Southwest Beef & Sweet Potato Skillet (1-Pan Dinner!)
Developed and tested by Robyn Conley Downs
on Jan 2, 2019 (last updated Dec 18, 2025) 
This easy Southwest Beef & Sweet Potato Skillet is a super simple and flavorful weeknight meal made in just one pan with ground beef, sweet potatoes, and simple spices. It’s a one-pan dinner you’ll want on your repeat list!
My Go-To Ground Beef & Sweet Potatoes Dinner!
Who else needs more one-pot meals in their lives? I know I do, and you may have noticed that I’ve been sharing more and more recipes that require just one-pot or skillet around here for just that reason.
The truth is, as much as I prioritize putting a nourishing, real food on the table, I simply don’t love complicated, fussy recipes at the end of a long day. And of course, any recipe that saves me from doing hours of dishes is good in my book.
This Southwest Beef & Sweet Potato Skillet is such a winner, and is packed with vibrant flavors that will have you returning to it again and again. Plus, hello, it’s all done in one skillet.
A quick note that you’ll want to use a skillet that has enough room for all the ingredients, preferably with a lid to cover. Honestly, I used a baking sheet to cover, since my skillet doesn’t have a lid, so as long as you cover with something, you should be good to go.
Southwest Beef & Sweet Potato Skillet (1-Pan Dinner!)
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 pound 10% ground beef
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 4 cups 1-inch chopped sweet potato
- 1 (15-oz) can petite diced tomatoes
- ¼ teaspoon mild chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ cup water
- 1 cup packed baby spinach
- Juice of 1 lime
Equipment
Instructions
- In a large, 10” skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the beef, sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt, and stir to break into small pieces.
- Cook, stirring beef occasionally, until the beef is browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- To the same pan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the sweet potatoes, sprinkle with the chili powder, garlic powder, and cumin ½ teaspoon salt, and stirring to combine. Add the diced tomatoes and water, stirring to scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Cover, reduce to a simmer, and cook until the sweet potatoes are tender, about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a splash more water if the pan starts to dry out.
- Uncover, and add the cooked beef and spinach, cooking until the beef is warmed through and the spinach is wilted, about 1 minute, adding a splash more water if the pan is dry.
- Add the lime juice, stirring to combine. Taste and add additional salt if desired. Serve as-is, or with any topping you like.
Notes
- Optional (Recommended) Toppings: sliced avocado, fresh cilantro, hot sauce.
- Cheese: You can definitely top this skillet with grated cheese that last 5 minutes of cooking.
- Lid: If your pan doesn’t have a lid, try using a half-sheet pan to cover the skillet while cooking the sweet potatoes.
Another winning recipe! My potatoes took a closer to twenty minutes to cook so a little longer so not quite a twenty minute meal, but definitely worth the wait 😀
Adrienne, yay, so glad this one was a hit! I think the time depends a bit on how small you cut the potatoes–so glad you made the adjustments and it came out well. Cheers!
This recipe was fantastic! It actually went over well with my family and kids (8&11). We used pork instead of beef and I agree, my potatoes took a little longer to cook, but it was not a problem. Thanks for such a unique recipe (in our cooking world) that we all enjoyed!
Yay, so glad you and your crew enjoyed, Ellen!
Yum! I love this recipe! I made it last night. I forgot to add lime juice at the end, but I love it the way it is. My sweet potatoes actually softened up in 15 minutes (I was doubtful it would happen, but it did!). I even ate leftovers for breakfast this morning with an egg on top! Great meal for any time of day! Thank you!
Yum, love the idea of leftovers for breakfast. So glad you enjoyed this one!
I made this last night and the whole family ate it! Saving the leftovers for myself this afternoon 🤗
Thank you for a tasty and easy “busy weeknight” recipe 🙂
Oh yay, so happy you and your crew enjoyed, Cassie!
Made as written for dinner tonight and found it to be lacking flavor. Spices and salt could easily be doubled even for those who prefer mild spice. The ground beef should be seasoned with the same amount of spice that the sweet potatoes are seasoned with. I added additional salt, chili powder and garlic powder after fully cooked and its good, but would have been so much better with the spices cooked into the meat. Just my two cents.
Salt is definitely a very personal preference, Martha–glad you adjusted it to your liking.
So simple and tasty! It so happened that I was trying to find a recipe for what we had around the kitchen and this was great! Thank you for sharing.
Fantastic, so glad you enjoyed!
Yum! This was so great and easy. I cut the sweet potatoes small so they would cook fast, did 2 cups of spinach and it was perfect! This will be a staple in my house for sure.
Erin, yay, so happy you enjoyed! Loving those tweaks!
Made & loved it!
I doubled the seasonings and added Tajin with lime.
I also nuked my sweet potatoes in water for 8 minutes to cut down on cooking time.
