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A big warming bowl of this Sweet Potato Chili is guaranteed to satisfy! A delicious vegetarian chili that’s loaded with creamy sweet potatoes, vibrant veggies, and hearty beans. It’s an easy chili recipe that’s packed with flavor and ready in just 30 minutes.
Another great chili dish you will also love is my Turkey Pumpkin Chili.
Bursting with warming spices and brimming with hearty veggies, this Sweet Potato and black bean Chili recipe is utterly delicious! Thick, rich, and nutritious, you can whip up a batch of this vegetarian chili with ease. It’s the perfect chili for chilly days and nights! My family loves this chili recipe so much and I know yours will as well. They are perfect to make ahead and store in the fridge to enjoy for a few days especially if you love to meal prep.
Looking for more dinner ideas? Why not also try my Mushroom Stuffed Chicken Breast and my Lemon Garlic Salmon?
why you’ll love this
- Bursting with flavor. A whole host of spices come together to make this delicious and warming Sweet Potato Chili.
- A healthy chili. This vegetarian chili is loaded with nutrient-rich sweet potatoes, beans, and more.
- An easy homemade chili. Made with kitchen pantry staples, this delicious chili is ready in around 30 mins.
ingredients you’ll need
These are just a list of the ingredients you will need. Full measurements are listed further down below.
- Olive Oil: or you may use avocado oil
- Vegetables: Onion, canned tomatoes, sweet potatoes
- Black Beans: you may use pinto or blackeye beans
- Garlic Cloves: use fresh garlic cloves
- Seasoning: Chili Powder, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper
- Vegetable Stock: for non-vegetarian, you may use chicken stock
- Toppings: Cilantro, crusty bread
how to make sweet potato chili on stovetop
- Sauté – Add onions to a pan or dutch oven and cook for 3-4 mins.
- Cook the chili – Add in the rest of the ingredients, mix with a wooden spoon and bring to a boil, and simmer for 30 mins.
- Garnish, serve, and enjoy!
Making sweet potato chili in a crockpot or slow cooker
- On your stovetop, start by sauteing the onions in a pot over medium heat with oil until they are translucent. This will add a lot of flavor to the chili as opposed to just adding it to the crockpot.
- Transfer the cooked onions into your crockpot/slow cooker. Stir in the garlic, whole tomatoes, and seasonings. Crush the tomatoes with the back of the wooden spoon.
- Add in the chopped sweet potatoes, beans, and water/stock.
- Stir well to combine. Cover the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
- Serve hot with toppings of choice.
How to make in an instant pot
- Set your instant pot into saute mode. Add the oil and onions. Sauté for 2-3 minutes until onions are soft.
- Stir in the garlic, whole tomatoes, and seasonings. Crush the tomatoes with the back of the wooden spoon.
- Add in the chopped sweet potatoes and water/stock. Hold off on adding the beans.
- Stir well to combine. Cover the instant pot and set it to manual mode. Cook on HIGH for 8 minutes. It will take about 15-20 minutes to come to pressure. Then quickly release pressure, open the lid, and add the beans
- At this point, you have two options. You can either cover the instant pot with the lid and let it sit for 10 minutes, or switch it to saute mode and let it saute/cook for another 4-5 minutes.
- Serve with your favorite toppings and enjoy.
Recipe notes and tips
- Spices: I used a combination of cumin, smoked paprika, and chili powder. You can adjust the chili powder to your taste and add a bit more if you like. Love spicy chili? add about a teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
- Beans: Black beans were used to make this sweet potato chili but you could also go for whatever beans you like, such as pinto beans, white beans, red kidney beans, or a combination.
- Tomatoes: I used canned whole tomatoes but you can use crushed or fire-roasted diced tomatoes.
- Broth: Use a low-sodium vegetable broth to control the salt content. Any broth can be used but to keep this a vegetarian dish, use either vegetable broth or water.
- Toppings: You can get as creative as you like with your toppings. Garnish with cilantro for a pop of color and freshness. Consider sour cream, yogurt, jalapenos, avocados, cheese, and tortillas.
- Sweet Potatoes: You may swap the sweet potatoes with butternut squash if you like. Here is a quick guide on how to Cut sweet potatoes.
- Add more veggies: You may add some bell peppers like red or yell pepper.
Storing and Reheating
- Storing: Place leftover vegetarian chili in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Simply reheat in the microwave or your stovetop. To freeze, either place individual servings in a freezer-friendly bag or a tightly sealed container and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheating: You may reheat your leftover black bean and sweet potato chili in the microwave or a saucepan.
