This delicious and nutritious ground beef and sweet potato skillet meal is perfect for busy weeknights. With only one pan to clean up, it’s a quick and easy dinner option the whole family will love!
Ingredients for Taco Ground Beef and Sweet Potato Skillet
I am always looking for quick dinner recipes that have lean protein and complex carbohydrates so that everyone is fully satisfied and energized. It has quickly become a regular on our dinner rotation. Here is everything you’ll need:
- Olive Oil
- Lean Ground Beef
- Yellow Onion
- Taco Seasoning
- Cornstarch
- Garlic
- Sweet Potatoes
- Kosher Salt
- Ground Black Pepper
- Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
- Diced Green Chiles
- Water
- Lime
- Mexican Cheese Shreds
- Cilantro
The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.
How to Make Taco Ground Beef and Sweet Potato Skillet
This ground beef recipe is made all in one pan, and it’s so easy! Here are the steps:
- Brown the Ground Beef: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and then add the ground beef and onion. Cook until the meat is mostly browned and the onion is tender.
- Season the Meat: Add half of the taco seasoning and cornstarch. Use a meat chopper to break up the beef and use a wooden spoon to stir. When the beef is almost completely cooked, add the garlic and cook for another minute. Then remove the beef and onions to a plate.
- Cook the Sweet Potatoes: Add a little more oil to the skillet and add the diced sweet potatoes. Season with the remaining taco seasoning and some salt and pepper. Cook until they start to brown, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes.
- Combine: Add the ground beef and onions to the skillet, then add the fire roasted tomatoes, green chiles, water and lime juice and stir everything together. Cover the pan with a lid and let everything simmer for 10 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are fork tender.
- Add the Toppings: Top with the shredded cheese. Add the lid back for a minute so the cheese melts. Then add the cilantro.
The recipe card below contains all the instructions in full detail so keep scrolling to see everything in one place.
What to Serve with Taco Sweet Potato Skillet
This sweet potato hash is really an all-in-one type of dish if you want to keep dinner simple. If you want to add a side dish
Italian style beef chili is hearty, satisfying and perfect for feeding a crowd! It has all the familiar and comforting flavors of lasagna, but it’s a chili!
A few weeks ago, I was working on our lasagna soup recipe and totally messed it up. So I improvised, like I often do when recipes don’t turn out the way I hope, and turned that recipe into a chili. It ended up being so fabulous that I had to photograph it and post it here.
Let this be a lesson that sometimes mistakes just end up being happy accidents…thanks Bob Ross!
What is Chili?
Chili is a thick stew that is usually a little spicy and made with peppers, chili powder, meat, tomatoes and often beans.
Ingredients in Italian Style Beef Chili
The ingredients list might seem a little lengthy, but all the components are crucial the developing the full flavor of the chili. Here is what you will need:
- Vegetables: Olive Oil, Red Onion, Garlic, Red Bell Pepper, Green Bell Pepper, Jalapeno
- Fresh Herbs: Oregano, Parsley, Basil
- Seasonings and Spices: Salt, Pepper, Chili Powder, Smoked Paprika
- Cheese: Ricotta and Mozzarella Cheese
- Ground Beef: we use 85/15
- Beef Broth: low sodium
- Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
- Marinara Sauce: Rao’s is our favorite brand
- Pinto Beans
This is just an overview of the ingredients needed for this recipe. The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
How to Make Chili
One of my favorite things about making chili is developing all the layers of flavor that make it so rich and delicious. It takes time but it is really easy. Here are the basic steps:
- Sauté the vegetables and herbs.
- Brown the beef and drain the grease.
- Add the remaining ingredients (except the cheese) and let it simmer for at least a half hour up to all day for maximum flavor.
- Just before serving, top each bowl of soup with mozzarella and melt in the broiler. Make sure the bowl is oven safe!
The recipe card at the end of the post contains all the instructions in full detail. You can also print or save the recipe there.
What Toppings Go On Chili?
Everyone in my family likes to top their chili with different things so I like to put all sorts of options out and let everyone do their own thing. Some of our favorite toppings are sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt), diced onions, green onions, tortilla chips or corn chips, and more cheese or more fresh herbs.
