This easy one-pan dinner recipe is perfect for when you’re short on time, but looking for a dinner idea that’s satisfying. In 35 minutes, it combines ground turkey and cubed sweet potato with black beans, spinach, and salsa, creating a simple but hearty meal. Top with cilantro, sour cream, and avocado, and enjoy!
The beauty of one-skillet dinners…
I love a nice and simple dinner. Oh, you too? Are you looking for easy veggie-loaded suggestions for dinner? I have got you covered!
Easy dinners are my go-to move most nights (try my sweet potato and apple sausage skillet and thank me later!). Ones that are quick to throw together, that keep the dishes to a minimum, and are flavorful enough that everyone gets excited about eating it. Something that can be a real staple recipe. Especially healthy recipes with ground turkey! And this Ground Turkey & Sweet Potato Taco Skillet is exactly all those things!
This easy, flavorful, one-skillet dinner is done and on the table in just 35 minutes (start to finish!), making it the perfect meal for those busy weeknights. The ground turkey is cooked to perfection with sweet potatoes, salsa, black beans, spinach and spices. Then the whole thing is topped with cheese to make a good thing even better…or skip it to keep this healthy dinner dairy-free! It makes 6 hearty servings and is naturally gluten free, so make it for the family or enjoy the leftovers for up to 3 days.
Suggested Adaptations
- Not a sweet potato fan? Use Yukon gold or peeled Russet potatoes instead.
- Up the veggies! Corn, bell peppers, and/or chopped mushrooms would be a wonderful addition to this sweet potato ground turkey skillet.
- Skip the cheese to make this skillet recipe dairy-free.
- Up the heat by using hot salsa or adding diced jalapeño.
- Up the spice if you like more intense flavors!
Do you have leftover spinach after making this veggie-loaded taco skillet? Check out How to Store Spinach (and keep it fresh all week long).
Why is my ground meat so watery?
If you are using a ground turkey that is lower in fat, you will likely see some water released as it cooks. The leaner the meat, the more water you might see. The higher the fat content of the meat, the less.
If you are cooking the turkey over medium-high heat as directed, the water should mostly evaporate. If it does not, drain off the extra liquid prior to adding the remaining ingredients.
Do you need to precook sweet potatoes before frying?
Not in this recipe! There is enough moisture from the salsa and beans to help gently steam the potatoes to tender perfection.
Topping suggestions
The best part of a taco skillet (or the tacos, period) are the toppings you add to jazz it up!
This Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Taco Skillet is wildly delicious all on its own, but here are a few ideas of what you could add on top to add some extra flavor, textures, and color!
- diced avocado
- guacamole
- tortilla chips
- sour cream
- fresh cilantro
- a squirt of lime juice
- extra salsa
- extra cheese
Other veggie-loaded skillet recipes to jazz up dinner
- Sweet Potato Apple Sausage Skillet
- Easy Veggie Fried Rice (vegetarian)
- Healthy Chicken Veggie Teriyaki Stir Fry
- Chicken Piccata Stir-Fry
- Teriyaki Broccoli Chickpea Stir Fry
- One-Skillet Sausage, Cabbage and Potatoes
Loving this sweet potato turkey skillet recipe and hungry for more?
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35 Minute Ground Turkey & Sweet Potato Taco Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium finely diced white onion
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder or to taste
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 2 cups sweet potato cut into ½ inch pieces
- 15 ounces canned black beans drained and rinsed
- 15 ounces chunky salsa I used mild. If you prefer more heat, use medium or hot.
- 2 cups loosely packed baby spinach
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese optional and to taste
Instructions
- Once oil is hot, add onions, salt, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, oregano and tomato paste. Cook until the onions start to turn translucent or approximately 2 minutes.
- Add the ground turkey. Use a wooden spoon to break up the turkey as it cooks. Cook for about 5-7 minutes or until the turkey is mostly browned.
- Add sweet potatoes, black beans and salsa to the skillet. Stir to combine.
- Cover the skillet and cook until the sweet potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally, about 12-14 minutes.
- Once the sweet potatoes are tender, add in spinach and mix until wilted. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Then sprinkle the cheese over the top (if using), and cover skillet until cheese is melted, about 3 minutes.
- Serve hot topped with more cheese, diced avocado, fresh cilantro, a little lime juice, sour cream, or as is.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information is provided as an estimate only and may vary based on the product type, servings and other factors. If you are following a diet, please consult with a professional nutritionist or your doctor. Stay healthy!
Comments
very interesting, good job I read this post your post is so nice and very informative post thanks for sharing this post 🙂
This is delicious! So simple and perfect for leftovers. I plan to double the recipe next time for extra lunches. My husband gives two thumbs up, as well.
I’m so glad it was a hit with the family! The leftovers are so good. And thanks for taking the time to leave a review and star rating!
