Sweet Potato Black Bean Skillet

$7.44 recipe / $1.86 serving
by Marsha McDougal
4.36 from 14 votes
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Quick and easy one-skillet meals are always my favorite and this Sweet Potato Black Bean skillet is no exception. It’s nutritious, veggie-packed, perfect for cleaning out the fridge or pantry, and of course it’s budget-friendly! It’s also great for meal prep. So grab some avocados, sour cream or greek yogurt, and your favorite salsa and get ready to enjoy this simple and delicious 25-minute meal!

Overhead view of sweet potatoes and black bean skillet with napkin and wooden spoon on the side.

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Ingredients For Sweet Potato Black Bean Skillet

I was definitely going for more Southwest-inspired flavors for this recipe! So here’s everything that you’ll need:

  • Sweet Potatoes: Sweet potatoes are super nutritious and just so happen to be one of my favorite foods. You’ll only need about 2 medium sized sweet potatoes for this recipe.
  • Black Beans: Black beans are packed with fiber and protein and are great paired with sweet potatoes. They also add lots of color and texture to the dish. 
  • Bell Pepper and Onion: I love the combination of peppers and onions in savory recipes. They both add wonderful flavor and aromatics.
  • Diced Tomatoes: I used petite diced tomatoes to roughly match the size of the rest of the chopped veggies in this recipe. Fire-roasted tomatoes would also taste great!
  • Kale: A couple handfuls of chopped kale adds color, texture, and extra vegetables to the dish. You can also substitute with baby spinach instead if that’s what you have in your fridge.
  • Spices: I used a mix of chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika and garlic powder to create a bold Southwest-inspired flavor base for this skillet meal.

Recipe Tips!

  1. Try to dice the sweet potatoes and vegetables in a uniform size so they cook quickly and evenly in the skillet.
  2. Don’t worry about the sweet potatoes cooking all the way through in the first step. They will continue to cook with the rest of the ingredients. The goal is for them to not be too mushy and still have some bite to them when they’re done.
  3. Feel free to mix and match the ingredients based on what you have in your pantry or fridge. Fire-roasted tomatoes would be great and I always have an extra half bag of spinach in my fridge.

Topping & Serving Suggestions

I topped this easy skillet dish with some fresh cilantro and served it with some brown rice. But there are so many other tasty options to choose from. Here are just a few suggestions:

Storing Leftovers

This recipe is perfect if you want to meal prep your lunch for a few days and it stores really well in the fridge. Just store the leftovers, minus any toppings, in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If you are serving it with some rice you can add the rice to the same container (see my picture below in the step-by-step photos). When you’re ready to enjoy, reheat in the microwave until warmed through. Then just top with your favorite toppings and lunch is served!

Overhead view of sweet potatoes and black bean skillet with brown rice on a white plate.
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Sweet Potato Black Bean Skillet

4.36 from 14 votes
This Sweet Potato Black Bean skillet is a fun, budget-friendly, and veggie packed meal with lots of flavor and is perfect for meal prep!
Overhead view of sweet potatoes and black bean skillet with napkin and wooden spoon on the side.
Servings 4 (1.75 cups each)
Prep 10 minutes
Cook 14 minutes
Total 24 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lbs. sweet potatoes (about 2 medium) ($1.64)
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced ($1.50)
  • 1 small yellow onion, diced ($0.42)
  • 1.5 Tbsp olive oil ($0.18)
  • 1 tsp chili powder ($0.10)
  • 1/2 tsp cumin ($0.05)
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
  • 3/4 tsp salt ($0.05)
  • 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
  • 1/4 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
  • 1 15 oz. can black beans, drained ($1.25)
  • 1 14 oz. can petite diced tomatoes ($1.47)
  • 2 cups chopped kale ($0.56)
  • 1 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro ($0.10)
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Instructions 

