This smoky Black Bean Sweet Potato Chili is going to rock your world! Honestly, it's the best vegetarian chili to ever grace my kitchen. 100% a game changer.
I'm about to say something bold: this Black Bean Sweet Potato Chili will convert any meat lover. I know, it's a bold statement. But after a few years of hearing from you guys about this recipe... I stand by my statement confidently. Chili is an ESSENTIAL recipe during the fall/winter. And you won't miss the meat with all the black beans, sweet potatoes and spices in this one. If you do prefer having meat in your chili, I have a smoky beef and black bean chili that is delicious and an easy white chicken chili for a chicken version!
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
Loaded with chili powder, chipotle peppers, cumin, beans, tomatoes and quinoa, it's basically a giant party in a pot and it's addictive. Make it, enjoy it, and then take it for lunch the next day and make everyone jealous. I tend to make a double batch of this on the weekends and then freeze small portions to pull out when needed. It freezes like a charm. Just make it, let it cool, portion it into small containers and then freeze. When you're ready to serve, take it out of the freezer, let it sit on the counter until it's no longer totally frozen, and then re-heat either in a microwave or in a non-stick skillet with an extra splash of stock to loosen it up. Bingo.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Substitutions
- Butternut Squash is a great substitute for sweet potatoes
- Farro or rice also works in place of quinoa. You might need a tiny bit extra time for farro, and a little extra liquid. But both are delish.
- Black beans can be substituted with any of your favorite canned bean. If you want to make your own beans, this is my favorite recipe.
Ingredients
- Olive Oil
- Sweet Potato
- Red Onion
- Garlic
- Chili Powder
- Chipotle Pepper
- Ground Cumin
- Kosher Salt
- Vegetable Stock
- Black Beans
- Canned Tomatoes
- Quinoa
- Lime Juice
- Serving suggestions: avocado, cilantro, crema, grated cheese
*For a full list of ingredients and instructions please see recipe card below.
How to Make Black Bean Sweet Potato Chili
Step 1: Heat a large heavy bottom pot with the oil over medium high heat. Add the sweet potato and onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until the onion is softened. Add the garlic, chili powder, chipotle, cumin and salt and stir to combine.
Step 2: Add the stock, tomatoes, black beans and quinoa and bring the mixture to a boil. Stir to incorporate. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook for 30-40 minutes until the quinoa is fully cooked and the sweet potatoes are soft and the entire mixture is thick like a chili.
Step 3: Add the lime juice and remove the pot from the heat. Season with salt as needed. Garnish with avocado, cilantro, crema or cheese before serving.
How to Store Black Bean Sweet Potato Chili
You can store this for 4 days in an airtight container and re-heat on the stove or microwave when its time to eat.
How to Freeze Black Bean Sweet Potato Chili
This is a great recipe for freezing. I recommend portioning out when freezing so you only have to thaw as much as you need. This can be frozen for 3 months. Recommend thawing in the fridge overnight to make re-heating easier.
Tips & Tricks
This is a vegan/vegetarian chili so keep that in mind when choosing your toppings! Just make sure everyone knows what is dairy and what isn't.
FAQs
Can I use different beans in this chili if I do not have black beans?
You _can_ use kidney or pinto beans if you do not have black beans. Some people also like doing a mix of the different beans. However, make sure you are doing canned beans in that case since different beans can have slightly different cook times. If you want to make your own beans, this is my favorite recipe.
Is this recipe gluten-free?
Yes!! Chili is a great crowd-pleaser, and easy to make in a larger quantity. This recipe makes it even more fit for a gathering, since its gluten free and vegan (omit the crema and grated cheese or just keep them on the side as a topping station).
Similar Recipes
Stuck in a dinner rut? Looking for new delicious dinner ideas? Check out my roundup of 50+ easy dinner ideas here.
If you tried this recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today
Black Bean Sweet Potato Chili
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus 2 extra teaspoons
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
- 1 large red onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 ½ cups vegetable stock
- 1 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 14.5-ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- ½ cup dried quinoa
- 4 teaspoons lime juice
- serving suggestions: avocado, cilantro, crema, grated cheese
Instructions
- Heat a large heavy bottom pot with the oil over medium high heat.
