This Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Skillet will be ready to eat in less than 30 minutes, and you will be amazed by how flavourful it is. It’s a perfect ONE-PAN meal for your family to enjoy!
When I first made this recipe back in November 2014, it was a chilly Sunday, and I was in search of comforting food. I was thinking of making my zucchini lasagna or my eggplant lasagna.
But I decided to make something using sweet potatoes because I had a lot of sweet potatoes in my kitchen and I also love the flavor of sweet potato. I thought about making my favourite sweet potato soup, but my husband said he felt like eating something with meat.
So, I decided to make this gluten-free, one-pan Ground Turkey with Sweet Potato Skillet to warm us up a bit.
This sweet potato skillet meal is so easy and quick to make and the best part: it’s healthy. In half an hour, this dish will be ready to dig into, and you will be amazed by how flavourful it is. It is definitely a delicious comfort food to share the joy.
I seriously love my cast iron and one-pan meals, like this one or this Shrimp Vegetable Skillet. You can’t go wrong with one-pan meals when it comes to effortless clean up and cooking convenience!
- Extra virgin olive oil — or neutral oil of your choice such as avocado oil.
- Free-range extra-lean ground turkey — you also can use grass-fed ground beef or even ground chicken. Just keep in mind that chicken might cook quicker so it might be drier. Add extra moisture like broth to keep it moist.
- Garlic cloves — I prefer freshly minced garlic to pre-minced garlic.
- Onions — you only need to dice half an onion.
- Yellow pepper — or your choice of pepper. Red and orange peppers are great too.
- Large sweet potato — be sure to dice it small enough that it’ll cook evenly.
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Red chili flakes — optional for a bit of heat.
- Shredded mozzarella cheese — If you’re doing Whole30 or following Paleo diet, don’t add cheese. Feel free to change up the cheese! Make this spicier with some Pepper Jack cheese, Habanero Cheddar Cheese, and more!
- Fresh parsley — for garnishing!
Saute the Ingredients
- In a cast iron skillet ( a large pot works as well), heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the ground turkey and garlic. Use a wooden spoon to break up the ground turkey as it cooks. Stir occasionally, and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Next, add the onions and yellow peppers, and cook until the onions are soft.
- Then, add the sweet potato, red chili flakes, salt, and pepper.
Cover and Cook
- Cover the large cast iron skillet, and cook until the sweet potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally. If necessary, add more olive oil or a little bit of water to cook the sweet potatoes faster.
Add the Cheese and Melt It
- While the sweet potatoes are cooking, preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- When the sweet potatoes are tender, add the shredded mozzarella cheese, and put the skillet in the oven to melt the cheese. When the cheese melts, remove the skillet from the oven, and garnish with parsley. Since we are going from stovetop to oven, it’s important to use a cast iron skillet!
If you have followed Primavera Kitchen for a long time, you probably know that I love cast iron skillet recipes, which are staples in my kitchen. I even have a round-up of Cast Iron Skillet Recipes and Skillet Dinner Recipes. But you probably are wondering why I love them so much. Here are the reasons:
- These types of cast iron skillets are well-seasoned and have a naturally nonstick surface that makes all the difference when cooking.
- They also are safe to use on all cooking surfaces, such as on a stovetop, in the oven, under the broiler, or on a barbecue.
- Also, cast iron skillets are great to retain the heat and distribute it evenly for optimal cooking results.
- They are very versatile since you can use them for sautéing, searing, pan-frying, baking, broiling, roasting, and more.
- And last but not least, they are easy to clean. Here is a post where I explain more about cleaning your cast iron skillet without damaging it.
Cast iron skillets are the best cookware to have in your kitchen, and I truly could not enjoy cooking with cast iron any more. Please, give it a try and once you do, you won’t regret it. I promise! You can find lots of good options at Amazon.
Recipe Tips
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- Don’t overload your skillet with sweet potatoes because this veggie takes forever to cook, and you may burn your food. If your cast iron skillet is 9-10 inches, the ideal amount of diced sweet potato is between 2-3 cups.
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- Cover the skillet with a lid and reduce the heat to medium to cook the sweet potato faster.
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- Or, you can first cook the sweet potato and add it into the pan when the ground turkey is cooked.
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- You can also add another spice that you have in your kitchen to make this recipe even more flavourful. According to some readers’ reviews, this recipe is also good with cumin, curry, paprika, sage, chili powder, onion powder, thyme, rosemary, and hot sauce.
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- And, some readers said that they added kale, spinach, and mushroom as well, which make this recipe even more delicious. I’ve already made this recipe with broccoli and green beans, and it worked very well, too. So, be open to adding more veggies if you wish.
- Make sure to store all your portions in an airtight container and, if you prefer, you can also add some rice to the container to serve with. I use glass containers as they don’t hold onto any smells and are easier to clean.
- Be sure to keep the meals refrigerated until you’re ready to eat. When ready to eat, cover it with a damp paper towel when microwaving to keep the moisture in.
- This meal prep will last for up to 4 days when properly stored.
- Before serving it, top with some fresh cilantro, sour cream and even Greek yogurt for an extra protein boost.
- Ground Beef Zucchini Sweet Potato Skillet: It’s very flavorful, easy, quick-to-make, healthy, a one-pan meal and gluten-free! It’s great as leftovers to take to work for lunch.
- Ground Turkey Skillet with Green Beans: A recipe that is definitely easy to make and a tasty meal for your family dinner.
- Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Lettuce Wraps: Fresh and flavourful, this recipe can easily be prepared in just 20 minutes.
