Crispy sweet potatoes & scrambled eggs, all cooked in one skillet for a healthy, hearty, & balanced breakfast
I love a good bowl of oatmeal for breakfast any day of the week, but sometimes it’s fun to take a little extra time to make something different on the weekends. My first choice would always be thick, fluffy French toast with strawberries and fresh whipped cream, but when I’m trying to make healthier choices, I usually go for an omelet or scrambled eggs. Still, what’s breakfast without carbs? Adding these skillet sweet potatoes is a great way to turn eggs into a super filling and satisfying healthy breakfast.
Inspired by classic eggs and hashbrowns, I first made this spicier version for brunch on Sunday. I love the fact that skillet sweet potatoes and eggs only use one pan because it’s easy to clean up. So easy, actually, that I might make it in the dorm kitchen this upcoming school year.
For this simple meal, I sautéed the sweet potatoes with red bell pepper, red onion, garlic, and spices. The potatoes take around 15 minutes to cook, which was just enough time for me to unload the dishwasher, beat some eggs, and touch up a chipped nail– all of the important things.
Once the potatoes were soft on the inside and beginning to crisp on the outside, I transferred them to a plate and added the eggs to the skillet to scramble. Once the eggs were done, I added the sweet potatoes back to the skillet so they’d be piping hot, although in the 2 or 3 minutes it takes to scramble the eggs, they didn’t cool off much.
I actually made this meal twice, once for brunch on Sunday and again for dinner last night. The first time I made it, I just pushed the sweet potatoes to the side with a spatula and added the eggs right to the skillet at the end. That method worked fine but the skillet did get a little crowded so I recommend the temporary-relocation-to-a-plate method.
Instead of scrambling the eggs, you could also make several divets in the sweet potato mixture and crack whole eggs into the skillet, replacing the lid to let them steam for “sunny side up” instead of scrambled eggs. I didn’t take this route because of my runny egg issues, but I bet it’d be delicious if you’re into those.
I topped mine with salsa verde because I love salsa on eggs but avocado would be delicious, too. So there you have it– my new favorite healthy weekend brunch or breakfast for dinner (brinner!) meal.
If you try out the recipe, feel free to let me know in a comment or take a picture and tag me @livbane on Instagram. Hope you enjoy!
Skillet Sweet Potatoes & Eggs
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil of choice (I use grapeseed oil or avocado oil)
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes (approx. 20 oz.), diced into small cubes (peeling optional)
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- Black pepper and salt, to taste
- Optional: a pinch of red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper
- Up to 1/4 cup water
- 4 eggs (use up to 6 if you'd like)
Toppings
- salsa or salsa verde, diced avocado, fresh parsley or cilantro, etc.
Instructions
- In a large skillet, sauté the red onion, sweet potatoes, and red pepper in cooking oil over medium heat. Cook the vegetables for 15 to 20 minutes over medium-high heat until sweet potatoes begin to soften, covering with the lid to steam the insides of the sweet potatoes. If the skillet becomes dry while cooking, add water a tablespoon at a time to help steam sweet potatoes and cook all the way through.
- Once sweet potatoes are soft and beginning to crisp, add cumin, salt & pepper to taste, and red chili flakes or cayenne pepper. Transfer to a large plate. If any charred black bits remain on the bottom of the skillet, wipe the skillet out with a paper towel.
- Add a pat of butter or a small spoonful of oil to the skillet and add beaten eggs. Once eggs are scrambled, return potatoes to the skillet to briefly reheat and then serve immediately. Top with salsa or salsa verde and sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley or cilantro.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe source: Healthy Liv
So tell me…
What’s your favorite healthy breakfast and your favorite decadent breakfast? Are they different?
How do you like your eggs cooked?
Kristy from Southern In Law says
I am all for one pan meals and this looks perfect!
I love eggs in frittatas and omelettes but I can’t eat them fried, poached or boiled! Scrambled eggs I can only do sometimes but that’s a huge improvement because when I was a kid I wouldn’t even go near them as I hated the smell and they made me want to gag 😛
Liv says
I’m with you– no poached, fried, or boiled eggs for me!
Sylvie says
Sounds like the perfect breakfast to keep you going through the day!
Emily @ My Healthyish Life says
LOVE this breakfast! I make a variation of it almost every morning, although I like runny eggs 🙂 One pan/skillet meals are the way to go.
Liv says
Agreed! I’ve been ALL about one-pan meals this summer.
Ellen @ My Uncommon Everyday says
This is my absolute favorite school-year breakfast! I go the runny-egg route, but otherwise yes. I toss the sweet potatoes in to cook a bit before my other veggies, and it all works beautifully 🙂
Sarah @ BucketListTummy says
One pan skillet meals are just the best! Sweet potatoes and eggs are one of my favorite combos!
Liv says
I thought sweet potatoes and eggs sounded like a strange combo the first time I tried it, but it’s so good– just like white breakfast potatoes or hasbrowns with eggs, but even better!
Dave LeBlanc says
We make something like this with white potatoes. Have to try it with sweet potatoes this Saturday or Sunday.
Liv says
If you like sweet potatoes, I bet you’ll love this version! 🙂
Beverley @ Born to Sweat says
this looks so good!! i’ve never cooked sweet potatoes from completely raw in a skillet, but it would save soo much time instead of roasting them. definitely going to give this a shot.
my fav breakfast to eat on the weekends are egg breakfast sandwiches filled with avocado, cheese tomatoes, etc. mmm!!
Heather Kinnaird says
i do love french toast and pancakes, but this is my kind of breakfast right here!!
Chrissy @ Snacking in Sneakers says
Yum! This looks delish. My fav decadent breakfast is some stuffed french toast with maple syrup 🙂 I’ve got lots of healthy breakfast favs, one of which is eggs & potatoes so this version would be a nice upgrade from that!
Liv says
Mmm stuffed french toast sounds incredible!
Kate says
This is an amazing combo! I love having this kind of thing for dinner. I am digging all the addition of veggies you added. My favorite healthy breakfast is probably an a veggie omelet with toast and my favorite decadent breakfast is creamy grits/ eggs/ sausage!
Liv says
Somehow, I usually forget about grits despite living in the South, but you’re right- they’re so good and I love them whenever I do have them!
Megan says
Dang this looks good! I LOVE savory breakfasts and this looks way easier than a lot of other recipes I’ve seen! I just moved back to school a few days ago and need to go grocery shopping, so I’ll def be buying all of these ingredients!
Liv says
Wow, you moved back early! Hope settling back in is going well!
Alyssa says
This looks so good Liv! I love the combo of sweet potatoes and eggs. I love both runny eggs and also scrambled eggs. I typically just eat runny eggs over avocado toast tho. My fav breakfasts as of late have been nice cream topped with granola and chia seeds and egg-white oatmeal topped with banana and alll the nut butter 🙂
Liv says
Oh yum, want to come make breakfast for me?! 🙂
Diana @ Live Lean Eat Green says
I have been OBSESSED with toast topped with goat cheese, avocado and scrambled eggs…soooooooo good!
Liv says
What a delicious-sounding combo!
Mollie Sweet says
Oh man, this looks SO GOOD. I’m regretting coming to your site because now I’m going to be craving this all day! 😉
Jessica says
What’s a breakfast without carbs- So TRUE! (Or any meal without carbs am I right? 🙂 ). I bet Curtis would love this meal, I should treat him to it one of these days if I’m feeling nice!
Liv says
Hope you two love it! I think I’m going to make it for my brother tomorrow 🙂
Avianne Waithe says
This was great! I added a little ketchup to it!
Liv says
So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
Dominic Lyles says
I think I just found my new go to healthy breakfast!