A bowl of cozy and comforting vegetarian Sweet Potato Chili is the perfect weeknight meal. It’s so hearty and flavorful that you won’t even miss the meat! Stovetop, Instant Pot, and slow cooker instructions included.
I love making chili from scratch using a little bit of this and some of that, but this meatless Sweet Potato Chili has to be one of my favorites. Made with hearty and wholesome ingredients, this is just as delicious and satisfying as a meaty chili recipe. If you’re looking for something meatier, check out Spicy Beef Beer Chili and Buffalo Chicken Chili.
Sweet potatoes and black beans are thrown into this vegetarian chili for some plant-based protein, fiber, and flavor. The best part? You can make this chili in about 1 hour and it’s a meal the whole family will love. That said, you may want to double the recipe because it freezes and reheats wonderfully!
🛒 Ingredients needed
The flexibility of chili is one of the reasons I enjoy making it so much. This recipe has bold flavors, fresh ingredients, and basic pantry items. Feel free to add in more veggies, beans, and spices to this simple list of ingredients:
- Fresh vegetables – All you need are sweet potatoes, yellow onion, and red bell peppers.
- Canned vegetables – Like fire-roasted diced tomatoes and diced green chiles.
- Frozen corn
- Canned black beans
- Vegetable broth
- Chili seasonings – Garlic cloves, chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, cilantro, and lime juice give this chili its signature smoky and savory flavors.
📋 How to make it
Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven before adding the sweet potatoes, onion, and peppers. Saute on medium-high heat until the sweet potatoes begin to soften. Add the garlic and saute for another minute.
Next, add the tomatoes, beans, green chiles, vegetable broth, and chili seasonings. Stir well and bring the liquid up to a simmer. Cover with a lid and leave it to cook for about 30 minutes.
To finish the chili, stir in the frozen corn, cilantro, and lime juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then serve with your favorite chili toppings. Enjoy!
Instant Pot instructions
Achieve all-day simmered flavor in a matter of minutes by making the chili in the Instant Pot. Here’s how it’s done:
- Using Saute mode on the Instant Pot, saute the sweet potato, onion, and bell pepper in oil. Once the onion is soft, add the garlic and cancel Saute mode.
- Stir in the tomatoes, beans, broth, and spices. Secure the lid and seal the vent.
- Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. When the timer stops, hit cancel and quickly release the pressure before removing the lid.
- Stir the corn, cilantro, and lime juice into the chili. Season to taste, then serve.
Slow cooker instructions
To make slow cooker sweet potato chili:
- Stir all of the ingredients together in a slow cooker.
- Cover and cook for 3 to 4 hours on High or 6 to 8 hours on Low.
- Season to taste when it’s done, then enjoy.
🥣 Topping ideas
This sweet potato chili is incredible as is, but add a few tasty toppings and it gets even better! If you’re serving it to a crowd, set up small bowls with any of these toppings and let everyone help themselves:
- Avocado
- Cheddar cheese
- Chives
- Tortilla strips
- Cilantro lime crema
- Croutons
- Diced tomatoes
- Diced red onion
- Greek yogurt
- Green onions
- Jalapeno
- Lime wedges
- Sour cream
✔️ Variations
- Sweet potato substitutions – Feel free to use other root veggies in place of the sweet potatoes. Butternut squash, garnet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, and acorn squash should all cook for the same amount of time and have a similar texture to sweet potatoes.
- Bean swaps – Black beans are interchangeable with kidney beans, pinto beans, chickpeas, and great northern beans. Feel free to use a variety of beans in the chili as well.
- Adding meat – To beef up your chili, add ground beef, ground turkey, ground sausage, or plant-based ground meat. Brown the ground meat in your Dutch oven before adding the sweet potato, onion, and peppers.
ℹ️ Recipe FAQs
You can make this chili recipe with dried black beans, dried chickpeas, or dried pinto beans. They’ll need to be soaked and/or cooked before being added to the chili which will add time to the cooking process.
After cooling, transfer the chili to an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Reheat for a couple of minutes in the microwave or on the stovetop on medium heat.
If stored properly, this chili will keep in the freezer for 3 to 4 months. After cooling, freeze the cooked chili in an airtight container or freezer bag. Make sure to thaw each portion in the fridge overnight before reheating.
🍽 Serving suggestions
Chili is commonly served with a side of crackers or cornbread. This sweet potato and black bean chili will also taste great with:
- Homemade Baked Tortilla Chips
- Spoon Bread with Cheddar Cheese
- Guinness Bread
- Homemade Naan
- Cornbread
- MORE → 45+ side dishes for chili
🍷 Wine pairings
- A rich Chardonnay is perfect for accentuating the sweet and creamy sweet potatoes and the warm and spicy flavors.
- A dry Riesling will also compliment the sweet, savory, and spicy flavors in chili.
🥘 More comforting soups and stews
🫘 More chili recipes
Did you try this sweet potato chili recipe?
If you loved this chili with sweet potatoes I would appreciate it so much if you would give this recipe a star review! Also, be sure to snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #platingsandpairings and tagging me @platingsandpairings.
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Sweet Potato Chili Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ lb sweet potatoes (diced into ½ inch cubes)
- 1 yellow onion (diced)
- 1 red bell pepper (diced)
- 4 garlic cloves (minced)
- 2 14.5 ounce cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes (undrained)
- 2 14.5 ounce cans black beans (drained and rinsed)
- 1 4 ounce can diced green chiles
- 2 ½ cups vegetable broth
- 2 Tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven or pot, heat the olive oil. Sauté sweet potatoes, onion, and peppers on medium-high heat for 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute longer.
- Add the tomatoes and their liquid, beans, chiles, vegetable broth, chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, salt & pepper. Stir, and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the corn, cilantro and lime juice and season to taste with additional salt and pepper.
- Serve with desired toppings. Enjoy!
Equipment
Nutrition
Be sure to check out my tips on how to clean a dutch oven after using it.
We love this chili so much, we’ve made it every week since discovering it through your Instagram! It tastes complex, but it’s so easy to throw together! Thank you!
I’m so glad you like it Autumn!