This is definitely going to be in our regular rotation! Perfect non-soup meal for a cold winter night. I had to make some unexpected modifications (didn’t check the pantry before planning dinner), but if anyone is curious, ground chicken and pinto beans were very tasty in this dish! I’m excited to try it following the recipe next time, but I think the chicken was a good happy accident.
Oh I love the idea of pinto beans in this! Trying that next. And I am so glad you enjoyed it, Catherine!
I made this for the first time this week and it was delicious. I’m always looking for new ways to use sweet potatoes. My love affair with them just began about 4 years ago so I’m making up for all the time I ignored them.😋
I thought this would be interesting to try but I had some issues. There was a TON of excess water and the only change I made was ground chicken over turkey. Not sure how to avoid that… (drained the heck out of the beans after rinsing and salsa was not overly watery). It also took a lot longer to cook than the time suggests. Find it hard to believe others had this prepped and done in 30 min. Maybe I didn’t have the heat up high enough? I also needed more spice, I found the initial flavor kind of bland but that’s just personal preference. Overall I was pretty disappointed in this dish. My dietician directed me to this site for recipes. I hope the next few I’m going to try turn out better.
Hi Justin. Sorry to hear that you didn’t love this skillet recipe. Let’s do some trouble shooting!
The ground meat can really matter when it comes to water. I find that some brands of ground meat (especially low fat or fat free) tend to release more water than others…I find this especially to be true with chicken. Also, some salsa brands are thinner than others, so that matters too. A good note to add. Thank you!
As for it not cooking up in the time directed, I have made this recipe many times and never had that issue. Did you cover the skillet when the potatoes were cooking? I assume that was the portion that took longer and covering them is super important. And the heat not being high enough is also the possible reason.
I take pride in putting out really delicious and successful recipes that help people enjoy their veggies. However, I do understand that not ever recipe will be for everyone and my recipes tend to be geared towards the being family-friendly and are bit milder in spice. My husband often adds some hot sauce to this dish too, as he prefers more heat than my daughter or myself!
Thanks for your insight. I did have the pan covered as directed, I may just not had the heat up high enough or took the covering off a little too often to stir (I was concerned about the chicken being over-done). I took it off the heat and let the skillet sit and some of the water evaporated. I was able to use a pasta spoon to scoop the contents out while leaving behind a good amount of water so that was helpful. I assumed the misgivings were probably on me and not necessarily the recipe itself. And I understand the spices. I find most online recipes skimp to be safe (can always add more but cant take them out once they’re in). I used a pretty healthy amount of red pepper flakes and that did the trick. Thank you. If I decide to give it a second attempt ill try to get fattier ground meat and crank up the temp a bit to see if that helps the water and cook time.
Best,
Justin
Can I add another troubleshooting tip? I find that I can sometimes (often!) cut my veggies to big, so they often need a longer cook time…
Yes! 100% agree! Thanks for mentioning that, April.
I came back to try this recipe again after some technical difficulties during round 1 and my last 2 attempts turned out excellent. Thanks for the tips and troubleshooting advice April and Taesha. I still use chicken over turkey, include red pepper flakes, and cut the potatoes smaller. I used chunkier and spicier salsa and rigorously drained the black beans after rinsing. I set the temp higher than my first go-around and with all those tweaks everything came out great. I could not figure out how to edit my previous rating but I hope this one helps make up for it! Thanks again.
Oh and this is great to put in Tupperware and toss in a cooler for trips if you’re trying to save some money eating out.
I am so glad you didn’t give up on this one, Justin. I’m so glad it was a success this go and I so appreciate you taking the time to leave a new review! I have no doubt others will run into the same issues you did and your last comment will be helpful to them!
Love this recipe! Quick weeknight meal that is full of yumminess!
I am so glad you enjoyed it!
This was delicious f. We loved it! Thank you for your recipe.
I’m so glad you loved it, Marge! Thanks for taking the time to share!
Delicious! Thanks for another great, family friendly recipe. The avocado and lime juice on top really took this yummy recipe to the next level. This one will be part of the regular rotation for sure!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this one, Elise! I agree, little toppings like the lime and avo can make a simple dish taste really special.
Excellent recipe. Savory and sweet all in one dish. I suggest doing all prep work prior to heating your oil. I chopped all veggies first, then started cooking. I added green peppers and diced mushrooms for more veggies. So good! I will make this again.
So glad you enjoyed it, Sue!
Delicious, very versatile. Loved the blend of flavors. Will make again
It was delicious.
So glad you enjoyed it, Linda! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
This was delicious! So flavorful, easy to make. We added some good hot sauce to it and that gave it an extra zing. Definitely will make this one again!
Forgot to add my five star review!
I so appreciate you circling back to do this! It helps me and others!
Yay! So glad to hear that, Beckie! Thanks for taking the time to share!