This sweet potato black bean rice skillet is seriously one of the easiest meals I’ve made in a while. I love to cook and find myself easily attracted to dishes that are complicated, but this one is not, which makes it perfect for weeknights or meal prepping for busy weeks.
Why is this recipe so easy? There are only 2 ingredients that need to be cut up, sweet potato and onion. They are also the first two things in the skillet so all your prep work is done by the time you start sauteing. From there you just mix all the ingredients together and let it heat through.
While the sweet potatoes are sauteing, I measure out the rest of the ingredients into a bowl and open the canned ingredients. I like to buy block cheddar, so that needs shredded too, but pre-shredded will do just fine as well.
This recipe does call for pre-cooked rice. I like to cook brown rice in big batches then freeze the leftovers. The rice thaws easily in the microwave and saves a ton of time for recipes like this one. If you buy your pre-cooked rice look for it in the freezer section. It doesn’t have all the preservatives found in the cooked rice off the shelf.
Simple Swaps for the Sweet Potato Black Bean and Rice Skillet recipe:
- Salsa: Both red and green salsa work in this recipe. Use what you have.
- To replace the sweet potato try carrot, beet, butternut squash (frozen cubed could work), or frozen corn.
- Replace the canned green chilies with diced green bell pepper or diced Anaheim pepper.
- Replace the brown rice with quinoa to keep it whole grain, or white rice for a sweeter version.
- 1 large sweet potato, cubed to ½ inch (about 2 cups)
- ½ a medium onion, diced
- 1 TBS olive oil
- 1 tsp each: chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika and garlic powder
- ½ tsp each: salt, pepper and oregano
- 4 oz canned green chilies
- ½ cup salsa or salsa verde (I used red in the pictures)
- 2 cups cooked brown rice
- 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
- ¾ cup shredded cheddar (about 3 oz)
- Saute sweet potato and onion in olive oil over medium heat until tender, about 15 minutes.
- Mix in all remaining ingredients except the cheddar. Stir until well combined and let warm through, about 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, sprinkle with cheese, cover and let the cheese melt, about 5 minutes.
