I’ve actually made this Smoky Chicken and Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potato Meal Prep three times in the last month and a half (and I’m still not sick of it), so it’s about time I posted this wonderfully simple combo. Each component in this meal prep isn’t even a real “recipe” on its own, so I’m posting the directions for everything together in one recipe below. It’s simple food. Simply seasoned, simply cooked, simply good. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times—good food doesn’t have to be complicated.

Options

Because this combo is so simple, it’s also quite flexible. If you don’t like green beans, broccoli is an excellent substitute. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are a good option when chicken breasts are too pricey. You can even use this spice rub on salmon, if that’s in your budget! If you don’t have a well stocked spice cabinet, a store-bought BBQ dry rub can be used in place of the spices listed to season the chicken. Want to take things a little further? Try a small drizzle of BBQ sauce over that chicken or add a simple slice of cornbread to round things out. And you can cook the chicken on a grill, or even on a countertop grill, like a George Foreman, if you prefer.

As Always…

Cooking times can vary quite a bit depending on your equipment, size of the food, and alignment of the planets (just kidding about that last part), so I’ve included visual cues to help you know when your food is finished. Keep an eye on your food as it cooks, poke at it a bit to test the texture, listen to the sound it makes, take note of the changing aromas, and with a lot of practice this part will become intuitive. For more tips, check out my 10 Tips for Recipe Success.

Smoky Chicken and Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potato Meal Prep

Step by Step Photos

Preheat your oven to 400ºF. Wash and pat dry two sweet potatoes (mine are about 3/4 lb. each), then prick the skins several times with a fork. Slice the sweet potatoes in half length-wise and place them on a baking sheet. Drizzle 1 Tbsp cooking oil over the potatoes, then use your hands to smear the oil over their entire surface. Make sure some of the oil is smeared on the baking sheet too, to prevent the sweet potatoes from sticking. Sprinkle about 1/2 tsp cinnamon, a pinch of cayenne, and a pinch of salt over the cut surfaces of the sweet potatoes, then flip them over so they are cut side down.

Roast the sweet potatoes for 45-50 minutes, or until they are soft all the way through and the juices are caramelized and bubbling up out of the holes in the skin. You can use foil on the baking sheet for easy clean up, if you like, but I find that a quick 5 minute soak dissolves all the caramelized sugars.

While the sweet potatoes are roasting for their 45-50 minutes, you can work on the chicken and green beans…

Prepare the rub for the chicken by stirring together 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp brown sugar, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/4 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper (about 20 cranks of a pepper mill). 

Sprinkle the seasoning over both sides of two chicken breasts (mine were about 2/3 lb. each).

Heat a large skillet over medium, then once hot add 1 Tbsp cooking oil and swirl to coat the surface. Add the seasoned chicken and cook on both sides until deep brown and the internal temperature has reached 165ºF. I highly suggest getting an instant read thermometer to take the guesswork out of cooking meat. There’s nothing worse than cutting into your chicken to find the inside still a bit raw. Once cooked, transfer the chicken to a cutting board to rest for a few minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, you can quickly prepare the green beans. Place one inch of water in a sauce pot, add a steamer basket, then add one pound of green beans (you can snap them in half first, if you prefer). Place a lid on the pot, then place the pot over medium-high heat. Allow the beans to steam for 7-10 minutes, or until they are bright green and still slightly crunchy. It’s best to slightly under cook these if you plan on reheating your meals later.

Once the green beans are steamed, remove the basket from the pot, pour the water out, then return the beans to the pot without the basket. Add 1 Tbsp butter and allow the residual heat from the beans to melt the butter. Stir to coat, then season with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Finally, slice up the chicken breasts. The sweet potatoes should be done roasting at about this time as well, so now it’s time to pack up your meals.

Divide the sweet potato halves, green beans, and chicken between four containers. Eat immediately, or refrigerate and reheat later.

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