Before-Practice Recipe

BBQ Chicken Sweet Potato Plates

Microwave sweet potatoes get split and piled with saucy barbecue chicken and melty cheddar in about twenty minutes.

IngredientsTimingStoragerotisserie chicken
Comic-book style illustration of early dinner plates packed around practice bags before leaving the house for BBQ Chicken Sweet Potato Plates.

Before practice

The microwave bakes the potatoes while you warm the chicken, and both are done at once.

You do not have to choose between fast and real here.

Soft sweet potato, sticky barbecue chicken, and a handful of cheese land hot just as the timer goes off.

Ingredients

Start bbq chicken sweet potato plates with the ingredients here and a clear about 20 minutes slot.

  • 4 small sweet potatoes
  • 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
  • 2/3 cup barbecue sauce
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 2 tablespoons chopped green onion (optional)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

How to Make It

With bbq chicken sweet potato plates, the best prep is the part that makes later serving feel obvious.

  • Scrub the sweet potatoes, prick each a few times with a fork, and microwave on a plate 8 to 10 minutes until tender, turning once.
  • While they cook, warm the chicken with the barbecue sauce in a skillet over medium heat, 4 to 5 minutes.
  • Split each sweet potato lengthwise and fluff the insides with a fork; add the butter and a pinch of salt.
  • Spoon the BBQ chicken over each potato.
  • Top with cheddar and green onion and serve while hot.

Timing Before Practice

Start about 25 minutes out; the microwave handles the potatoes while you warm the chicken.

  • T-minus 25: prick and microwave the sweet potatoes
  • T-minus 12: warm chicken with barbecue sauce
  • T-minus 4: split potatoes, top, and plate

Make It Ahead or Save Leftovers

Both the potatoes and the chicken reheat well, so leftovers make an easy repeat dinner.

  • Microwave the potatoes earlier and rewarm them in 90 seconds
  • Store the BBQ chicken separately so it does not dry out
  • Chop leftovers into a quick quesadilla the next day
  • Serve with: steamed broccoli, a side of coleslaw

Parent Tip

Microwave times vary by size, so start checking small potatoes at the 7-minute mark.

Make It Fit Tonight

Small Tweaks That Help This Dinner Land

Use regular potatoes

Russets work the same way for kids who skip sweet potatoes.

Add corn

Stir 1/2 cup warmed corn into the chicken for a sweeter, fuller topping.

Make it a bowl

Cube the sweet potato and pile everything in a bowl for easy eating.

Swap the sauce

Use a honey or smoky barbecue sauce to match your kid's taste.

Add black beans

Rinsed black beans bulk it up before an especially long practice.

Plan The Next Step

Plan more sheet-and-skillet dinners

Use the planner to map a few hands-off meals around your practice nights.

Plan more sheet-and-skillet dinners