Yum, Tajin sounds like the perfect addition to this one, and great idea to microwave the sweet potatoes to give them a head start. Thanks for sharing your tips!
Turned out wonderfully!
Yay, so glad you enjoyed this one!
I made this and it was delicious! Only changes I made were spicy tomatoes with green chilis and I probably tripled the spices. I’ll be making this again!
Jeff, so glad you enjoyed and kicked up the spices. Yum!
This was delicious! Even those of us who do not like sweet potatoes enjoyed this. I made it on the wood cookstove and it smelled so good while cooking. It looks pretty too!
Deborah, yay, so glad you enjoyed this one! And cooking it on a wood cookstove sounds lovely!
Made it tonight. It was fast and a hit. Making it again I might increase the garlic. I used chicken broth instead of water because I wanted to use that up. But as is it was GREAT. (used cilantro as topping)
Denise, yay, so glad this one was a hit. And thanks for sharing your adaptations!
Prepared, Tasted, Printed and added to my recipe collection! Also, recipes are only added if the family approves and this dish was not only quick and easy, but the added lime juice was a nice surprise. I love that I am adding color to our plates and it tastes and feels healthy. I made a side of rice to fill up for dinner. Thank you for sharing.
This was soooo good!!! I have made it probably 15 times since I discovered it a few months ago. I sometimes put my husbands homemade salsa on top and it’s so good. Love love this recipe thank you!!
Kelsey, so glad you’re enjoying this one. Homemade salsa sounds like a perfect addition. Yum!
Tastes pretty good, but not a quick recipe by any means.
If a person can do basic math they will see that 8 min to brown the meat and 10-15 min to cook the sweet potatoes is already putting into question this “20 minute” recipe. But there’s also prep time, and the fact that the sweet potatoes take 15-25 minutes to cook (I’ve made this twice and both times it took 25+ min the first time because I followed the 1″ cut directions; took ~20 min for the sweet potatoes when I cut them much smaller).
So, 20 min for the sweet potatoes + 8 min for meat + the 1-3 min for adding in the stuff at the end + 10 min of prep… this is a 40 min recipe, at minimum. But I bet it gets the clicks because it sounds quick.
Rating just on flavor: 4 stars
Rating on overall recipe: 2 stars
I really enjoyed this dish and it was so easy to make. Adding the lime gave it so much flavor. I will definitely be making this again.
Marcel, so glad you enjoyed this one and found it easy to make. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!
Made this with leftover taco seasoned ground beef and roasted sweet potatoes. My whole family REALLY liked it!
Ohhh, I bet those roasted sweet potatoes added a nice flavor kick! So glad you and your crew enjoyed this one, Tracy. Thanks so much for leaving a review!
Any ideas for a swap for the sweet potatoes? My husband “doesn’t like the texture” 🙁
thanks!
Patty, does he like Russet potatoes? You can definitely swap in peeled chopped Russets in this one! Everything should be pretty much the same in terms of instructions.
Super delicious. My husband and daughter usually won’t eat sweet potatoes, but they both devoured this. I did add a lot more seasoning because that’s what we prefer.
Andrea, yay so happy to hear this one was a hit even with the sweet potato skeptics ;)! Love that you spiced it up a bit more, too. Thanks so much for leaving a reivew!
Delicious and easy!
Lexi, yay, so happy to hear you enjoyed this one! Thanks so much for leaving a review. 🙂
I made this recipe (for 2 very picky 80 yr old’s) and they were thrilled. Asked me to make it a second time. I did add black beans to the mix….
Wonderful to hear this one was a hit! Love the idea of adding black beans, too — great tip. Thanks so much for leaving a review!
Yummy and easy weeknight dinner!
Wonderful to hear this one is a hit, Laura. Thanks so much for leaving a review! 🙂
What is 10% beef, as listed in the recipe? Is that 90/10 for fat? I’m a little confused. I will likely use a combo of ground venison and ground beef, looking forward to making this. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Jamie, yes, 10% fat or 90/10 lean ground beef is what that means, sorry if that was confusing. You can use any type of ground beef for this recipe, though, or as you mentioned use of mix of ground beef and venison as well. I hope you enjoy!
We really enjoyed this recipe! I had a can of fire-roasted tomatoes instead of regular, which added to the spice level in a good way. Sweet potatoes took about 20 minutes to cook through. Will definitely make again – I appreciate the short list of healthy ingredients.
Patty, great idea to swap in fire roasted tomatoes, I’ll have to give that a try next time I make this one. So glad you enjoyed, thanks for sharing your notes and leaving a review!
Best recipe for something quick and easy. I added spinach to it as I had some fresh leftover. So delicious.
Minda, ohhhhh, I love the idea of adding spinach to this one, yum! Happy to hear you enjoyed, thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and leaving a reveiw!