What to serve with sweet potato Chili
This easy and delicious chili is great on its own but you can add sides and top it with loads of goodies, here are some ideas:
- Crusty Bread or dinner Roll
- Sour cream or Greek yogurt
- Avocado- chopped or sliced avcoado
- Shredded cheese: use lite or fat-free is available
- Sliced green onions
- Minced red onion
- Tortilla Chips
- Fresh or Pickled Jalapenos
- Fresh Cilantro
- Lime wedges
frequently asked questions
You can swap in butternut squash instead of sweet potatoes. You could also add in zucchini, cauliflower, corn, carrots, celery, kale, and spinach. Load it up!
Yes. Sweet potatoes are great in chili. They make a perfect addition especially if you are making a vegetarian chili. It will add a sweet flavor, fiber, and nutrients.
Yes. Sweet potato chili is a wholesome, nutritious, and healthy vegetarian chili dish that is loaded with fiber and nutrients.
Yes. Sweet potato chili is made with naturally gluten-free ingredients. Both black beans and sweet potatoes are gluten-free, along with all the other ingredients used to make this sweet potato chili.
Other sweet potato recipes
- Healthy Mashed Sweet Potatoes
- Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Wedges
- Crispy Sweet Potato Fries
- Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole
- Healthy Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie
- Baked Smashed Sweet Potatoes
More homemade chili recipes
- White Bean Turkey Chili
- Keto Beef Chili
- White Bean Pumpkin Chili
- Easy Vegan Chili
- Homemade Beef Chili
- White Chicken Chili
Also, if you try a recipe and you like it, leave me some feedback in the comment section below, and don’t forget to rate it! I would love it if you shared it with friends and family.
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Sweet Potato Chili
Equipment
- Pot or dutch oven
- knife
- cutting board
- spatula
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium medium onion, diced small
- 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
- 28 ounces can whole tomatoes, with their juices, one can (or diced canned tomatoes)
- 2 tablespoons mild chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- Kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 30 ounces can black beans, drained and rinsed, 2 cans 15 oz each
- 2 cups water or low-sodium vegetable stock
OPTIONAL TOPPINGS:
- Freshly chopped cilantro
- Crusty bread
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and saute until soft, 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic, whole tomatoes and seasonings. Crush the tomatoes with the back of the wooden spoon.
- Add in the chopped sweet potatoes, beans and water/stock.
- Stir well to combine. Bring the chili to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes.
- Serve hot with toppings of choice.
Notes
- The serving size is a bowl. About 2 cups.
- You can adjust the chili powder to your taste, and add more. To make it spicy, add 1 tsp of cayenne pepper.
- I used black beans but you could also go for whatever beans you like, such as pinto beans or a combination of different beans.
- Use a low-sodium vegetable broth to control the salt content or even go with water if you don’t have any broth.
- Use canned diced or crushed tomatoes in place of the whole tomatoes if you prefer.
- Add a spritz of lime for a zesty twist.
- Garnish with cilantro for a pop of color and freshness. Be creative with your toppings like avocado, sour cream, cheese, and so on. Swap sweet potato for butternut squash, or add in other veggies like corn or kale.
- To make this chili recipe thicker and more filling, consider adding 1/2 cup of quinoa. If you add more quinoa, increase the broth by 1/2 cup.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe for sweet potato chili was perfect! Our 15-year-old daughter made it this evening, and she followed the recipe exactly. Not watery AT ALL, but the PERFECT thickness! No need to add anything!
And this chili was bursting with flavor—even without cayenne! A great meatless chili for Fridays (or anytime!)!
Thank you so much to the author of this recipe!
Thanks Kim. I am so glad
The sweet potato chili came together quickly and was just delicious! I upped the spices just a bit and served it with lime juice, avocado, and green onions. This will be a regular in our menu rotation!
I loved this so much!!! Not a fan of cumin, so I omitted that. Also added 1 tsp of cayenne pepper to spice it up and a 1/2 cup of quinoa as suggested to thicken the chili. I found the quinoa made it a bit too thick, so I added an extra cup of water. Next time I will probably use diced tomatoes instead of whole tomatoes. Will definitely be making this again. It’s so simple and healthy.
Thanks for the feedback, Michelle. We are going to add your suggestion of adding diced tomatoes into our recipe card! Glad you loved it.
Perfect! I subbed smokey hot chile powder and omitted the smoked paprika since the chile powder was smokey enough. Will add to my Fall/Winter easy go-to favorites.
Thanks for the feedback Bob
Great recipe!! Will make again!
Thank you! Glad you loved it