Bacon, Brussels, and Sweet Potato Skillet
Crisp bacon renders its fat to caramelize diced sweet potato, halved brussels sprouts, and sliced onion into a smoky, savory skillet the bacon seasons on its own.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
This is a warm, one-pan breakfast for anyone who wants something savory and filling in the morning without reaching for eggs or bread. It leans on a short list of whole-food ingredients and comes together in a single skillet, which makes it practical for a weekday and generous enough to feed a table on the weekend. The flavors are smoky and a little sweet, familiar enough to please a crowd but hearty enough to stand as a full plate on its own.
Everything cooks in the fat the bacon leaves behind. Rendering the bacon first builds a smoky, savory base, and starting the sweet potato covered lets it steam and soften before it browns, so the pieces cook through without burning. Once the sprouts and onion go in uncovered, leaving them undisturbed against the hot pan for a stretch is what caramelizes the cut sides and the onion edges. That browning is where the deep, roasted flavor comes from, and it is worth the patience of not stirring constantly.
Real substance on one side, real texture on the other. The sweet potato brings a soft, naturally sweet starch, the brussels sprouts add a tender-crisp bite and an earthy backbone, and the bacon and onion tie it together with smoke and savor. It is a good source of fiber from the vegetables and provides protein from the bacon, so it holds you through the morning rather than leaving you hungry an hour later. The mix of colors, textures, and browned edges makes it feel like a treat even though it is built entirely from simple ingredients.
Ingredients
- 5 slices bacon, chopped
- 3 cups brussels sprouts, halved
- 1 large sweet potato, diced
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 1 1/2 tbsp avocado oil
Instructions
- Prep the vegetables: Scrub the sweet potato and cut it into small, even dice, about half-inch pieces, so it cooks through quickly. Trim the dry stem ends from the brussels sprouts, pull off any loose outer leaves, and cut each sprout in half through the root so it holds together. Peel the onion and slice it thinly. Chop the bacon crosswise into bite-size pieces.
- Crisp the bacon: Set a large skillet over medium heat and add the chopped bacon. Cook, stirring now and then, until the pieces are browned and crisp and have released their fat, about 6 to 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, lift the bacon out onto a plate and set it aside, leaving all the rendered fat in the skillet.
- Cook the sweet potato: Add the avocado oil to the bacon fat in the skillet, then stir in the diced sweet potato and spread it into an even layer. Cover the skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring once or twice, until the pieces are nearly fork-tender and beginning to brown, about 8 minutes.
- Add the sprouts and onion: Stir in the halved brussels sprouts and sliced onion. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the sprouts are deeply browned and the cut sides are caramelized and the onion is soft, about 8 to 10 minutes. Let the vegetables sit undisturbed for a minute or two at a time between stirs so they can develop color.
- Finish and serve: Return the reserved bacon to the skillet and toss everything together until evenly combined and heated through. Taste before you serve. The bacon salted the sprouts and the sweet potato as they cooked, so it should not need anything else. Serve hot.
Variations
- Add garlic: Stir a few cloves of minced garlic into the skillet in the last minute or two of cooking the sprouts and onion, just until fragrant, so it perfumes the dish without scorching.
- Swap in butternut squash: Use diced butternut squash in place of the sweet potato for a slightly less sweet, more delicate result. Cook it covered the same way until nearly tender before adding the sprouts.
- Fold in greens: Add a big handful of chopped kale or spinach along with the last stir, cooking just until it wilts, for extra color and an earthy note against the bacon.
- Fresh herbs: Toss in chopped fresh sage or rosemary with the sprouts and onion. The woodsy herbs play well with the smoke and the caramelized sweetness.
- Diced apple: Stir a peeled, diced tart apple in with the sprouts so it softens and browns at the edges, adding a bright pop of fruit sweetness against the savory bacon.
Storage & Leftovers
Cooled leftovers keep well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. The sweet potato will soften a little more as it sits and the bacon loses some of its crispness, but the flavor actually deepens overnight as the smoke and caramelization settle in.
