Vegetarian Recipes

Sweet Potato Black Bean Skillet

Quick and easy one-skillet meals are always my favorite and this Sweet Potato Black Bean skillet is no exception. It’s nutritious, veggie-packed, perfect for cleaning out the fridge or pantry, and of course it’s budget-friendly! It’s also great for meal prep. So grab some avocados, sour cream or greek yogurt, and your favorite salsa and get ready to enjoy this simple and delicious 25-minute meal!

Overhead view of sweet potatoes and black bean skillet with napkin and wooden spoon on the side.

I was definitely going for more Southwest-inspired flavors for this recipe! So here’s everything that you’ll need:

Sweet Potatoes: Sweet potatoes are super nutritious and just so happen to be one of my favorite foods. You’ll only need about 2 medium sized sweet potatoes for this recipe.
Black Beans: Black beans are packed with fiber and protein and are great paired with sweet potatoes. They also add lots of color and texture to the dish.
Bell Pepper and Onion: I love the combination of peppers and onions in savory recipes. They both add wonderful flavor and aromatics.
Diced Tomatoes: I used petite diced tomatoes to roughly match the size of the rest of the chopped veggies in this recipe. Fire-roasted tomatoes would also taste great!
Kale: A couple handfuls of chopped kale adds color, texture, and extra vegetables to the dish. You can also substitute with baby spinach instead if that’s what you have in your fridge.
Spices: I used a mix of chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika and garlic powder to create a bold Southwest-inspired flavor base for this skillet meal.

Recipe Tips!

Try to dice the sweet potatoes and vegetables in a uniform size so they cook quickly and evenly in the skillet.
Don’t worry about the sweet potatoes cooking all the way through in the first step. They will continue to cook with the rest of the ingredients. The goal is for them to not be too mushy and still have some bite to them when they’re done.
Feel free to mix and match the ingredients based on what you have in your pantry or fridge. Fire-roasted tomatoes would be great and I always have an extra half bag of spinach in my fridge.

I topped this easy skillet dish with some fresh cilantro and served it with some brown rice. But there are so many other tasty options to choose from. Here are just a few suggestions:

Fresh avocado
Salsa or fresh diced tomatoes
A dollop of sour cream or Lime Crema drizzled on top.
Creamy Avocado Dressing
And serve with white or brown rice or even some tortilla chips on the side.

Storing Leftovers

This recipe is perfect if you want to meal prep your lunch for a few days and it stores really well in the fridge. Just store the leftovers, minus any toppings, in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If you are serving it with some rice you can add the rice to the same container (see my picture below in the step-by-step photos). When you’re ready to enjoy, reheat in the microwave until warmed through. Then just top with your favorite toppings and lunch is served!

Overhead view of sweet potatoes and black bean skillet with brown rice on a white plate.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Skillet

This Sweet Potato Black Bean skillet is a fun, budget-friendly, and veggie packed meal with lots of flavor and is perfect for meal prep!

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine American, Southwest

Total Cost $7.44 recipe / $1.86 serving

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 14

Total Time 24

Servings (1.75 cups each)

Calories 220kcal

Author Marsha – Budget Bytes

Ingredients

1.5 lbs. sweet potatoes (about 2 medium) $1.64
1 red bell pepper, diced $1.50
1 small yellow onion, diced $0.42
1.5 Tbsp olive oil $0.18
1 tsp chili powder $0.10
1/2 tsp cumin $0.05
1/2 tsp garlic powder $0.05
3/4 tsp salt $0.05
1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper $0.02
1/4 tsp smoked paprika $0.05
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained $1.25
1 14 oz. can petite diced tomatoes $1.47
2 cups chopped kale $0.56
1 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro $0.10

Instructions

Wash, peel, and dice the sweet potatoes. Dice the red bell pepper and the onion.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the diced sweet potatoes and cook for 8 minutes. Stir occasionally but not too often so the sweet potatoes have a chance to brown and caramelize. Don’t worry if the sweet potatoes are not fork tender during this time as they will continue to cook in the next step.
Now add the diced bell pepper, onion, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, and smoked paprika to the skillet. Stir together with the sweet potatoes. Cook for an additional 3 minutes.
Add the black beans, diced tomatoes, and chopped kale to the skillet. Gently stir together and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Feel free to add 1-2 Tbsp of water if the skillet is getting too dry.
Now all that’s left to do is top with some fresh chopped cilantro and enjoy!

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Nutrition

How to Make Sweet Potato Black Bean Skillet – Step by Step Photos

Sweet potatoes cut into cubes on a cutting board.

Wash, peel, and dice 1.5 lb. of sweet potatoes (about 2 medium). Also dice 1 red bell pepper and 1 yellow onion.

Chopped sweet potatoes added to a large skillet.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1.5 Tbsp olive oil. Add the diced sweet potatoes and cook for 8 minutes.

Stir occasionally but not too often so the sweet potatoes have a chance to brown and caramelize. Don’t worry if the sweet potatoes are not fork tender during this time as they will continue to cook in the next step.

Onion and bell pepper added to sweet potatoes in a skillet.

Now add the red bell pepper and diced onion to the skillet.

Spices added to sweet potatoes and veggies in a skillet.

Then add 1 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper, and 1/4 tsp smoked paprika to the skillet. Stir together with the sweet potatoes. Cook for an additional 3 minutes.

Kale, black beans, and tomatoes added to sweet potatoes in a skillet.