- Ground Turkey Cabbage Skillet: An easy recipe that is perfect for a quick dinner during the week. It’s made with ground turkey, cabbage, cheese, and spices.
- Sweet Potato, Kale and Shrimp Skillet: You need only 4 ingredients to make a quick, easy, and healthy dinner meal.
- Asparagus Sweet Potato Chicken Skillet recipe: Another one-pan meal that takes only 30 minutes to be on your table for dinner.
As a memory, I kept this original photo from 2014!
Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Skillet
Video
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound free-range extra-lean ground turkey (you also can use grass-fed ground beef)
- 1 teaspoon garlic clove minced
- ½ cup onions diced
- ½ cup yellow pepper diced
- 1½ cups sweet potato diced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- A pinch of red chili flakes optional
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese (If you're doing Whole30 or following Paleo diet, don't add cheese)
- Fresh parsley for garnishing (optional)
Instructions
- In a cast iron skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the ground turkey and garlic. Use a wooden spoon to break up the turkey as it cooks. Stir occasionally, and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add the onions and yellow peppers, and cook until the onions are soft.
- Add the sweet potato, red chili flakes, salt, and pepper.
- Cover the skillet, and cook until the sweet potatoes are tender. Don’t forget to stir occasionally. If necessary, add more olive oil or a little bit of water to cook the sweet potatoes faster.
- While the sweet potatoes are cooking, preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- When the sweet potatoes are tender, add the shredded mozzarella cheese, and put the skillet in the oven to melt the cheese.
- When the cheese melts, remove from the oven, and garnish with parsley.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?
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I was thinking of leaving out the red chili flakes, and adding about 1-2 tbsp of barbecue sauce. Do you think that would work? I also only had shredded cheddar cheese on hand, so was thinking that would flavor nice with the bbq sauce?
Yes, this recipe works well with BBQ sauce. One of my readers said she tried it and she loved it 😉
The turkey gets WAY over cooked if you add the sweet potato in last. You should cook them separate or add the potato in first rather than the turkey.
It is a good option too, Veronica. But since I added a bit of water to cook the sweet potato, it cooked very fast.
Delicious dish but I found the onion and garlic burned waiting for the sweet potato (I like mine super soft!) to cook all the way through so I bake it first then add it. Thanks for the recipe!
Delicious! Thank you! Trying to find healthy flavorful recipes for my husband and I. I used green pepper instead of yellow, and added extra red pepper flakes (we love heat) and some cumin, chili powder, and a dash of hot sauce! So full of flavor!
Thanks for sharing your substitutions. I bet it was very delicious with cumin, chili powder, and hot sauce! Yummy! I’m glad you stopped by to comment 😉
I left this for my husband to make during a busy work night and I was so impressed! Super simple, quick and so delicious. We used lean ground beef instead of turkey because we have a freezer full with no issues. Next time I plan to add more veggies to make it last a little longer! Thanks for sharing this recipe 🙂
Your recipes are lovely, but your ads and “Recommended Facebook page” takes up so much room that I can’t see the recipe instructions properly, if at all, on my phone or tablet. It’s a shame.
I removed it already, Marg. Hope it is know better for you to navigate on my blog 😉
This was SO GOOD. We even had left overs and put a fried egg on top for breakfast this morning!
Yummo
Super easy and super yummy! I left out the red pepper flakes to make it palatable for my spicy-intolerant children. Big hit in my house! Didn’t have to go round and round with the kiddos to clean their plates!
Glad to know that 😉
Absolutely love this dish! My family loved it so much we’re making it for a second time tonight!
I’m so thrilled to hear your whole family enjoyed this recipe!
This dish was so yummy and super easy!!! This could definitely become a frequent meal for our family! Thank you for sharing!!!
So happy to hear that 😉
This was delicious!! I ate leftovers this morning for breakfast heated up with overeasy eggs!! Yum! Will definitely make again!
Mm… sounds delicious 😉
I don’t have an iron skillet, can I make this in a regular skillet?
Yes, for sure 😉
Instead of red pepper flakes, I used 1 Tbs of ground cummin. This has become my favorite dinner. I make it twice a week!
I’m so thrilled to hear you enjoyed this recipe!
Loved this easy recipe! I decided to double it but do 1 lb turkey and 1 lb chorizo to add some flavor. Took away some of the healthiness, but made it super yummy!
Chorizo???!! That’s an awesome idea! Have to try that next time 😉
My family loves your recipe.
I precooked the sweet potatoes for 5-10 minutes and added a peeled cubed apple for a hint of sweetness.
I found you on Pinterest. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Do you have a calorie count per serving?
i entered the recipe with tweaks into MFP and then calculated calories – for 200g (with no cheese) – it was about 260cal
was looking for something relatively quick for last night and stumbled across this recipe – tweaked it bit it (more turkey, sweet potato, added in both yellow/orange peppers) and completely forgot about the cheese until after I had devoured my bowl of it…
this will be going into the dinner rotation again for sure!
Fabulous!
I had some fresh rosemary leftover from another recipe, and since it goes so well with sweet potatoes, I added some. PERFECT!
Will definitely make this dish again!
Didnt have any of the peppers on hand so I added yellow and zucchini squash for color! WE loved it!! Thanks!
Does this call for red pepper flakes or chili powder? the recipe says red pepper flakes but you are telling people chili powder and they are two totally different things.
How will the onions brown when cooking with the turkey?
Wont the turkey be way overcooked by the time this is done?
Do you cook it covered on medium high heat still and for how long?
This recipe is very poorly written, sorry.