsp more salt than what the recipe calls for. I didn't have limes, so used lemon zest instead. I do feel like it could still use a little something, but overall a good dish.
Donna Gelfand says
I use ground chicken and it is awesome!
Andrea says
Easy recipe, but I think the 2 tbsp of chili powder was a bit too flavorful and overpowering for our family. Iโd probably switch it out for less and add some other spices or I saw someone mention adding taco seasoning instead which sounds amazing too. It just needed a little bit more of a savory taste. Otherwise, the main ingredients were perfect together especially topped with avacado.
Donna Albright says
Made this tonight on a sheet pan in the oven because I was too lazy to watch it on the stovetop. Same ingredients minus the chicken broth. Put the chicken and veggies on the sheet pan, mixed in the olive oil and spices. 425ยฐ for 20 minutes then added the beans for 8 more minutes. Sprinkled lime zest, juice and cilantro when it came out and we had shredded cheddar and sour cream on top with tortilla chips on the side. Soooo good. Definitely in the โmake againโ catagory!
Kim says
It has a great flavor! Whole family loved it!
Alison says
this was really good! my neighbor and her generally picky son enjoyed it, too! I took the liberty of adding a touch more salt (for my taste) and a little garlic powder. thank you for posting such a delicious recipe! I will be making this again.
Lindsey says
Very flavorful! My family really liked it.
Denise Bustard says
Hi Lindsey! That's so great to hear! Thanks so much for coming back to leave a review ๐
Bryant Pierpont says
Phenomenal recipe. I doubled the cumin but followed the rest pretty carefully. My only advice? Make extra.
Ben | Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Haha, thanks Bryant. Great tip!
Nikki says
I made this for my sister and I. It was delicious! I think the only thing I'd tweak next time is to use taco seasoning in place of the chili powder. We topped it with cheese, sour cream, avacado and lime juice.
Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Nikki, really glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing your modifications and feedback! ๐
Jeff Plodzien says
Was very good
Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Jeff, so glad you enjoyed this chicken skillet! Thanks for taking the time to leave a rating and review ๐
Rachel G says
This was really good! Like Rachel S, I was worried I wouldn't like it - I like sweet potatoes as a side, so I think it was the savory part that had me concerned. But it was great!
I want to note that I used a chili paste instead of chili powder, and cooked chicken leftover from another meal.
Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Rachel, that's fantastic! We're so glad to hear that you enjoyed, and hopefully found a new favourite recipe to add to your rotation. Thanks for sharing your variations!
Rachel S says
I will admit I was a bit nervous when this was cooking that I wouldn't like it. But it was so tasty. I did have to tweak it a bit for my personal tastes and what I had on hand, but the core of your recipe is what made it. I had bought two whole chickens to make for a couple recipes, but ya gotta cook it to use it.๐ So I used chunks of leftover Chuck roast. I also used one bell pepper (because I don't like them) and an extra sweet potato. and lastly, I cooked the cilantro in it because I don't like it fresh.
Thanks for sharing a great versitile recipe! My 18m old loved it. I loved it!
Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Rachel, it's the best when a recipe pleasantly surprises you! We are so glad to hear that you (and you 18 month old) both enjoyed! Thank you so much for sharing your variations, and for coming back to leave a rating and review!
Lisa Trotter says
Made this tonight for date night with husband. It was delicious! We added a bit more heat by adding a dash of cayenne pepper! Perfect!!
Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Lisa, we're so glad to hear that you enjoyed this chili lime sweet potato chicken recipe! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and leave a rating and review. Cheers!
Pepe Samson says
I tried your recipe and super loved it! Added some cayenne for more spice. :p
Denise Bustard says
So happy to hear you enjoyed, Pepe! Thanks so much for taking time out of your day to come back and leave a review <3
JennyQ says
I am new to meal prepping. This recipe was a hit! I looked forward to it everyday! Thank you.
Denise Bustard says
Hi JennyQ! So happy to hear you loved the recipe. Thank you so much for reporting back!
Kim says
I love spicy food, so I added one chopped chipotle pepper into the pot and it is a winner. Easy and Deelish. Kim
Denise Bustard says
Nice!! So happy to hear you enjoyed, and thanks for the tip to spice it up, Kim!
Nate says
We just made this and it is ridiculously spicy. We put 2 tablespoons of chili powder as it said and it is honestly inedible. Me and my wife both enjoy spicy food too and this is beyond spicy. Not sure if we somehow messed up but I donโt see anyone else mentioning how spicy it was, so it seems like we did somehow? We followed the recipe step for step...
Denise Bustard says
Hi Nate! I'm so sorry to hear you found it too spicy. Is it possible that you used pure powdered chilis rather than a chili powder blend (which is paprika based)? It sounds to me like that could be what happened. In North America, we use something like this: https://www.spendwithpennies.com/homemade-chili-powder/ and it's not spicy.
Stephanie says
This was a bit more time-consuming than expected, but I did make a double batch because I was using over 2 lbs of bone-in chicken thighs. But I had time to prepare the veggies while they were frying and it all turned out to be a delicious, interesting dish in the end. I didn't use beans, but I did top it off with fresh cilantro, sour cream and a strong squirt of lime all over.
Thank you for sharing this!
Denise Bustard says
Hi Stephanie! So happy to hear you enjoyed the flavors. Thanks so much for reporting back with feedback ๐