  • Wash, peel, and dice the sweet potatoes. Dice the red bell pepper and the onion.
  • Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the diced sweet potatoes and cook for 8 minutes. Stir occasionally but not too often so the sweet potatoes have a chance to brown and caramelize. Don’t worry if the sweet potatoes are not fork tender during this time as they will continue to cook in the next step.
  • Now add the diced bell pepper, onion, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, and smoked paprika to the skillet. Stir together with the sweet potatoes. Cook for an additional 3 minutes.
  • Add the black beans, diced tomatoes, and chopped kale to the skillet. Gently stir together and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Feel free to add 1-2 Tbsp of water if the skillet is getting too dry.
  • Now all that's left to do is top with some fresh chopped cilantro and enjoy!

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Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 220kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 4gFat: 6gSodium: 548mgFiber: 7g
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How to Make Sweet Potato Black Bean Skillet – Step by Step Photos

Sweet potatoes cut into cubes on a cutting board.

Wash, peel, and dice 1.5 lb. of sweet potatoes (about 2 medium). Also dice 1 red bell pepper and 1 yellow onion.

Chopped sweet potatoes added to a large skillet.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1.5 Tbsp olive oil. Add the diced sweet potatoes and cook for 8 minutes.

Cooked sweet potatoes in a skillet.

Stir occasionally but not too often so the sweet potatoes have a chance to brown and caramelize. Don’t worry if the sweet potatoes are not fork tender during this time as they will continue to cook in the next step.

Onion and bell pepper added to sweet potatoes in a skillet.

Now add the red bell pepper and diced onion to the skillet.

Spices added to sweet potatoes and veggies in a skillet.

Then add 1 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper, and 1/4 tsp smoked paprika to the skillet. Stir together with the sweet potatoes. Cook for an additional 3 minutes.

Kale, black beans, and tomatoes added to sweet potatoes in a skillet.

Add 1-15oz. can black beans (drained), 1-14oz. can petite diced tomatoes, and 2 cups chopped kale to the skillet. Stir together and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Feel free to add 1-2 Tbsp of water if the skillet is getting too dry.

Overhead view of cooked sweet potato and black bean skillet.

Now all that’s left to do is top with some fresh chopped cilantro (optional) and enjoy. That’s it! A quick, simple and filling meal! ;)

Sweet Potato and Black beans with rice in meal prep containers.

Btw, this dish is absolutely perfect for meal prep! Here I decided to add the leftovers to meal prep containers with some cooked brown rice. So easy and sooo good!

Overhead view of sweet potatoes and black bean skillet with napkin and wooden spoon on the side.
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  1. This was great. I used fresh spinach because that is what I had. I also added some frozen corn into it. I had fire roasted chiles in my freezer from the farmer’s market last summer so I diced and added one. Served over white rice. I would make this again.

  2. Really lovely and tasty dish, great yield and great flavor!! Really hearty too, and has that sort of comfort-food quality.

    I accidentally got white sweet potatoes instead of the usual orange ones. They took longer to cook than the sort listed in the recipe, but still tasted fantastic!! So if that’s what you’ve got on hand, they do require some extra time to cook– Step one was the same, maybe with a bit extra time to get the caramelization you’re after (judge by color/crust forming). Added the onions/peppers only, let those sit for about 10 minutes as well (until the onions started getting translucent), and THEN stirred in spices and aromatics and the caned tomatoes and covered still on the medium heat!! That way none of the spices could really singe, and everything had a chance to meld together a little bit in the tomato juices while softening the potatoes. Let that sit on a strong simmer for about 12 minutes until fork-tender. Then add the beans and kale same as the rest of step 4 so they don’t break down too much while giving the potatoes the extra time they need to soften up.

    Hope that helps if you wound up with some firmer potatoes as well :D Thank you for the wonderful recipe!!

    1. Im sure you could finesse it in a way that works in the oven, but we haven’t tried it! I think for the most part, if you can, it’ll work better on the stove.

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