Skip to Content

Turkey Sweet Potato Skillet

This turkey sweet potato skillet is a healthy way to repurpose leftover turkey (or chicken) with sweet potatoes, black beans, peppers, greens and onions. A nutritious grain free meal ready in under 30 minutes!

This turkey sweet potato skillet is a healthy way to repurpose leftover turkey (or chicken) with sweet potatoes, black beans, peppers, greens and onions.

This is what I like to call a double duty meal. It’s perfect for Thanksgiving leftovers and just as good for an easy weeknight dinner.

Either way, it’s cooked all in one skillet, ready in under 30 minutes and you can easily swap out chicken leftovers for turkey if that’s what you have on hand.

If you’re like me, the flavors of Thanksgiving get old after a day or so and I need to find a totally different way to repurpose whatever’s still left in the fridge at that point (which is usually turkey).

That’s why this turkey and sweet potato skillet goes in a Mexican direction.

With peppers, onions, black beans and Mexican spices along with lime and avocado garnishes, your taste buds will thank you for not continuing the Thanksgiving flavor assault.

This ground beef sweet potato skillet is another great one-pan meal that uses similar ingredients and flavors.

Turkey stew is another option too for leftover repurposing with a different flavor direction.

ingredients for this one pan turkey sweet potato skillet including sweet potatoes, onions, yellow bell pepper, black beans, baby greens and leftover turkey.

I’ve made a few Thanksgiving leftover themed meals like this turkey avgolemono soup, turkey cranberry enchilada sandwich melts and this Thanksgiving breakfast frittata which works just as well with leftovers as it does fresh ingredients on Thanksgiving morning.

But, this turkey sweet potato skillet is definitely a new favorite for pure simplicity’s sake.

And as I said in the roasted romanesco recipe, I’m all about the simplicity lately.

A one skillet healthy meal of leftover turkey, sweet potatoes, black beans with other Mexican style ingredients.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED FOR THIS TURKEY SWEET POTATO SKILLET

Gather up the following ingredients:

  • leftover shredded turkey
  • yellow onion
  • sweet potatoes
  • yellow bell pepper
  • black beans
  • baby spinach or kale
  • garlic powder, cumin, smoked paprika
  • salt and pepper
  • avocado and lime wedges for serving
This easy turkey sweet potato skillet comes together in just about 20 minutes in one pan. Served with lime wedges and avocado slices.

HOW TO MAKE THIS TURKEY AND SWEET POTATO SKILLET

Place a large skillet over medium heat. Pour some avocado oil (or other neutral oil of choice) to the pan.

Add the onions and sweet potatoes and cook until onions are slightly softened, about 3 minutes.

Add a bit of broth or water to the pan, cover with a lid and steam for 8-10 minutes until sweet potatoes are fork tender.

Remove the lid, add the peppers, black beans and spinach/kale. Stir until combined and cook for 3-5 minutes until peppers have softened slightly and the greens are wilted.

Add seasonings and remove from heat.

Serve with ripe avocado slices and lime wedges.

If you have cilantro on hand, that’d be a great addition too since this is a very Mexican vibe meal.

Want another Mexican inspired use of leftover turkey? Look at this turkey enchilada skillet. Drool worthy, right?

An easy meal perfect for using up leftover turkey from Thanksgiving with sweet potatoes, black beans, peppers, onions and baby greens.

POSSIBLE SUBSTITUTIONS

With an easy skillet meal like this, you can easily swap out ingredients for what you have on hand.

Peppers – use any color bell pepper you may have. Want some extra heat? Throw half (or a whole!) jalapeño in too! You can even use cubanelle or poblano peppers.

Sweet potatoes – as is this recipe reminds me a lot of my sweet potato hash recipe but, feel free to swap out sweet potatoes for another type of potato instead. Purple sweet potatoes, baby potatoes, regular Idaho/Russet or even a yam would all work.

Turkey – as I mentioned above, you can easily use leftover chicken instead of the turkey here. This is an especially great recipe for leftover rotisserie chicken!

Alternatively, try ground turkey in this skillet recipe instead of turkey breast/thigh meat.

If you choose to use ground meat, add it to the skillet after the sweet potatoes have cooked with the broth/water and cook until browned, breaking up with a spatula into smaller pieces.

I would use anywhere from half to one pound meat.

TURN IT INTO BREAKFAST!

Looking for a breakfast recipe instead of dinner?

Simple! Just crack a few eggs on top of the skillet at the end, cover with a lid and cook until the whites are opaque.

Congratulations, you’ve basically just made a hash!

And I loooove a good hash. Evidenced by this brisket hash and my favorite way to enjoy St. Patrick’s Day leftovers, this corned beef hash breakfast sandwich.

One pan turkey with sweet potatoes, black beans, peppers and onions is a great post-Thanksgiving meal to use up leftovers.

NEED MORE EASY SKILLET RECIPES?

Greek Shrimp Skillet

Creamy Skillet Turmeric Chicken with Chickpeas

Buffalo Turkey Cauliflower Skillet

Spicy Skillet Lamb Ragu

Chicken Artichoke Olive Skillet

turkey sweet potato skillet

Turkey Sweet Potato Skillet

This turkey sweet potato skillet is a healthy way to repurpose leftover turkey with sweet potatoes, black beans and other Mexican inspired ingredients.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion chopped
  • 1 large sweet potato peeled and chopped into cubes (about 2 cups)
  • 1/3 cup vegetable or chicken broth or substitute water
  • 1 cup leftover shredded turkey or chicken
  • 15 ounce can black beans drained and rinsed
  • 1 yellow bell pepper chopped
  • 2 cups baby greens spinach, kale, etc.
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • lime wedges for serving
  • avocado slices for serving

Instructions
 

  • Place avocado oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
  • Once hot, add onions and sweet potatoes and stir to combine. Cook for 2-3 minutes until onions have softened a bit.
  • Add broth (or water) to the skillet, cover and simmer on medium-low heat for 8-10 minutes until sweet potatoes are fork tender.
  • Remove the lid from the skillet, add the turkey, black beans, peppers and baby greens. Stir to combine and cook another 3-5 minutes until peppers have softened slightly and greens have wilted.
  • Add the spices, season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot with lime wedges and avocado.

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1SERVING | Calories: 425kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 737mg | Fiber: 20g | Sugar: 6g

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For the most precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator based on the actual ingredients you used in the recipe.

Cuisine American
Course Main Dishes
Keyword turkey and sweet potato skillet, turkey sweet potato skillet, turkey sweet potato spinach skillet
TRIED THIS RECIPE?COMMENT + RATE BELOW!

Gina Matsoukas is the writer, founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients as much as possible. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.

Recipe Rating




Jan

Thursday 22nd of September 2022

When do you add the turkey?

Gina Matsoukas

Friday 23rd of September 2022

Sorry about that, add it in step 4. The recipe has been updated to include it. Thanks for pointing that oversight out!

Noelle

Wednesday 25th of November 2020

Yum! Delicious, great combo with the turkey and sweet potatoes!

Diana Johnson

Wednesday 25th of November 2020

What a great way to use up leftover turkey! Love simple skillets like this.

Beth

Wednesday 25th of November 2020

Yummy! This looks so delicious and flavorful! My husband is going to love this recipe!

Mirlene

Wednesday 25th of November 2020

Talking about delicious. We cannot get enough of this recipe. My family loves it.