Add 1-15oz. can black beans (drained), 1-14oz. can petite diced tomatoes, and 2 cups chopped kale to the skillet. Stir together and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Feel free to add 1-2 Tbsp of water if the skillet is getting too dry.

Overhead view of cooked sweet potato and black bean skillet.

Now all that’s left to do is top with some fresh chopped cilantro (optional) and enjoy. That’s it! A quick, simple and filling meal! 😉

Sweet Potato and Black beans with rice in meal prep containers.

Btw, this dish is absolutely perfect for meal prep! Here I decided to add the leftovers to meal prep containers with some cooked brown rice. So easy and sooo good!

Tuscan Orzo

($7.54 recipe / $1.88 serving)

Overhead view of chicken sausage and white beans on a serving dish with toasted bread on the side.

Chicken Sausage White Bean Skillet

$8.69 recipe / $2.17 serving

Cheese Tortellini And Sausage Skillet

$12.56 recipe / $3.14 serving

Close up overhead view of a bowl of potatoes and green beans.

Potato and Green Bean Skillet

$6.86 recipe / $1.72 serving

The post Sweet Potato Black Bean Skillet appeared first on Budget Bytes.

Cheesy Vegetarian

Homity Pie (Cheesy Potato and Leek Pie)

If you’re not familiar with homity pie, let me introduce you:

Homity pie is a traditional British recipe, which is essentially a cheesy potato and leek pie. It’s just the sort of thing we Brits do perfectly – simple ingredients, combined to make incredible comfort food. Say what you like about British food, but it’s hard to argue with buttery sautéed leeks, cheesy crushed potatoes, and a flaky shortcrust pastry case.

A slice of homity pie (cheesy potato and leek pie).

I’m not going to lie, this homity pie is a bit of a labour of love. It’s not a quick weeknight meal like most of my recipes – this cheesy pie is definitely one to save for a special occasion (it would be perfect for a vegetarian Christmas dinner!).

Since cooking this pie takes a bit of time and patience, don’t try to cook it against the clock. Give yourself plenty of leeway – perhaps an afternoon where you’ve not got much else on. That way, it doesn’t matter if the potatoes have to sit for a little while so you can finish cooking the leeks, or if the pastry case is ready to fill before the filling is actually cooked – you can just potter away at your own pace, and it can all be assembled when you’re ready.

Overhead shot of a cheesy pie with a slice pulled away.

What’s in Homity Pie?

There are three parts to this recipe:

garlicky sautéed leeks and onion
buttery crushed potatoes (with a cheesy topping)
a crispy pastry case

These 3 elements can all be prepared simultaneously, or one at a time, depending on how good you are at multitasking. I’ve written the recipe in 3 separate parts, but if the timings work out (or if you have someone else helping you in the kitchen), you can prepare them all at the same time.

Once all three parts of the recipe are ready, they can be assembled, and baked one last time to complete your cheesy homity pie.

And by the way, I am 100% not a pastry expert. You may think my homity pie looks decidedly… rustic. But I like it that way If I wanted it to look perfect, I’d have saved myself a couple of hours, and bought one in a shop.

Becca’s Top Tip

Any extra scraps of pastry can be baked on their own, and eaten spread with strawberry jam – my kids love it when I cook with pastry as they always get little jam tarts!

Cheesy Vegetarian Bakes ebook on an ipad screen.

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Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.

leek – It’s hard to get the scale from the picture, but the leek I used was absolutely enormous – a proper monster (probably as big as my forearm!). If your leeks are a more normal size, you’ll probably need at least two.
potatoes
shortcrust pastry – I used a ready-rolled sheet of shop-bought pastry, as making pastry is not my forte. Feel free to use homemade pastry if you prefer!
cheddar cheese – If possible, use freshly grated mature cheddar cheese rather than the pre-grated stuff, as it melts more nicely.
onion – I used red onion, but regular onions would also be good.
fresh parsley
egg
garlic – I used pre-minced garlic from a jar because I hate chopping large amounts of fresh garlic.
curry powder (optional, but it does add a lovely hint of warmth)

Becca’s Top Tip

If you’re using shop-bought pastry, take it out of the fridge an hour or so before you need to use it. This helps it to soften a little, and means it’s less likely to crack as you unroll it.

Recipe Video

Equipment

I like to use a loose bottomed springform cake tin for homemade pies. It works really well because:

The clip on the side and the loose bottom make it so easy to remove the pie from the tin once it’s finished baking.
It gives a nice tall pie, which looks great, and also gives a wonderfully thick layer of filling.
The metal heats up nicely and helps to crisp up the pastry.

You can use a shallower pie tin to make homity pie if that’s what you have, but I would always recommend a cake tin if you have one.

Here’s a similar one on Amazon, with great reviews:

8-Inch Springform Cake Tin

I love using a loose-bottomed springform cake tin to make homemade pie. If you’re in the UK or Australia, click ‘Buy on Amazon’ to view a local product.

A slice of homity pie with sautéed leeks, potatoes and cheese.

Printable Instructions

Homity Pie (Cheesy Potato and Leek Pie)

How to make the classic British recipe homity pie (cheesy potato and leek pie!) – a tasty vegetarian pie made with shortcrust pastry.

Course Main Course

Cuisine British, English

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 50

Cook Time 40

Total Time 1 30

Servings people

Calories 427kcal

Author Becca Heyes