Chorizo Sweet Potato Skillet

This chorizo sweet potato skillet is gluten free, loaded with veggies and so full of flavor! Perfect for breakfast, dinner or a side dish.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1

Servings

Calories 466kcal

Author Christy Gurin

Ingredients

1 lb. chorizo raw chorizo sausage*
1 medium red onion diced
1 poblano or green bell pepper diced
1 red pepper diced
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
8 oz. mushrooms washed and sliced
2 Tbsp. avocado oil or another cooking oil with a high smoke point
3 lbs. sweet potatoes peeled and diced into 1/2” pieces
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. Mexican chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese leave off for dairy free, paleo or Whole30
¼ cup chopped cilantro
1 large avocado sliced
Serve with lime slices, salsa and sour cream optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add chorizo and cook while breaking up into small pieces with a wooden spoon.
Once chorizo has browned through, remove to a separate dish using a slotted spoon and set aside leaving about 1-2 Tbsp. of grease in the pan (if there is more, you can remove it if you want).
Add onion and chopped peppers. Sauté for 3-4 minutes until onion is translucent and peppers are starting to brown. Add garlic and mushrooms and cook another 3-4 minutes until mushrooms have cooked down.
Remove veggies from pan, place in the same bowl as the chorizo and set aside.
Add 1 Tbsp. oil to the pan and once oil is warm, tilt the pan to ensure it coats it evenly.
Add sweet potato and let sit for 1-2 minutes in between stirring to ensure the pieces get nicely seared until sweet potato is cooked through (about 20 minutes, more if potato pieces are larger).**
While sweet potato is cooking, turn the oven on to broil and let it preheat.
Season sweet potato with cumin, chili powder and salt.
Add chorizo and veggies back into the pan and stir to combine. Adjust saltiness to taste and then top with grated cheese.
Put pan in oven for 2-5 minutes until cheese is melted (time will depend on your broiler and the pan’s closeness to it).
Remove pan from oven, top with sliced avocado and cilantro and serve while warm with lime wedges, salsa, and sour cream.

Notes

*If your chorizo came in links, cut the sausage skin down one side, peel it off and discard and only use the inner ground sausage. This won’t work well with pre-cooked chorizo hot dogs, it has to be raw still for the best results.

**If you have a lid that fits your pan, use it after the first 10 minutes of cooking time once the potatoes have seared to speed up the cooking process. The cooking time for the sweet potatoes is highly dependent on how big the pieces are and how hot your skillet is. If the sweet potatoes are fork tender, they're done.

Tips

Make sure to use a large skillet. Mine is a 12" cast iron skillet from Lodge. If you use a smaller skillet, the sweet potatoes will steam more than they will sear and you won't get that extra flavor. .
If you are using a cast iron skillet, make sure it is well seasoned or the sweet potato may stick. I know this goes against popular advice but I use a very small amount of dish soap when I clean mine, then dry it well and rub it with a lightly oiled paper paper towel before storing. Its 8 years old and looks brand new and I never need to re-season it!
Make sure to cut your sweet potato pieces small, like slightly larger than a square centimeter.
Chorizo is spicy and so are poblano peppers and chili powder. If you prefer to make it more mild, use a green pepper and add the chili powder slowly, tasting to make sure it isn't too spicy before adding more. You can sub in regular breakfast sausage to make the recipe without any spice but it will lack the distinctive flavor that chorizo has.
Keep a close eye on cheese while it's broiling. Every broiler is different and it is VERY easy to burn it.
If you want to add eggs, make 5-6 indents in the sweet potatoes after sprinkling on the cheese (if you're using a smaller skillet, you may only be able to fit 4). Crack an egg into each one. Instead of broiling to melt the cheese, bake at 400° F (205° C) for 8-10 minutes until whites are set but yolks are still runny.

Nutrition