Hearty, healthy, and the kitchen sink of recipes, a bowl of steaming chili is the perfect cold weather entrée. While I was home for Christmas, I flipped through my mom’s copy of Real Simple magazine and came across a recipe for vegetarian chili with sweet potatoes. “Sweet potatoes and veggie chili?” I thought. “Two of my favorite foods, together?!” The recipe shot to the top of my mental to-cook list as I tore out the pages for safekeeping.
Usually when I make veggie chili, I’ll use all the vegetables I have on hand, and throw in whatever kind of beans and tomatoes that are in my pantry. This time around, I mostly followed the recipe, and it turned out fabulously. Scroll down for the recipe!
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped, or 1 heaping tablespoon of minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more or less, depending on how spicy you like your chili)
- 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ground sea salt and black pepper
- about 28-ounces canned diced tomatoes, including the liquid*
- 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- about 2 cups OR one 14 oz. can vegetable broth
- garnishes: sour cream, sliced scallions, sliced radishes (optional)
- In a 4 to 6 quart Dutch oven or stockpot, sautée the chopped vegetables in one to two tablespoon of olive oil on medium-high heat. You’ll need to stir the ingredients every few minutes so they can cook evenly.
- Once the onions start turning translucent, turn the heat down to medium-low. Add all of the spices and canned ingredients, and stir. Cover and cook for up to two hours, stirring occasionally.
- By the time your chili is done, the sweet potatoes should be nice and soft and the liquid should have reduced a bit, producing the hearty chili consistency that we all know and love.
- Adapted from Real Simple.
- Please don’t be intimidated by the long list of ingredients. They’re all common ingredients; I bet you have most of them in your cabinets already!
- The original recipe suggested to cook the chili in a crockpot. I, however, took the opportunity to use my new Le Creuset French Oven
from TJ Maxx. (Score!!! It was a 25th birthday present from me, to me.) I’m certain cooking the chili on the stove produces a tastier end result because you can sautée the chopped vegetables, which brings out their flavor. Do as you wish, but I recommend cooking on the stovetop.
- To garnish your bowl of chili, try adding a dollop of sour cream and chopped green onions. Real Simple suggested thinly sliced radishes; frankly, I would go without. Alternately, you could try fresh cilantro and grated cheese. I served mine with grilled sweet potatoes and cheddar and dill beer bread. Recipes coming soon!
- *I am concerned about the BPA levels in canned tomato goods and avoid canned tomato products as best I can. I recommend using Muir Glen canned tomatoes because their cans are BPA-free.
Have you ever tried sweet potatoes in your chili before? You must, I insist!
55 Comments
Le Creuset for 25 bucks? Score, indeed! It looks so good. You seem to have a lot of natural sunlight coming through in all of your photos. Is it generally sunny is Oklahoma?
Yep, it is pretty sunny around here. I think that day was actually kind of overcast, but I adjusted my camera settings accordingly. I’m so pleased with the results!
Wow! I made this recipe yesterday afternoon for a backyard birthday party. I wound up doubling the recipe and adding an extra can of beans and some extra vegetable stock. It actually simmered for about 5 hours on the stove, and by the time we ate it, all my meat lover friends were raving about how good it was! The sweet potatoes were a great addition; I can’t believe I’ve never made chili with sweet potatoes! Thanks for sharing!
I am so making this chili tonight – have everything on hand (with a couple of substitutions).
Fits into my New Year detox menu perfectly !!
Happy New Year Kate.
I’m a sucker for anything with sweet potatoes, but this looks amazing.
Hey Kate! How you never fail to make my mouth water with your delicious creations! I would love to be a guest at your dinner table :) This sounds like the best combination EVER.
I can’t wait to see what you come up with when you learn to crochet! You seem so crafty so I don’t think you will have any trouble at all!
Thanks! I haven’t had much time for crafty pursuits lately but I’d love to learn how to crochet someday soon!
This sounds so hearty and delicious! And perfect to make next time I have dinner with my sister who is a vegetarian.
Thanks for stopping by my blog! I love the sound of these vintage postcards of Venice you mentioned. Did you post any pictures of them on your blog or anywhere else on the web? I’d love to see them!
