One-Skillet Sweet Potato Burrito Bowls are budget-friendly, packed with flavor, and require minimal clean-up. One skillet! Talk about a dinner win—this is it!
Today, I’m sharing how to make this easy recipe, ingredient swaps, and plenty of topping ideas. Plus, a few variations to make it your own. Let’s get started!
Sweet potato: Cut into 1/2-inch pieces so they cook at the same time.
Fire-roasted diced tomatoes: To make it spicier, use diced tomatoes with green chilies.
Frozen corn: Crunchier than canned, but canned or fresh-off-the-cob works fine.
Black beans: Rinse and drain—these make it filling.
Sweet bell pepper: Mini bell peppers make it colorful, but 1 large red, orange, or yellow pepper works fine. (Here’s how to use leftover mini peppers!)
Garlic: Use fresh chopped, jarred chopped, or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder.
Seasonings: Salt, pepper, cumin, and chili powder for more flavor. Add 1/2 tsp paprika if desired.
Chicken broth: Stock works fine. Use vegetable broth for a vegetarian option.
Cheese: Sharp Cheddar, Monterey Jack, or Colby Jack all work well.
Topping Ideas
Top this burrito bowl however you like! Here are some favorites:
Fresh lime: Serve wedges so everyone can add as much as they like.
Pico de gallo or tomatoes: Add a scoop of pico or diced cherry tomatoes.
Avocado: Thinly sliced, chopped, or a scoop of guacamole.
Cilantro: Finely minced.
Sour cream: Any type works, including fat-free or lite.
Tortilla strips: For crunch, use store-bought or homemade.
Variation ideas
Add onion: Sauté 1/2 cup diced yellow onion with the sweet potatoes.
Swap peppers: Leave out bell peppers or use a poblano instead.
Lighten it up: Use less reduced-fat Cheddar and fat-free sour cream.
Make it vegetarian: Swap chicken broth for vegetable broth or stock.
Add heat: Use fire-roasted green chiles, extra chili powder, or a diced jalapeño.
How to make One-Skillet Sweet Potato Burrito Bowls
Sauté: Start by adding the peeled sweet potato cubes to a large skillet with olive oil. Sauté over medium-high heat until mostly tender and starting to brown on the outside, about 7-10 minutes.
Addrice: We add in the uncooked rice and saute it for 2-3 minutes to toast it a bit before adding any liquid. I also like to stir in the seasonings here so they can get all toasty and fragrant along with the rice.
Add peppers, black beans, frozen corn, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, and chicken broth: Everything else comes in at this point, except for the cheese.
Stir: Mix everything well and then bring it all to a boil. As soon as it’s boiling, reduce the heat, cover with a lid, and simmer.
Gaze and admire: After it’s finished simmering you’ll see that the veggies are tender, the liquid is absorbed, and rice is nice and fluffy. Truly a masterpiece!
Addcheese: Sprinkle the cheese on top, put the lid back on, and let it melt down for a minute. Stir it all together and all that’s left is adding your favorite toppings.
Quick tips
Large non-stick skillet: I recommend a large skillet since there is a lot of food that goes into the pan. I use a 12-inch skillet for this recipe and it’s the perfect size. Using a non-stick pan is best so the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom and burn.
Freshly grated cheese: While you can use packaged shredded cheese, the cellulose coating that keeps the cheese from clumping in the bag makes it resist melting nicely in this dish (and it tends to get greasy).
Good canned tomatoes: The tomatoes add so much to this dish, so I highly recommend choosing the fire-roasted variety and going with a good quality brand such as Cento or Muir Glen.
One-skillet Sweet Potato Burrito Bowls are a tasty vegetarian win! Packed with sweet potatoes, rice, peppers, black beans, and corn, then loaded with your favorite toppings like cilantro, cheese, tomatoes, and sour cream.
2cupschicken brothor vegetable broth for a vegetarian meal
1cupthinly sliced sweet bell peppersor chopped; I used miniature assorted red, yellow, and orange
1limeoptional
1-1/2cupsshredded sharp Cheddar cheese
Toppings as desiredsee note 1
Instructions
Peel sweet potatoes and chop them into small pieces (refer to picture for size: 1/2-inch cubes). In a large pan (see note 1) over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Once oil is shimmering, add all the diced sweet potatoes. Sauté 7–10 minutes or until mostly tender and lightly browned. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and the white rice to the pan.
Continue to cook, stirring constantly, 2–3 minutes at medium heat. Add minced garlic, chili powder, cumin, and salt and pepper. Stir for 30 seconds to a minute, or until fragrant.
