A super easy sweet potato chili recipe, with everything you could ever want in a quick and healthy weeknight meal!
The best sweet potato chili
This classic homemade vegetarian chili recipe has been a favorite in my family for over ten years.
Packed with delicious and wholesome ingredients like sweet potatoes, zucchini, tomatoes, onions, and black beans, what’s not to love?
Leftovers freeze well too, so it’s a really great healthy recipe for meal prep!
Along with my Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies, this chili is one of the first recipes I ever made without following instructions in a cookbook.
The chili can be vegan, gluten free, Whole 30, paleo, high in protein, and oil free.
Also try these Buffalo Cauliflower Wings
Chili serving suggestions
Sliced Avocado
One of these Cauliflower Recipes
Serve over rice or quinoa
Serve over spaghetti squash
Or make up a batch of Applesauce Muffins or these Oatmeal Muffins to go along with your chili.
To make the sweet potato vegetarian chili, start by peeling your sweet potatoes and chopping the onions.
(I love roasting the sweet potato before beginning, but it’s not required.)
In a large pot, bring all ingredients except the zucchini to a boil. Turn the heat to medium-low, and cook uncovered (adding zucchini about halfway through) until the sweet potato is soft.
Depending on the size of the potato, it should take around 15 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.
I haven’t tried the recipe in an instant pot, so be sure to report back if you try. There is a slow cooker chili version here: Crock Pot Sweet Potato Chili.
Add a shake of hot sauce for smoky or spicy chili, and feel free to use whatever beans you have on hand. I especially like it as black bean sweet potato chili.
Leftover Sweet Potato? Make this Sweet Potato Salad or these Sweet Potato Brownies.
Above, watch the video of how to make sweet potato chili
The recipe was adapted from my Vegetarian Chili Recipe.
Sweet Potato Chili
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet potato (10 oz)
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 can black beans, or beans of choice
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup water
- 3/4 cup chopped zucchini, optional
- 2 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1/2 tsp each: cumin and salt
Instructions
- Peel sweet potato, and chop or dice, depending on desired size. (If you have time, I love roasting the sweet potato now, but it's not required.) Bring all ingredients except zucchini to a boil. Then turn to medium-low and cook uncovered (add zucchini about halfway through) until sweet potato is soft. It depends on the size of the potato but should take around 15 minutes. Taste, and add salt and pepper as desired. I add an additional 1/2 tsp salt. Serve with sliced avocado, tortilla chips, or whatever you wish.View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
More Healthy Dinner Recipes
This sweet potato chili looks so good! I next to never ate sweet potatoes before moving to Korea, but here it seems they put sweet potatoes in everything. Even desserts! I used to grate them up and cook them like hash browns, but I’d use a lot of oil, so I’m steering clear of that now. I think the orange zest and cumin with the sweet potatoes sounds amazing. Since these are ingredients I can actually find here, I’m definitely going to try it.
This looks so good and I just cooked black beans and sweet potatoes and even have a zucchini in the fridge. We’re out of chili powder though 🙁
I am making this for a chili cook off tomorrow night!!! It smells fantastic!!!
Absolutely delicious! Just need to find a vegan cornbread or just get some corn chips… or wait till my vegan trial period is over so that I can use an egg.
This is my favorite 🙂
https://lett-trim.today/2012/01/18/totally-addictive-cornbread/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Thanks!! I’ll have to try that! I love all the things I’ve discovered through being vegan!!
Also if you add a squeeze of lime before serving a bowl – DELICIOUS! Reminds me of tortilla soup 🙂
hahaa and avocado!!
Just made this chili tonight and YUM!!!! Thanks for the the amazing recipe!! Cannot wait to eat all the yummy leftovers!!
Dear Miss Genius Katie,
In a search for healthy tasty recipes, I came across your blog via Pinterest and it was love at first sight! I have a big sweet tooth and can’t live my desserts and snacks. I eat fairly healthy but I’m certainly not a vegan. Lol I’ve so far made several of your recipes and I love every one. More-so that they’re actually very good for me and have me eating less meat and processed food. I just made this chilli tonight! I replaced the zucchini and tomato with chopped red bell pepper and omitted the orange zest. It was AMAZING and very filling! 😀
You are the bomb!!
All layered in the crockpot and ready for tomorrow after church to enjoy with friends. I love your site and share it all the time. Thank you so much for sharing your gift with us!,
Wow! This was fabulous chili! The orange zest was genius.
This looks so delicious! Have you ever done it in a crock pot?
I haven’t, but others have and say it works :).
I made a huge pot of this on Sunday and have been eating it all week. It is absolutely wonderful! For lunch I have it over brown rice, very tasty! Thansk for the great recipe!
I made this a few times finally and am about to make it again…well, w/o the orange zest. My little ones and I like it a lot! Going to try it with butternut squash cubes today, maybe.
This is awesome! My girls and I love it!
Put this in the crock pot this morning and it sat on low for about 14 hours and was SO good. (I’m sure it was done long before then, but it was a long day!) Anyway, it was delicious!! And for anyone else with long work days ahead, just a little prep work the night before, throw it in the crock pot in the morning and dinner is ready when you get home. So nice!
I fooled my whole family with this recipe! And a few friends too! No one missed the meat, and my kids ate zucchini for the first time and liked it! This is one of my new weekly staple recipes. And soooo super easy too! Thanks Katie! Keep the non-dessert recipes coming.
YUM! As good as promised! Even husband-approved! Your recipes are my new favorites.
This is going to sound really strange, but adding a tablespoon of honey is really good too! This is terrific chili and I make it regularly.