This Chicken Sweet Potato Recipe comes together in 30 minutes with just one pan! It’s packed with veggies and lean protein for a hearty and delicious weeknight meal everyone will love.
As much as I love to cook, some days I just need a super simple dinner that everyone loves and that makes as few dishes as possible. This Chicken Sweet Potato Recipe checks all the boxes for me!
- I can make it in less than 30 minutes
- There’s minimal prep – just 3 things to chop
- I only need one pan, so clean-up is a breeze
- It’s packed with protein and veggies
That’s my idea of a perfect recipe! I’ve always held the belief that wholesome recipes should also be simple and approachable. That’s why I love developing One-Pan Meals like this one, because they’re low on effort but big on good ingredients.
Not only is this recipe super easy to make. Plus, I’m always changing up the ingredients depending on what’s in season or what I have on hand. You can toss in almost any vegetable or protein, and it’ll be delicious!
If you’re looking for similar dinner ideas, check out my list of Cast-Iron Skillet Recipes! It has tons of quick and delicious meals that I know you’ll love.
Ingredients
- Chicken breasts — I’m using boneless, skinless chicken breasts. We’re going to cut the chicken into pieces, so chicken thighs or tenderloins will also work.
- Olive oil — Or any neutral cooking oil that you prefer.
- Seasonings — Just salt, black pepper, and a little crushed red pepper.
- Garlic — Fresh is best, but you can also use pre-minced garlic to save time.
- Sweet potato — Diced into small, uniform pieces so they cook evenly.
- Asparagus — Aim for 1 to 2-inch pieces cut at a diagonal.
- Chicken broth — To help the sweet potatoes cook a little bit faster. If you don’t have chicken broth on hand, you can use water instead.
Instructions
Chicken:
- Cut the chicken breasts into small pieces and season them with salt and pepper.
- Saute the chicken with olive oil and garlic until it’s cooked through, then set it aside.
Sweet Potatoes:
- Add the diced sweet potatoes and chicken broth to the same skillet.
- Then, cover it with a lid and cook until the sweet potatoes are soft.
Asparagus:
- Add in the chopped asparagus and cook until it’s tender.
Combine:
- Now, return the chicken to the pan and stir everything together.
- Season to taste with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper. Enjoy!
Olivia’s Recipe Tips
- It’s important to stir the chicken so it cooks evenly. Just remember to allow the pieces enough time to get those delicious seared edges.
- To make this one-pan meal even easier, I’ll wash and chop the veggies ahead of time and store them in the fridge until I’m ready to cook.
- You can adjust the heat level with the amount of crushed red pepper you add. If you want to leave it out, try using smoked paprika instead.
- There’s no need to clean the skillet in between steps. The chicken cooks all the way through and leaves tons of flavor in the pan.
To Store: You can keep any leftovers in an airtight storage container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To Freeze: This is a great make-ahead recipe that you can freeze for up to 3 months. Just let the leftovers cool completely before storing them in a freezer-safe bag or container.
To Reheat: I typically reheat this chicken sweet potato recipe in the microwave, but you can also toss the leftovers back in the skillet for a few minutes.
I love this meal as-is, but you can never go wrong with a few toppings. It’s great with fresh parsley, chopped green onions, or toasted sesame seeds.
If you want to add a little more bulk without adding carbs, try it with this veggie-packed cauliflower rice.
You know I always have to have a fresh salad on the table too. This dish is especially great with a bright arugula salad. Or, you can use the leftover asparagus to make my asparagus Greek chopped salad recipe!
Did you enjoy this recipe? Be sure to check out the full collection of Dinner Recipes here at Primavera Kitchen, including my favorite Skillet Dinners.
Even More Skillet Recipes To Try!
Chicken Sweet Potato Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound Chicken breast
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and ground fresh black pepper
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 medium sweet potato peeled and diced
- ½ cup chicken broth or water
- ½ pound fresh asparagus cut at a diagonal into 1 and 2-inch pieces
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into small pieces, and season with salt and pepper.
- In a skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil, garlic, and chicken.
- Sauté the chicken for about 7-10 minutes or until it is cooked through. Don’t forget to stir well. Set the chicken aside.
- In the same skillet, add the sweet potatoes and chicken broth. Cover the pan with a lid. This step is very important because it'll help the sweet potato cook quickly.
- Cook for about 7-10 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are cooked.
- Add the asparagus, and cook for about 4-5 minutes until tender.
- Return the chicken to the pan, and stir to combine thoroughly.
- Season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper.
Notes
- It’s important to heat the olive oil well before adding the chicken, so it gets a nice golden sear.
- Be sure to wash and dry the asparagus and sweet potatoes thoroughly first.
- Remove the woody ends of the asparagus, as they’re tough to eat. You can snap the ends or cut them off with a knife.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?
Follow @primaverakitchen on Instagram, snap a photo, and tag it #primaverakitchen. We’d love to see your recreation.
Going to make this tonight. I have some mushrooms that I need to use so I thought I would throw them in the mix. Let you know how it turns out.