What Goes Well with Italian Chili?
This chili recipe is hearty enough to stand on it’s own as a meal, but it is my personal opinion that chili should always be eaten with a side of bread for dipping! Here are a few ideas:
I bet you never thought you could enjoy lasagna for dinner in just 30 minutes! This lazy ravioli skillet lasagna recipe includes tender pasta, a hearty meat sauce and a creamy cheese filling.
I was looking for a really quick and easy way to enjoy lasagna without going through all the hassle and this actually might be even better to me than lasagna. I mean, there is a time and place for classic lasagna, but most weeknights we are busy and I need something fast that I know everyone will love.
Oh, and I am not a fan of ricotta cheese in lasagna. It’s so dry and not once while visiting Italy, did we ever have a single lasagna on the menu that included ricotta cheese so if I don’t do a bechamel sauce I really do think, as weird as it sounds, that cottage cheese makes a better filling it’s creamier and just better overall.
If you’re looking for more of a lasagna soup, try our one pot lasagna pasta! Like this skillet lasagna, it tastes like lasagna but is just a different spin on it.
Ingredients for Skillet Lasagna
Lazy lasagna uses a fraction of the ingredients of traditional lasagna and it takes a fraction of the time and effort. Here are the ingredients you will need for this recipe:
- Rana Ravioli: We love Rana brand for quick pastas. They have several flavors that would be delicious in this recipe. We used the 4 Cheese flavor and two of the 10oz bags.
For the Filling
- Cottage Cheese: adds creaminess and texture
- Parmesan: adds flavor
- Egg: acts as a binder
- Basil: use fresh for the best flavor
- Parsley: fresh is best
- Salt and Pepper: adds flavor
For the Sauce
NOTE: If you have the time, I would make our authentic Bolognese sauce instead of this quick and easy sauce. You’ll only need half a batch, so you can save half for another night. If you are aiming for that 30 minute dinner, then this is what you will need
Nothing is better than a large skillet piled high with saucy meat, flour tortillas, and gooey cheese. This one-skillet ground beef enchilada casserole is perfect for family dinner!
Easy Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole
Stop the bus. Hold the phone. Wait right there, missy. I’m about to introduce you to your new favorite family dinner recipe and the best part is, I froze it and it totally worked so it’s also a freezer meal.
For a little while, Cade lived in Arizona where there’s a lot of Mexican-inspired foods, so I thought for sure he’d have some good recipes or a love of Mexican food when we got married, but he didn’t really. I mean, he loved to eat Mexican but he was more drawn to southern or Italian recipes.
The longer we’ve been married the more he has been pulled back over to Mexican food and this one-skillet ground beef enchilada casserole is for sure one of his new favorites.
Cooking with Cast Iron
Our good friend from Country Cleaver wrote a new cookbook called, Cast Iron Gourmet, and if you haven’t gotten it yet, you pretty much should. There’s a strawberry chocolate panini that is calling my name.
Oh!! And the pesto-and-mozzarella-stuffed dinner rolls look like melty cheese, nuggets of awesomeness.
There’s everything from breakfast and sides to main dishes and desserts and I’m not kidding, I suddenly want to buy every cast iron skillet in every size and color.
If you haven’t cooked with cast iron before, well first of all you should stop reading this and buy our favorite Lodge Cast Iron skillet off of Amazon and get on that because the flavor and even cooking will sell you for life. But also, Megan covers everything you’ll need to know about it so you’ll never have any questions about what you’re doing.
Blast, I got off subject. Let’s chat more about this ground beef enchilada casserole, shall we?
Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole Ingredients
This Mexican casserole with tortillas is a cinch to make and requires very few ingredients. Here’s what all we used in this ground beef enchilada casserole recipe:
- Ground Beef: We like to get 80/20 or 85/15 for maximum flavor.
- Taco Seasoning: Make your own or grab your favorite store brand.
- Yellow Onion: adds flavor and texture
- Cremini Mushrooms: adds flavor
- Red Enchilada Sauce: Las Palmas is