- Add the sweet potato and onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until the onion is softened. Add the garlic, chili powder, chipotle, cumin and salt and stir to combine.
- Add the stock, tomatoes, black beans and quinoa and bring the mixture to a boil. Stir to incorporate.
- Cover the pot and reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer.
- Cook for 30-40 minutes until the quinoa is fully cooked and the sweet potatoes are soft and the entire mixture is thick like a chili.
- Add the lime juice and remove the pot from the heat. Season with salt as needed.
- Garnish with avocado, cilantro, crema or cheese before serving.
Can you sub in chicken stock for the vegetable stock? (Sorry if I missed this during the snapisode!) Thanks, Gaby!
yes!!
Oh my goodness...this is THE best Chili I have ever made/had...and I am not a huge fan of Chili. I am forever changed. Great job on the recipe! I added a pound of ground chicken, and doubled the spices. Unbelievable!!
YAY!!! Thanks Nicole 🙂
Made this recipe in the crockpot over the weekend and it was AMAZING! Seriously this chili was delicious-so glad I doubled the recipe so we can enjoy it all week! Thank you so much for this idea!
How? I would like to try to cook this in a crock pot!
I just put everything in the crockpot on high for 4 hours and then let it cook for about an hour after that on low. It can out really great, I might use some more quinoa next time to make it a little thicker!
This chili was AWESOME! Totally hit the spot, and I'm sure leftovers will be delightful too. I served mine over some spinach and cilantro--amazing!
Yes, yes, yes. Made it tonight and just finished my bowl. I had to get on here and leave a review, right away! This recipe is awesome and oh, so filling. Wonderful. The only change I made is adding a little extra Chipotle, I like the spice.
Thanks for the recipe.
Made it tonight. Even my picky eating kids loved it. Great recipe.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I've made it a few times, it's so great! The quinoa makes such a difference. I added some corn at the end for a little sweet crunch.
Excellent, simple and delicious, well worth making.
Just made this and after 30 mins of simmering, it's still very very liquidy. I've put in 3.5 cups of stock (28 oz)...Have I missed a step?
keep simmering it until it reduces to a chili like consistency!
This is my FAVORITE plant based chilli. Even people who aren't vegans love this stuff! Do you know the nutrition information? I'm trying to be intentional about getting enough protein and it would be very helpful to know! I'm assuming because of the quinoa and beans that it is decent.
Hey Meg!! So glad you love this recipe. I actually don't calculate nutritional values for my recipes because there are so many variations one can make within a recipe. I know a lot of my readers use online programs that they are comfortable with to calculate points or calories!! Hope that helps! xx
I have to thank you for this recipe.
I didn't have some of the ingredients, so it was slightly modified- but my 2.5 year old just kept spooning it in his mouth - as my jaw dropped in amazement. He actually said the words 'I like this mommy' and that has NEVER happened before. I rarely write reviews, but wanted to make sure to take the time to say thank you. I had one of those food highs last night watching him eat and felt like someday, I might not have such a picky eater. I really appreciate it!
omg this made my day!! thank you for letting me know!! xoxo
Hi! This recipe looks like the one i've been searching for ever! I so want to try it! But i have a question (i'm kindaof a kitchen noob) do you add water in the beggining? as i read the recipe it only makes sense but you dont mension it. Sorry for the trouble!
no water needed!! you saute the sweetpotatoes in oil and then continue with the recipe! The liquid comes from adding the stock later in the recipe
I work at a day spa and one of my clients shared this recipe with me. Oh my goodness. This is amazing and so addicting I added ground turkey and it was delicious. Thank you for sharing!
This recipe rocks. Thanks Gaby! I've made it twice in two weeks already. The lime and cilantro are perfect.
THANK YOU!!!!
This sounds delicious! I see in previous comments it serves 4-6 people. Can you tell me the serving size? Thank you!