Add undrained, diced fire-roasted tomatoes, drained and rinsed black beans, frozen corn, chicken/veggie broth, and thinly sliced bell peppers. Give everything a good stir, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a little above low, but not quite to medium heat.
Cover the pan with a lid and allow to simmer 10–15 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked through. Check occasionally; stir as needed so the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom.
Remove lid and stir in 2 tablespoons optional lime juice and cilantro. Top with the shredded Cheddar cheese and cover the pan with the lid for 1–2 minutes to allow cheese to melt. Gently stir in the cheese.
Spoon the finished burrito mixture into individual serving bowls. Top burrito bowls with sour cream, chopped cherry tomatoes, chopped cilantro, chopped avocado or guacamole, or any other desired toppings. Enjoy immediately!
Video
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Optional toppings: 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro, chopped avocado or guacamole; 1 small Roma tomato or a handful of cherry tomatoes, chopped; and low-fat sour cream.Note 2: You’ll need a large pan for this recipe since there is a lot of food that goes into this dish. I use a 12-inch skillet, and it’s the perfect size. A nonstick skillet works best so the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom and burn.Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in a skillet or microwave until warmed through.
Hello, and welcome to Chelsea’s Messy Apron! I’m Chelsea, the recipe developer, food photographer, and writer behind the site. I’m passionate about creating simple, reliable, and delicious recipes that anyone can make.
Thanks for stopping by—I hope you find something delicious to make!
Wow! I’ve never posted on a recipe before, but had to say something. This is the best homage vegetarian dish I’ve ever made, and that’s saying something, lol thank you so much for this recipe! I’m I have so many leftovers and can’t wait to eat them. Can any of this be stored in the freezer?
You made my day! I’m so glad to hear that!! Unfortunately I don’t think this is the best candidate for freezing because there is cheese in it which might get grainy as it thaws and the veggies will likely thaw watery.
This is a huge hit with our whole family (including a 6 year old kid). Delicious and so easy to customize according to preferences or what you have on hand.
Fantastic! Kids helped me cook this tonight! We love taco soup, so we only used 1/2 c. rice and cubed and sauteed Ancho Chile chicken breasts, that we added at the end! Sliced olives, cheese, avocado and organic salsa added at the end for a bit more kick! So yummy!????
Just made this for dinner tonight and loved it! It will definitely be used a lot in my house 🙂 I used frozen sweet potatoes and peppers and onions so it was super fast to throw together and only a pot and spatula to wash! I used quinoa instead of the rice to make it a little more healthy and it worked well but could have used a little less water.
This was a little bland. Next time I will add an onion, double the garlic and the chili powder, and add a jalapeño pepper. I will also add red and green peppers (I just used one red).
Really good! We just finished and we’ll definitely make it again.
Thank you
So happy to hear that! Thank you Sara!
Wow! I’ve never posted on a recipe before, but had to say something. This is the best homage vegetarian dish I’ve ever made, and that’s saying something, lol thank you so much for this recipe! I’m I have so many leftovers and can’t wait to eat them. Can any of this be stored in the freezer?
You made my day! I’m so glad to hear that!! Unfortunately I don’t think this is the best candidate for freezing because there is cheese in it which might get grainy as it thaws and the veggies will likely thaw watery.
This is a huge hit with our whole family (including a 6 year old kid). Delicious and so easy to customize according to preferences or what you have on hand.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the comment Diana 🙂
A great recipe, one of my go to recipes for meal prep! I change it up a little bit and it is so affordable for those on a budget!
So happy you’ve enjoyed it! 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
This looks delicious! Do you think leftovers would keep well?
Yes! They do well 🙂 About 3-4 days in an airtight container in the fridge!
Fantastic! Kids helped me cook this tonight! We love taco soup, so we only used 1/2 c. rice and cubed and sauteed Ancho Chile chicken breasts, that we added at the end! Sliced olives, cheese, avocado and organic salsa added at the end for a bit more kick! So yummy!????
Best recipe!
YAY!!! I am soo happy to hear this! Thanks! 🙂
Absolutely LOVE this dish! It’s quick, easy, and DELICIOUS! However, I’m just wondering about how many calories it has? Anyone have an idea?
Just made this for dinner tonight and loved it! It will definitely be used a lot in my house 🙂 I used frozen sweet potatoes and peppers and onions so it was super fast to throw together and only a pot and spatula to wash! I used quinoa instead of the rice to make it a little more healthy and it worked well but could have used a little less water.
So glad to hear this was a hit and will be used often! Thanks for the comment Rebecca 🙂
This was a little bland. Next time I will add an onion, double the garlic and the chili powder, and add a jalapeño pepper. I will also add red and green peppers (I just used one red).