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.
Bursting with warming spices and brimming with hearty veggies, this Sweet Potato 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! Our family loves this easy homemade chili and we 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 sweet potato chili
- 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
- Vegetables: Onion, canned tomatoes, sweet potatoes
- Black Beans
- Garlic Cloves
- Seasoning: Chili Powder, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper
- Vegetable Stock
- Toppings: Cilantro, crusty bread
how to make The best sweet potato chili
- Sauté – Add onions to a pan and cook for 3-4 mins.
- Cook the chili – Add in the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil and simmer for 30 mins.
- Garnish, serve and enjoy!
How to make this Vegetarian chili in a crockpot or slow cooker
- On your stovetop, start by sauteeing 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 this vegetarian chili in an instant pot
- Set your instant pot into sautee 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 quick 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 sautee mode and let it sautee/cook for another 4-5 minutes.
- Serve with your favorite toppings and enjoy.
recipe notes and tips
- Spices: We used a combination of cumin, 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: We 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 sourcream, yogurt, jalapenos, avocados, cheese, and tortilla.
faq’s
This easy and delicious chili is great on its own but you can add sides and top with loads of goodies, here are some ideas:
Crusty Bread
Sour cream
Avocado
Shredded cheese
Sliced green onions
Minced red onion
Fresh or Pickled Jalapenos
Cilantro
Lime wedges
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 in a tightly sealed container and freeze up to 3 months.
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!
other sweet potato recipes
- Healthy Mashed Sweet Potatoes
- Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Wedges
- Chickpea Masala Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Healthy Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie
More homemade chili recipes
- White Bean Turkey Chili
- Keto Beef Chili
- White Bean Pumpkin Chili
- Easy Vegan Chili
- Homemade Beef Chili
- White Chicken Chili
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Sweet Potato Chili
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium medium onion diced small
- 2-3 garlic cloves minced
- 28 oz can whole tomatoes with their juices, one can (or diced canned tomatoes)
- 2 tbsp mild chili powder
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- Kosher salt and ground pepper to taste
- 2 medium sweet potatoes peeled and diced
- 30 oz 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, add more. To make it spicy, add 1 tsp of cayenne pepper.
- We 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.
Nevada cook says
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!
Michelle says
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.
Rena says
Thanks for the feedback, Michelle. We are going to add your suggestion of adding diced tomatoes into our recipe card! Glad you loved it.
Paulina says
Great recipe!! Will make again!
Rena says
Thank you! Glad you loved it