So that was an awesome dinner! Best news is hubby liked it! Thanks so much for posting this recipe!
That’s awesome! I’m so thrilled to hear you and your husband enjoyed this recipe!
Made this tonight. I loved it!! Definitely will be added to our dinner rotation 😉
That’s awesome! Thanks for your sweet comment 😉
Made this for my family tonight. NICE diversion from the usual. However, its a LOT more than 5 min prep time, esp if we do as you say and flatten the chicken pieces, peel & chop sweet potatoes, mince fresh garlic, and cut the asparagus up to 1″ – 2″ pieces cut on the diagonal. Worth every minute tho. Word to the wise, don’t over cook the sweet potatoes. You can add more sweet potatoes to extend the dish for budget purposes w/out compromising the flavor. Important to only SEAR the chicken 1st cooking. Freezes nicely. I imagine green beans could be used in place of asparagus for finicky kids :).
True, I’ve made this recipe with green beans and it was very good too. And yes it took more than 5 minutes to prep. It was a typo. It was suppose to be 15 minutes. I just adjusted it to to clear further confusion. Thanks for pointing it out!
So did you use yams instead of sweet potatoes? The sweet potatoes I used weren’t orange like yams are. WI’ll thisare a difference in the taste?
Sweet potatoes for sure (we grew them). Specific for Western NC. And sooo sweet!
No, I used sweet potato!
what is the macro on this
1st time checking your website and this looks delicious. I’m very new in the kitchen and this sounds easy for me hehe. would be okay to serve this with brown rice? What do you recommend? or other vegetables? I prep my food for the whole week for me and my husband, so if you have nay suggestion please let me know… Thank you and do you have a youtube channel?
Yes, brown rice works great with this dish. Also you can serve it quinoa salad. It’s delicious. I have lots of quinoa salad here on the blog. Yes I have a youtube channel and it’s called primavera kitchen 😉
This recipe looks so good but my husband doesn’t love asparagus. Could you substitute green beans for asparagus?
Yes, you can use broccoli or green beans!
Thanks so much! Can’t wait to try it
You’re welcome!
My chicken came out very salty! Did not care for it.
Was disappointed. Will not make again. There was so many good reviews!
You can try it again with less salt.
Erin – were you using full-sodium chicken broth? I thought it was definitely salty enough using low-sodium broth so I can see it might be too salty if you used regular! Just a thought 🙂
What would be a good side dish for this? Is there one needed? Also can I substitute the olive oil for coconut oil?
I normally don’t eat this dish with a side dish because I think it’s not necessary. But you can eat it with rice or quinoa salad. It’ very good. I have lot of quinoa salad and rice recipes here on the blog.
Thanks for asking 🙂
Sounds so good! Starting the whole 30 tonight and this looks like a delicious to begin! Going to add in some mushrooms as well!
Mushroom is a great addition to this recipe for sure!
Mine does not look like the pic at all. The potatoes got all soft and mushy while cooking in broth. Not sure why the recipe tells you to do it that way because they became like mashed potatoes instead of crutchy hash brown like. So we ended up eating everything separate.
Maybe you cooked the potatoes for too long. In my case, for example, they were done in like 4 minutes and after I put the asparagus on top and cooked it for another 2-3 minutes, the sweet potatoes got kinda too soft. I believe the cooking time for sweet potatoes in broth should be reduced to 3 minutes or at least you should carefully watch while they’re cooking. It definitely shouldn’t come as mushy in the end… good luck 🙂
Has anyone used zucchini or squash yet? Instead of using asparagus.
I was wondering how that would be. Thanks
Made this for dinner tonight, it was delicious and easy. Will make it again.
Glad to hear that.
Is a cast iron skillet a must for this recipe or can you user a regular skillet pan?
No you can make it with another type of skillet.
You can use another type of skillet, but the cast iron adds more flavour to the recipe for sure!
Very easy & tasty, no leftovers between my husband and I 🤣
Awesome!
I made this recipe twice. One, by the rules (and it was fantastic!) and the second, with an Asian inspired spin. I browned some garlic and ginger before adding the chicken and once it was nearly cooked, added a mixture of soy sauce and brown sugar. Then while everything else was cooking, I boiled the extra sauce down in a separate pan to a glaze and added it back in at the end. If you like those flavors, ABSOLUTELY ADD THEM! Great recipe!
It sounds delicious!
I’ve made this several times. It’s easy and healthy, and it is becoming one of my go-to recipes! I am looking forward to trying different seasonings. Maybe tonight I’ll throw in some Indian seasonings!
Mm Indian seasonings are great. I think it will be delicious. Thanks for stopping by 😉
I’m a little late to the game on making this one… I cooked this tonight and added some cumin and garam masala to the chicken and sweet potatoes. It was out of this world!
Awesome!!
Delicious! Whole family (4) loved it!
I’m glad you and your family enjoyed it. Thanks so much for stopping by to leave your comment.