This looks so hearty for a cold winter’s day…delicious!
You have to try to coconut pancakes, they are so yummy. You should be able to find coconut milk in the Asian section of your market…it comes in a can.
mmm…it looks so yummy!! I love the photos too! Check out the praline and chocolate dessert I posted and tell me what you think!
xx
Kate
Lovely recipe and lovely blog! nice to meet you & thank you for vising my blog! come again! :)
my girlfriend linked this recipe to me the other day. made it for dinner and it was truly AWESOME. a little cornbread rounded out the meal.
SO glad to hear that you loved it! Thanks Chris!
yuuuum, that sounds delicious!
Looks so good, I am buying ingredients today. Awesome photos as always. Glad you liked the the coconut pancakes, I love them…let me know when you post! Have a good weekend!
Good call on the Le Crueset!! I made this recipe using the crockpot when I saw it in Real Simple magazine and everything came out really mushy.
This looks fantastic, and so easy! I have some peppers left over and a few neglected sweet potatoes from the last time I made wedges as a side dish with dinner… might have to whip this up tomorrow night!
p.s. with your most recent post… I did the exact same thing last semester (getting put on the registry with the cheek swab) and I admire your decision so much, amazing!
Thanks for dropping by my blog! I love that I stumbled upon this recipe… the other day I was thinking that I wanted to do a vegetarian chili with a few sweet potatoes I had on hand. Like you, I usually dump the contents of my veggie drawer and see what happens, but this recipe looks great!
P.S. Your blog and photos are gorgeous!
So… I made this chili the day I saw it on here. LOVED it! Such a great vegetarian dish — I didn’t even miss the meat. Liked it so much I’m posting it on my blog next week (with credit to you, of course. :)) Thanks Kate!
Yes! Can’t wait to read your post!
I really need that chilli to continue living my life!
I made this last night and it was an instant hit with my friends who were over to watch a film. I somehow had some leftover and I made your beer bread this morning to pair with it. I will definitely be making this again!
it does looks so delicious and healthy, thank you for sharing this recipe, I´m quite positive I will make it soon; my hubs adores chili and we try to eat mostly vegetarian meals. Perfect!.
congratulations on that awesome 25th anniversary self gift.
ps. firs time on your bog. think I will be coming back ;)
This is the perfect recipe for a wintery day!
I made this last weekend, it was SO GOOD! My carnivore boyfriend said it was awesome and he didn’t miss the meat.
Thanks so much for commenting! I’m glad your boyfriend liked it, too. I like to think it’s a chili that everyone will love!
I cooked this Chili in our Restaurant this week and all our guests loved it. I’d definitely cook the beans on my own (together with some Kombu seaweed to make them more easier to digest).
The addition of cocoa powder makes it really delicious.
Thanks a lot!
Hi Ari, I’m thrilled that your guests loved my chili! I would have never thought to add seaweed. Thanks for commenting!
Well, the seaweed doesn’t change the taste of beans and you take it out before serving. It (=Kombu) just makes legumes much easier to digest.
I leave the kombu in, and hope I get it.
Another hit! I am loving your recipes! Thank you so much! This is the best Chili I have ever made!
OMG. I just made this to serve to my friends for lunch tomorrow, and I cannot stop eating it! It is so good. I added an extra can of pinto beans, cuz I like my chili really beany. And next time I will decrease the cayenne a little (I added the whole teaspoon), although the heat is kinda nice and it doesn’t really burn, but I know some people get scared when that heat kicks in. Overall a WINNER. And I made it in my Le Creuset, too. I like sauteeing the veggies first.
Hi! Trying this one today… wondering what size can of vegetable broth to use? 14 oz, 24 oz? Thanks!!
Hi Monique! Glad to hear that you’re cooking the chili today, I think you’ll love it! I used a 14 oz can of veggie broth.
How many does this serve? I have a dinner party of 6 coming over on Sunday, and while we’re making side dishes, I want to make sure and have enough chili for everyone.
Thanks!
Hi Anna, the source of the recipe claims that it serves 4 but I think it would make enough to serve 6 with ample portions. If you want to be certain there’s enough, you could add an extra can of beans or more canned tomatoes.
