The only things I love more than food is God, my family, and my friends. Other than that, food is at the top of my priority list. And within THAT list, Mexican style food is ranked pretty darn high. I love trying new recipes, crafting my own, and categorizing them into certain genres of food (hence the Mexican Sweet Potato recipe here).
So how did I come up with this one? Well, I’ll tell you that sweet potato burgers are one of my favorite meals to make. BUT finding the desire to dirty up all the dishes to actually make them is one of my least favorite things… (I hate doing dishes).
The other night we wanted sweet potato burgers, but it was one of those nights I didn’t want to boil the potatoes, make the quinoa, use the mixer to blend all the ingredients, and grab the cast iron skillet to cook them. I know, I know. I sound pretty darn lazy!
But in all fairness, it was a Friday night and I just wanted to be able to throw a few dishes in the dishwasher and be done with kitchen clean up. So I thought to myself, why not just throw the ingredients together in one pan and make a cast iron casserole instead? Let me tell you – I’M SO GLAD I DID!
It was so yummy, the taste wasn’t far from that of the burgers, and it was still in line with my clean eating plan in terms of gluten free, corn free, and trans fat free. Plus, it was crazy easy to make and completely customizable so I can create this again and again with different flavors, seasonings, style, etc.
Alright, so let’s get to the goods. How to make this baby!
First, cube 2 medium sweet potatos. I’d say 1/2″ x 1/2″ cubes is perfect. You don’t want to them too big or they will take forever to cook through. Once you cube them up, place them in a heated cast iron that already has coconut oil melted so you can start frying them up. Add the following seasonings to really pump up the flavor: cilantro, garlic powder, onion powder, Himalayan sea salt, ground cumin. After you toss the potatoes in the skillet and seasoning them, turn on the oven to 400.
While the sweet potatoes start to cook, dice up one large, red bell pepper. Next, drain and rinse one can of black beans. After the sweet potatoes have cooked for about 10-15 minutes, go ahead and add the pepper and beans. These don’t take as long to cook through.
After everything has cooked through together and you can put a fork through the sweet potatoes fairly easily, pat the concoction flat, and sprinkle with feta or cotija cheese. Place in the oven for 10 minutes to sear in the flavor of the cheese and allow the potatoes to finish cooking through.
Once it’s done cooking, you can serve straight from the skillet! But you can also serve over a bed of romaine lettuce like we did. It was like this amazing, Mexican Sweet Potato Salad! Top with a dab of guacamole or avocado, douse with Cholula hot sauce, and just TRY not to chow down on the entire pan!
Mexican Sweet Potato Skillet Recipe
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. coconut oil
2 medium sweet potatoes
1 large red bell pepper
1 can black beans (low sodium)
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tbsp. cilantro seasoning
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cumin
Directions:
1. Cube sweet potatoes and cook for 10-15 minutes in melted coconut oil in cast iron skillet. Stir frequently. Upon adding the sweet potato to the pan, add seasoning combo.
2. While potatoes are cooking, preheat oven to 400.
3. Dice bell pepper and rinse and drain black beans. Add pepper and beans to sweet potato mixture after they have been cooking for the 10-15 minutes. Cook for another 10-15 minutes.
4. Once you’re able to stick a fork through the sweet potatoes fairly easily, pat the concoction flat and sprinkle with feta or cotija cheese. Place skillet in oven and cook for 10 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and serve as is, over a bed of quinoa, or over a bed of romaine lettuce.
6. Top with guacamole or avocado and hot sauce of choice!
