This Mexican Chicken Quinoa Sweet Potato Skillet is a scrumptious, fulfilling, and easy-to-make meal that will be on your dinner table in under 30 minutes. Juicy chicken thighs, crispy bacon, and tender sweet potato cubes are cooked in spices, salsa, and green chilies and all this goodness is topped with melty cheddar cheese.
I love this one-pot meal which is an excellent fridge-cleaning recipe. Customize it with plenty of different leftover vegetables, grains, and a combination of Mexican spices.
Use what you have on hand but don’t skip the salsa or green chilies. They make the whole dish come together in the most delicious way with ton of flavor.
One-pan meals are our go-to dinners lately, these are easy to make, kids love them, and topped with melty cheese makes a beautiful appealing presentation.
From our Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls to One Pot Chicken Mixed With Vegetables, easy to make, cheap and dinner ready in minutes.
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Ingredients
My few comments on the ingredients + don't forget to read the Tips section!
The full recipe and ingredients can be found in the recipe card below this post.
- Chicken thighs - dark chicken meat is irreplaceable when it comes to the most juiciest cooked chicken. Spices like cumin and oregano give the chicken flavor of a traditional Mexican-style meal that combined with sweet potatoes is one great winner-winner chicken dinner. Chicken breasts or even a quick-fix-dinner-solution rotisserie chicken can be used as an alternative but these will not be as juicy.
- Cheddar - sharp red cheddar or any other good old melty cheese like gouda, pepper jack, Monterey jack, or even mozzarella. Salty melty cheese is something you can’t skip in this dish. The more the merrier, but you'll need at least ½ cup.
- Salsa - I used mild salsa as we already have spicy elements like green chilies and chipotle powder.
- Ground chipotle - or cayenne, or chili powder.
- Sweet potatoes - I like the sweet flavor here but feel free to use butternut squash, sweet pumpkin, or even regular starchy potatoes here. These go in parboiled or lightly steamed. Be careful not to overcook the sweet potatoes before adding them to the skillet.
- Want an even more fulfilling dinner? Add a small can of black beans or red kidney beans. However the more ingredients you add here the more servings you’ll have. This dish is for 2 - 3 main course servings.
- Quinoa - I used regular white quinoa (cooked). Quinoa cooks up very fast and you can meal prep it 1-2 days in advance. Same with bacon and parboiled sweet potatoes.
Instructions
In a small bowl mix together half of the spices, salt, black pepper, and diced chicken thighs.
Brown the chicken in a medium or large skillet over medium-high heat.
Lower the heat and add in garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
Add sweet potatoes, bell peppers, the remaining spices, quinoa, salsa, bacon, and chilies. Stir to combine and cook for another 5 minutes until warmed through.
Top with cheese and close the lid. Once chees is melted, remove the skillet from heat. Serve with a drizzle of squeezed lime juice and freshly chopped cilantro.
Tips
- If you don’t have the spices listed in this recipe, a premixed store bought taco, burrito, or fajita seasoning can help you with achieving a great flavor.
- Salt and black pepper - you might not need those at all as you have salty bacon and salsa in the mix. Start with a little seasoning of chicken in the beginning and taste test in the middle of cooking and add more if needed.
Fresh lime juice drizzled over the final dish helps to offset the spiciness and balances all the flavors. Plus it also helps with the digestion of all those different ingredients mixed in this one pot skillet dinner.
- More veggies to consider adding - the best part of this dish is that you can add other veggies like portobello mushrooms, asparagus, zucchini (largely chopped to avoid these becoming mushy), green beans, or broccoli.
- You can also use an oven-proof skillet or dutch oven skillet and make your meal prep easier. Brown the chicken on the stovetop first and then add all the rest ingredients. Transfer to oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, top with plenty of cheese and return to oven. Bake until the cheese is melted.
Serving Suggestions
This dish is a wholesome meal on its own. To keep the Mexican theme, these chicken quinoa bowls can be served on their own or with a small side salad or fresh salsa such as Pico De Gallo.
I'd also serve this with easy cabbage dill salad, Mexican Slaw or Mediterranean cucumber salad.
Freezing And Storing Instructions
Store any cooled leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
To freeze, the same steps for 2-3 months.
To reheat, thaw first if frozen and reheat in a pot over the stovetop. You may need to add some extra water or chicken broth to thin it out. I don’t recommend reheating this in the microwave as the potatoes and veggies will or may become too soggy.
More Easy Dinners
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I hope you'll enjoy this one pot chicken quinoa recipe, please leave a rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo of your food and tag me on Instagram @theyummy_bowl. I love seeing your creations!
Thank you for reading,
Love,
Julia
One Pot Chicken Quinoa Sweet Potato Skillet
INGREDIENTS
- ½ pound boneless skinless chicken thighs I used 2 chicken thighs
- ½ cup cooked quinoa
- 1 ½ cups sweet potato diced and parboiled
- 1 tablespoon green chiles canned or fresh
- 3 tablespoons mild salsa
- ½ cup sharp cheddar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 slices thick bacon cooked and crumbled
- ⅓ cup red bell pepper diced
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon chipotle powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground oregano
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- ½ teaspoon garlic minced
- Lime wedges for serving
- Cilantro for serving
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a small bowl mix together half of the spices, salt, black pepper, and diced chicken thighs.
- Brown the chicken in a medium or large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Lower the heat and add in garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add sweet potatoes, bell peppers, the remaining spices, quinoa, salsa, bacon, and chilies. Stir to combine and cook for another 5 minutes until warmed through.
- Top with cheese and close the lid. Once chees is melted, remove the skillet from heat. Serve with a drizzle of squeezed lime juice and freshly chopped cilantro.
This Mexican Chicken Quinoa Sweet Potato Skillet is a scrumptious, fulfilling, and easy-to-make