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.
I’ve been following your Instagram for awhile now and finally made my first WGC recipe. This chili is so good! Plenty of flavor and I served mine with Siete Foods tortilla chips. I’ll definitely be making more of your recipes soon!
Just made this delicious recipe!! Love everything about it! We added more spices that we like, some tomato paste for an extra zip, malt beer and grilled some steak on top!! Will definitely be a regular dinner we will make and I can’t wait for lunch leftovers! Thank you!
How many cups per serving?
1 1/2
Delicious! I doubled the recipe and used farro instead, worked great. I think any grain (quinoa, farro, barley, rice) would work great, honestly.. And I pureed a few cups and added back to make it thicker, as someone else suggested. Served with lime, cilantro, and sour cream at the table. I don't like chili traditionally but this was awesome and my husband said it was one of my best dishes ever! I also almost never leave comments, so that's how good this was! Thanks Gabby.
omg THANK YOU Brooke!! This means the world to me 🙂
This is so good, but fudge I didn't realize it would be spicy. I'm guessing the chipotle pepper. I made to bring to a new mama, but I'm thinking I may need to make a new batch. Would removing the chipotle pepper from the recipe remove the heat? Thanks!
ya - that would make it not spicy!
I made this last night to eat after giving out candy to trick-or-treaters...it was so amazing!!! New fav recipe. Love your blog!
LOVE hearing that! Thanks Grace
Is it gluten free? I'm hosting a friend for dinner and was hoping to use this! But she's gluten free...
it is!
Hi Gaby. I made this as per the instructions and it was amazing. Even my 20 year old son who does not like chill said it was fantastic. I am making this for a retreat next week and need to also take a salad to go with it. What salad would you suggest? Love your recipes!
My green monster salad with a cilantro vinaigrette !
My hubbie was convinced he could never have chili again because he stopped eating meat. I made this chili without quinoa and substituted sweet potatoes with Yukon gold for our tastes. We absolutely loved it. He was amazed and said it tasted better than our long used chili recipe with meat. YAY! Thanks Gaby! It's on the winter rotation. Btw, easy to make and you usually have all the ingredients already in your pantry, which is a big plus!
BEST COMMENT EVER!! So happy
This chili recipe is so perfect! The weather has been getting colder and I wanted something nice, warm comforting and easy to make for supper. Decided to try this and love love loved it!! Thank you!!
LOVE hearing that! xx
Hi Gaby,
I am interested in substituting the quinoa for ground beef or turkey. How much ground beef or turkey would you suggest adding? If I add meat, does anything else in the recipe need to be adjusted?
Thank you!
just add about 1/2 - 1 lb of ground beef, and cook it at the beginning of the recipe when cooking the onion
This was fabulous to say the lease. I am forwarding the recipe to my sister, for my brother-in-law who has some health concerns.
Are there nutrition facts anywhere for this recipe???
Unfortunately not!! But most readers input their serving size and recipe into their favorite tracking tool for accurate breakdowns! xoxo
Does this freeze well?
YES!
The weather cooled enough and for once I located quinoa at the local grocery so I'm finally trying this recipe. It's just boiled and is now in the simmer stage. Most importantly, my son has already commented twice on the great smells from the kitchen, which is pretty rare for him. 🙂
Quick-related question: I love cooking with sweet potatoes but always have trouble cutting them easily, no matter how sharp the knife. Is there a way to prep the potato itself so the process is easier?
I just peel it and then slice into rounds and THEN dice it up!!