Have you been keeping up with things around here? If so, you already know that James and I moved in together last month, and so far it's been a meltdown-free experience so I'm going to label it a success. As I write this, I'm sitting on our nicely made bed with our new sheets, comforter, pillows, and blankets, leaned up against our freshly painted walls, trying desperately to avoid eye contact with the looming mountain of boxes stacked directly across from me, which encompass a solid half of the room. You can only be so productive.
But those boxes are whispering to me in the night. Mooooorgaaan. Unpaaaack uuus! And I'm like, "Guys, do you even know how much stuff I have to do? No." So there they remain, boxes upon boxes of what is mostly kitchen supplies, an eyesore of my procrastination. Still, instead of taking care of them, I'm pretending they don't exist and I'm sticking with simple meals using whatever cookware I can dig up. Most recently, it was my cast iron skillet, and thus Southwestern Chicken and Sweet Potato Skillet was born unto this undeserving world. What kind of miracle fashions such a tasty dish from nothing but pure laziness?
This skillet consists of chicken, sweet potato, bell peppers, tomatoes with green chiles, black beans, a heavy-hand of seasonings, and a generous amount of melted cheese.
While it might sound sinful, it's actually full of vitamins, fiber, and protein, and it's totally diet-friendly for those of you (okay, us) who've set a resolution to get into shape this year.
Isn't it the greatest when a recipe is easy, healthy, relatively inexpensive, and mouth-wateringly delicious? It's like winning the dinner lottery.
Try out the Southwestern Chicken and Sweet Potato Skillet, top it with guac, and take a picture to show off your dinner. Tag #hostthetoast on Instagram or Twitter so I can check it out and take a break from all of the sorting and organizing I've got ahead of me this week. Seriously, please, distract me. It's getting harder and harder to ignore at this point.
But maybe if I make another batch of this for dinner, no one will be able to blame me for not getting to those boxes today...
Yes, that sounds like a plan.
Print
Southwestern Chicken and Sweet Potato Skillet
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon oil, divided
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" pieces
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 10 ounces frozen corn, thawed
- 2 bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
- 4 green onions, sliced, divided
- 1 (10 ounce) can rotel tomatoes with green chiles
- 1 - 1 ½ cups low sodium chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, plus more to top
- 1 ½ cups shredded monterrey jack cheese
- Guacamole, to top, optional
Instructions
- Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken to the skillet cook until browned but not cooked through, about 6-8 minutes. Remove the chicken from heat and set aside.
- Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the skillet. Once hot, add in the sweet potato and brown, about 12-14 minutes.
- Add the garlic, seasonings, corn, bell peppers, and half of the green onions to the skillet. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Add in the tomatoes with green chiles and 1 cup chicken stock. Return the chicken to the skillet and stir well to combine.
- Cook for 5 more minutes. In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and a tablespoon of water to form a slurry. Add the cornstarch to the liquid in the skillet, mix in the black beans and cilantro, and cook until the sauce has thickened and the black beans are warmed. If the mixture is too thick, add up to ½ cup more of chicken stock.
- Set oven to broil. Top the skillet with the shredded cheese and broil until the cheese is melted and just beginning to turn golden in spots.
- Sprinkle the skillet with additional green onion and cilantro. Serve warm and top with guacamole, if desired.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
Jeff says
Is 1.5 cups chicken stock correct? I followed the recipe to a T (outside using cast iron and doing the cheese broil) and it was basically like a soup with all of that stock. I eventually had to drain it out at the end. The dish ended up great, if not a little on the soggy side due to all of the stock.
Morgan says
I'm sorry to hear that! It could vary a bit depending on the size of your sweet potato and how much liquid is absorbed as everything cooks together, so I have updated the recipe to reflect that. However, I just want to check that you did use the cornstarch slurry. Between the absorption, evaporation, and then thickening from the cornstarch, it shouldn't have been so soupy in the end. I'm sorry that that was an issue for you-- hopefully we can figure it out!
Jeff says
No worries! It was still very good (even the leftovers). Just gave me a bit of a panic while I was cooking when I realized something must have been off.
I did use the cornstarch slurry. I think next time I'll use a little more cornstarch slurry and maybe only 3/4 cup stock to see how it turns out.
Brandon says
Discovered this blog yesterday on Reddit. Made this last night for the family. What a freakin hit! It did come out a little on the soupy side, next time I'm slightly decreasing the stock and increasing the slurry, and I'll also let it cool a bit more before serving. The leftovers the next day were a better consistency. Overall I'd still call it a definite success, what a delicious dish!
Ross says
Saw this on Reddit this morning and had to make it tonight. Unfortunately it can be a bit hard at times to get some of the ingredients here (In the back of beyond in Scotland) but I replaced the black beans with black eyed beans and the cheese with a Cheddar/Mozzarella blend....also lack a skillet but placed in an open Casserole instead. Absolutely lovely and will definitely make again. Cheers!
mo Obrien says
Just discovered you. So far results of our meeting have been delicious! Question on this recipe. Husband direly allergic to beans. Any suggestions as to a good substitute?
Kristin says
I also made the slurry and only used 1/2 cup of chicken broth and its still pretty soupy. That's ok looks delicious and we can't wait to eat it!
Christie says
I made this tonight for myself and my husband. I was expecting something good, but this turned out even better than I'd hoped! I'm surprised people found it soupy, I didn't have that issue at all. Maybe I cooked it down longer? No idea. It was truly excellent and I will make it again without hesitation! It tasted fresh, had some kick to it, and was just all around delicious.
Karly says
Now THIS looks awesome! Love that melty cheese and all those flavors- gotta add this to the dinner menu ASAP!
Connie Gordon says
i just discovered your site/blog today. What have I been missing??? I've saved this to Pinterest to fix this weekend. I was just wondering if you would consider creating an option on your site for your followers to have a recipe box for our favorites?
Morgan says
Happy to have you, Connie! I have been looking into implementing a recipe box type of thing-- you just reaffirmed to me that I should definitely make it happen! Thank you for the suggestion and I hope you enjoy the Southwestern Chicken and Sweet Potato Skillet! =)
KarrLa says
I made this tonight for my hubby ( I’m Pescatarian ). Instead of the slurry I had some refried beans in the refrigerator and used about 3 tbs after I put in the stock. I also had a can of fire roasted tomatoes and a can of green chilies instead of rotel. I ate a sweet potato and some sauce to test for seasoning and it was delicious! My husband absolutely loved it!