Reheat in a dry or lightly oiled skillet over medium heat, spreading the mixture in a single layer and letting it sit undisturbed for a minute so the sweet potato and sprouts can re-crisp against the pan. A microwave works if you are in a hurry, but you will lose the browned edges, so the skillet is worth it if you have a few minutes.
To get ahead, you can dice the sweet potato, halve the sprouts, and slice the onion the night before and store them in the refrigerator so the morning is just cooking. You can also cook the whole skillet a day ahead and reheat it, which makes it an easy option to portion out across a busy week.
Notes & Tips
- Cut the sweet potato small and even: Small, uniform dice is the single biggest factor in whether this works. Large or uneven pieces stay raw in the middle while the sprouts overcook, so take the extra minute at the cutting board.
- Choose firm, tight sprouts: Look for brussels sprouts that feel dense and heavy with tightly closed leaves and no yellowing. Tight sprouts hold their shape and caramelize cleanly; loose, puffy ones tend to fall apart.
- Watch the bacon fat: Bacon varies a lot in how much fat it renders. If your skillet looks dry after removing the bacon, the avocado oil covers it; if it is swimming in fat, spoon a little off before adding the sweet potato so the vegetables brown instead of fry.
- Let it sit to caramelize: The browned, roasted edges come from contact with the hot pan, so resist the urge to stir constantly. Let the sprouts rest cut-side down for a minute or two at a time and only stir occasionally.
- Season at the end: Bacon carries a lot of salt on its own, and how salty yours is will vary, so taste the skillet once everything is combined before you reach for the salt at all.
- Double the batch: This reheats beautifully, so cook extra and portion it into containers for quick breakfasts through the week. Use a second skillet or a larger pan so the vegetables stay in a single layer and still brown.
Nutrition & Mindful Eating
- Bacon, sprouts and sweet potato share a skillet well because they all want the same treatment: high heat, room to sit still, and the rendered fat from the bacon tying the sweet, the bitter, and the smoky together.
- Sweet potato cut small enough to cook through is the sweetness in the pan, and its edges go sticky and dark where they meet the hot metal. That orange color is beta-carotene, and the fat in the skillet is what helps you take it up.
- Brussels sprouts halved and laid cut side down turn nutty and deeply browned, and the loose outer leaves crisp into something close to a chip. Cooked hard like this they shed the sulfury edge people remember and keep their fiber and vitamin C.
- Bacon goes in first and everything else cooks in what it leaves behind, which is why the whole skillet tastes of it. It also brings the protein that turns a pan of vegetables into breakfast.
- Onion softens into the gaps between everything else and goes sweet and jammy, and the smell of it hitting hot fat is the moment the kitchen turns. A skillet like this holds you well into the afternoon, the fat and the protein doing that work.
- As you eat, go for the darkest pieces first and notice the soft sweetness of the potato landing against a crisp sprout leaf, then give the pan a few quiet minutes rather than eating it standing over the stove.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this without any bacon?
You can, but the bacon fat is what carries the smoky flavor and provides the base for cooking the vegetables. If you leave it out, use more avocado oil to cook the sweet potato and sprouts, and expect a milder, less smoky result. A pinch more salt helps make up for the savor the bacon would have added.
My sweet potato browns on the outside but is still hard inside. What went wrong?
The pieces were probably too large, or the heat was too high. Cutting the sweet potato into small, even dice and keeping the skillet covered for the first stretch lets it steam through before it browns. If it is still firm when the sprouts are ready, lower the heat and cover the pan for a couple more minutes.
Can I roast this in the oven instead of using a skillet?
This recipe is written for the stovetop, where the bacon fat and the direct contact with the hot pan do the caramelizing. The steps here are built around that method, so for the results described, cook it in the skillet as written.
Is this too heavy for a morning meal?
It is hearty but built from vegetables, so it eats as a substantial rather than a heavy plate. The fiber from the sweet potato and sprouts plus the protein from the bacon make it filling in a way that tends to hold you comfortably through the morning.