Cheesy Chicken, Kale and Sweet Potato Skillet Meal

A one-skillet wonder, this cheesy chicken, kale and sweet potato skillet meal is nutritious and delicious, just the way a weeknight meal should be!

Easily one of the yummiest meals we’ve eaten lately, this healthy and delicious chicken, kale, and sweet potato skillet meal is perfect for post-Valentine’s day sweet-eating overload.

Oh wait, do I hear you saying you didn’t overindulge? That you have self-control? That chocolate desserts don’t tempt you?

At the risk of making you feel uncomfortable, I have to say, I’m not sure we can be friends.

However, I will try and channel all my maturity and hope that instead we can still bond over nutritious, skillet meals such as this one.

You can probably also rest assured that I most likely overindulged in all things chocolate for both you and me. I’m pretty selfless like that; always willing to take one for the team.

This simple sweet potato skillet meal may look unassuming, but it is ridiculously yummy.

I whipped it up a couple weeks ago on one of those nights.

You know. A night when somehow the hours between 4 and 8 p.m. passed in such a blur, when I finally had a minute to pause and digest my life at 8:01 p.m., I wondered, “who am I, and how did I get here?”

Life is really busy right now (can I get an “amen” from all of you in the same position…I know you are out there?), and on nights like this, we sometimes eat in small groups, depending when everyone has to leave the house.

And by eat, I mean we shovel food in our faces as we stumble out the door grabbing water bottles, scout books, musical instruments, wrestling head gear, and whatever else is needed so that no one (ahem) gets frustrated when we end up at the destination without the aforementioned essential supplies.

I believe this dinner was made right around 4:03 p.m. so that the two kids who had Cub Scouts could eat a meal before ending up back home at 8:00 p.m., and I kept it warm (details below) for the others who were eating later.

I devoured my portion before hopping in the car (where I would live for the next four hours) and thought “Mmmm, yummy,” but that was about it.

Imagine my surprise when I got home later to hear the other kids and Brian still raving about this meal.

Granted, I had eaten it so fast, the enjoyment factor was a little minimized, but when deciding what to make that night, I had considered this a “necessity” meal and not necessarily a “my family will go crazy for this” meal.

When I heated up the small amount of leftovers the next day and ate it more slowly (and probably with a few more manners), it was easy to understand why everyone was kind of dying over it (and why my cousin-in-law, Julianne, had felt it important to send the recipe to me with the command: make this now!).

Yes, it was all becoming more clear. Funny how eating slowly can do that.

Not only is this sweet potato skillet meal pretty to look at (those colors!), but the combination of tender, creamy sweet potatoes with golden, sautéed chicken and fresh kale – all topped with a little smattering of cheese – is absolutely wonderful.

Simple in concept and ingredients, the flavor and texture of all those good-for-you foods creates a meal that is really quite incredible.

And because, everything is cooked in one handy-dandy skillet, besides a little chopping, it comes together quickly and easily and is perfect for those hectic, why-do-I-have-to-leave-my-house-again nights.

When I made this earlier in the afternoon, I covered it with tinfoil and popped it in a warm oven (about 175 degrees). It was still tasty as can be an hour or so later.

Speaking of skillets, my current favorite 12-inch skillet is this one:

Cuisinart Skillet with Glass Lid

I had a Farberware version for years that I loved, but it wasn’t available when I needed to replace it, and I’ve been using the Cuisinart one for months now and love it. You know, for a skillet.

Considering how often I use this skillet (several times a week, at least), I consider it one of my essential tools, and is well worth it for this cheesy chicken and sweet potato skillet meal alone!

I love me a good skillet meal! Hope you love this one, too.

One Year Ago: Chicken Noodle Stew
Two Years Ago: Shrimp and Mango Lettuce Wraps {20-Minute Meal}
Three Years Ago: Cinnamon and Sugar Dusted Coconut Vanilla Breakfast Muffins

Cheesy Chicken, Kale and Sweet Potato Skillet Meal

Yield: 6 Servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

4.65 stars (150 ratings)

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Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 to 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed in 1/2-inch pieces
• Salt and pepper
• ½ cup finely diced shallot or other onion, like red or yellow
• 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded, stemmed and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, 3 to 4 cups, peeled and small-diced
• Pinch of red pepper flakes, optional
• ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups (about 113 g) stemmed and chopped kale
• ½ to 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack or other cheese of choice

Instructions 

• In a large, 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot and shimmering.
• Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and add to the skillet in a single layer. Let them cook and sizzle without moving (so they can get nice and golden) for 1-2 minutes. Flip the pieces and continue cooking until no longer pink in the center, another 1-2 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate, keeping as much liquid in the skillet as possible, and return the skillet to medium heat.
• Add a drizzle of olive oil if the skillet is dry. Add the shallot (or onions), red pepper, and garlic. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes, until the onions have started to turn translucent and soften.
• Add the sweet potato, red pepper flakes (if using), and broth. Give the mixture a good stir and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover the skillet and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring once or twice to make sure the sweet potatoes aren’t sticking (turn the heat down, if needed), until the sweet potatoes are tender. Add more broth as it cooks if the mixture becomes sticky or dry.
• Add the chicken back to the skillet along with the kale. Stir and heat through until the kale is bright green and slightly wilted (if you like the kale more tender and cooked, add it to the skillet first without the chicken, cover the skillet and let it steam until it is tender; uncover, add the chicken and heat through).
• Season to taste with additional salt and pepper.
• Sprinkle cheese over the top and cover with the lid until melted or pop under a preheated oven broiler until golden and bubbly.
• Serve immediately.

Notes

Meat: ground turkey or other ground meat would make a delicious substitute for the chicken (or get fancy with shrimp, maybe?). You could definitely make this meatless as well.

Kale: also, I haven’t tried it, but spinach usually makes a worthy substitute for kale.

Serving: 1 Serving, Calories: 286kcal, Carbohydrates: 22g, Protein: 30g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 81mg, Sodium: 241mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 6g

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Follow @MelsKitchenCafe on Instagram and show me the recipes you are making from my blog using the hashtag #melskitchencafe. I love seeing all the goodness you are whipping up in your kitchens!

Recipe Source: inspired by this recipe at Primavera Kitchen (sent to me by my cousin-in-law, Julianne) – I changed up the protein, messed with ingredient amounts, added kale and a few other things

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