I googled ‘vegan sweet potato recipes’ and this was one of my first hits. I made it today – in my crockpot, though. It’s very tasty! I used 2 sweet potatoes, dark chocolate cocoa, and also threw in a can of green chiles I had. Thanks for the idea!
Happy to hear that you enjoyed the chili, Alisa! Thanks for commenting.
I don’t often comment on blogs, but I have to for this recipe! It is so delicious and surprisingly easy to make. I brought it to work to share with co-workers, and everyone was singing its praises.
This is a keeper! Thank you!
Thank you for commenting, Sarah! I’m delighted to hear that you and your coworkers enjoyed the chili!
My sister and I both made this for dinner this week and it was incredible!! I even topped with almond cheese which tasted great! Thanks for a killer recipe!!!
Hi Kate, I just stumbled upon this recipe which was linked from another food blog that I love – howsweeteats.com. Anyway, I am a budding vegetarian (I still eat fish, though…) and I found this recipe and couldn’t stop thinking about it – probably because the only thing I had to go and buy for it was a sweet potato! (we call them “kumara” here in New Zealand). Chili is not typically something we eat here Down Under, but since it is an uncharacteristically cold rainy November day (it’s almost summer here!!) I decided this would be perfect. I currently have a big stock pot of it simmering on the stovetop and can’t wait to try it out with a big dollop of sour cream and chives on top! My boyfriend is excited, too, and actually bought me the stock pot as an early Xmas present solely so I could make this dish tonight! Ah, how does that old saying go – “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach” – it’s so true!! Anyway, so glad I found your blog and I look forward to making many more of your delicious-looking dishes :} warm regards, Whytney.
Thank you for your sweet comment, Whytney. I hope this chili was worth your effort! I have a butternut squash chili you might like as well. Do you have butternut squash in New Zealand?
My boyfriend insists that he has to have meat with all his dinners or else he will go hungry. I’ve tricked him with spinach manicotti before and I’m hoping to trick him some more since meat can get so expensive. I really enjoy your recipes and can’t wait to try them out on him! He’s becoming more open minded since he realized food can be good and filling without meat.
My brother is just like your boyfriend. I’m glad you’re convincing him to try more meatless meals! Something tells me he would really like this chili.
I made this chili yesterday, it was so good!! Thanks
Thank you for commenting to let me know, Lisa! I’m so glad you enjoyed the chili.
I made it today; sauteed the vegetables w/o any oil in my cast iron frying pan. Cooked the Kidney and black beans (separately ) in my new Instant Pot Pressure Cooker; then cooked the vegetables, beans and remaining ingredients in the Pressure cooker for 8 minutes. I also cooked the rice in the pressure cooker. It is a very good chili; I think it was the cinnamon and cocoa. I will make this again.
Loved it. Broke my diet :-( Shared it with my friends :-)
:-D
Kate!
I meant to write you for a while.
Your food blog is awesome and I have adopted a multitude of recipes from Cookie and Kate. In short, I cook a few C&K dishes every week. They are all delicious! Your ingredient lists and instructions are concise and easy to follow and photography .. ah! inspiring. When light permits I take photos too :).
Probably you wonder about my name? I am Russian from St. Petersburg, having lived 10 years in Belgium and now residing in Vienna, Austria.
But the world is small and You have introduced me to Kale and offered a handful of delightful quinoa recipes. Like you, I love sweet potato and this was my very first recipe and still one of the favorite ones.
Thank you for all the smiles you’ve put on my face and delicious treats shared with friends!
Ksenya
P.S. Please give an extra cookie from me tonight to the Cookie!
Ksenya, thank you so much for your sweet comment. I’m delighted to hear that you are enjoying my recipes! It’s neat to know that they are being cooked in Vienna. I will be sure to give Cookie an extra treat tonight. Please stay in touch!
I just made this recipe and OH MY GOODNESS, it is fantastic! Thank you!!! :)
Thank you, Gemma!
I subscribe to Real Simple and had the same reaction you had when I found the jewel. I think it the cocoa powder that gives it the richness of no other chili I have tried. Thanks for reminding me of how much I loved this!!
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