Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili is a hearty vegetarian chili recipe that’s easy to make and very satisfying. Packed with tender sweet potatoes, hearty black beans, tomatoes, and just the right amount of flavorful spices. A wonderful meal any night of the week!
We take ‘Soup Season’ very seriously in the Midwest because of the long and cold winters we experience. Having spent a decade as a vegetarian in the Midwest means I’ve done a lot of experimenting with soup and chili recipes to create vegetarian versions that are still hearty, satisfying, and delicious.
Like my three bean vegetarian chili and my vegetarian Tuscan white bean soup, this hearty sweet potato chili recipe is packed with good-for-you ingredients and is a wonderfully cozy chili to enjoy this time of year.
Jump to:
- Why you’ll love this Black Bean Sweet Potato Chili
- Ingredients needed for Vegan Sweet Potato Chili
- How to make Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili
- Variations for this Vegan Sweet Potato Chili
- Tips for making Black Bean Sweet Potato Chili
- How to store Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili
- Love This Recipe? You May Also Enjoy
- Black Bean Vegetarian Chili
- Storage
- Recipe Variations and Substitutions
Why you’ll love this Black Bean Sweet Potato Chili
A quick and easy one-pot meal. We love one pot recipes for easy clean up! And this easy meatless chili is ready to enjoy in 45 minutes.
Satisfying, hearty texture. The mixture of sweet potato chunks and black beans creates a vegetarian chili with a lovely texture (who needs meat?!).
Made with pantry staples. This chili recipe is made using many ingredients you likely already have in your pantry! The ingredients are easily accessible and are budget-friendly too.
Great for meal prep. This chili stays great all week (dare I say it even tastes better the next day), making this a great vegetarian meal option for those who love to meal prep.
Ingredients needed for Vegan Sweet Potato Chili
- Olive Oil. Used to sauté our onion and garlic.
- Yellow Onion. Onions add savory taste to dishes that can boost up meat-based broths and stocks or contribute to depth of flavor with vegetable based broths and stocks. Yellow onions are a great all-purpose onion, that are sweet and have nice texture (and the type I use most often in my cooking).
- Garlic. Garlic adds flavor to our chili, and also acts as a flavor enhancer.
- Sweet Potatoes. This root vegetable adds great texture and a natural sweetness to our chili. Sweet potatoes are a great source of both soluble and insoluble fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants (being particularly rich in beta carotene, which is converted to vitamin A in the body).
- Chili Powder, Cumin, Paprika, and Chipotle Powder. This combination of spices really makes this chili pop! You can use regular paprika or smoked paprika (use whichever you happen to have). The ground chipotle powder adds a wonderfully unique flavor to this chili that you won’t want to skip. You can find all of these spices in the spice aisle of your local grocery store, Target, or Walmart.
- Salt. Salt is used in cooking to enhance the flavors of all of the other ingredients. A must in our chili recipe!
- Diced Tomatoes. Using tomatoes in our recipe both fills out our chili and adds veggies to our meal! Tomatoes are a great source of vitamin C, potassium, folate, and vitamin K. I prefer to use petite diced tomatoes, but you can use regular diced tomatoes or fire-roasted tomatoes if preferred.
- Black Beans. Black beans are an excellent source of protein for vegetarians.
- Vegetable Broth or Vegetable Stock. We use broth in our recipe to add more depth of flavor to our chili.
- Your favorite toppings. I personally like to serve this veggie chili with squeeze of fresh lime juice, a dollop of sour cream, avocado slices, fresh cilantro, and tortilla chips bits. Other great options includes shredded cheddar cheese, slices of green onion, a splash of hot sauce, or another of your other favorite chili toppings that you love!
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to make Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili
Step 1: In a large pot (or Dutch oven) over medium heat, sauté the onion with the olive oil until translucent (about 3-4 minutes).
Step 2: Add in the garlic and sweet potatoes and cook until the garlic is fragrant (another 1-2 minutes).
Step 3: Add the spices (the chili powder, cumin, paprika, chipotle powder, and salt), and stir to coat the onion and sweet potatoes.
Step 4: Pour in the diced tomatoes, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to deglaze your pan.
Step 5: Add the black beans and broth and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the chili to simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender.
Step 6: Serve with a squeeze of fresh lime juice and your favorite toppings.
Variations for this Vegan Sweet Potato Chili
- Use a different onion. If preferred, you can also use a white onion or red onion in this vegetarian sweet potato chili.
- Try different beans. If desired, replace the black beans with a different type of bean. Pinto beans, kidney beans, or white beans would all work well in this recipe.
- Use water instead of broth. If you’re in a pinch, you can use water instead of veggie broth in this recipe. With the nice profile of spices used in our recipe, you won’t loose too much flavor if you find yourself without broth in your pantry.
- Use a different broth. If you’re not vegan or vegetarian, you could also use chicken broth, chicken stock, or a chicken bone broth in this recipe.
- Leave out the garlic. Some of you may think this sounds like blasphemy, but I have family members who don’t do well with garlic… and the chili still tastes great! If you or someone you’re serving this recipe to is sensitive to garlic, it’s totally ok to skip it.
Can I Make this in a Slow Cooker?
You guys know I love slow cooker recipes! If it works better with your schedule, or you’re just looking for the convenience of a dump and go crock pot meal, you’re in luck!
To make this recipe in a slow cooker, add all the ingredients to the basin of a large slow cooker and stir to combined. Cook on high for 3-4 hours, or low 5-6 hours. The chili is ready once your sweet potatoes are fork tender.
Possible Dietary Restrictions?
This recipe is vegetarian and vegan chili recipe that is also gluten free and dairy free as written. You’ll want to focus on the toppings chosen to keep your meal to your specific dietary needs. For example, selecting a vegan sour cream or gluten free tortilla chips.
Tips for making Black Bean Sweet Potato Chili
Try to slice your sweet potato into even sized pieces. This will help all of your sweet potato chunks to cook evenly.
Adjust the spices to your liking. One of the best things about soups and chilis is that they’re totally customizable! Give your sweet potato chili a taste after it simmers and adjust the spice level and flavor to your liking (starting with small additions… you can always add more, but you can’t take spices out).
Serve your chili with a few sides to round out your meal. I love enjoying this chili with a simple green salad and a slice of crusty bread or corn bread! Check out this post on ‘what to serve with white chicken chili‘ for more side ideas.
How to store Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili
To Store: once chili has been cooled completely, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.
To Reheat. Option to warm single servings of chili in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove over medium heat until warmed through. If needed, add a splash of broth or water to your reheated chili if it is too thick.
To Freeze: This is a great chili to freeze! To do so, place cooled chili into individual sized airtight containers and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, transfer frozen chili to the fridge to thaw (overnight if you can) and then microwave to desired temperature.
Love This Recipe? You May Also Enjoy
Black Bean Vegetarian Chili
Equipment
- Large Stock Pot or Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced into small pieces
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed into ½" pieces
- 3 teaspoons chili powder
- 3 teaspoons cumin
- 3 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons chipotle powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 , 23 ounce cans of diced tomatoes, lightly drained (I use petite diced, you can use regular sized or fire-roasted diced tomatoes too)
- 4 , 15 ounce cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 Cups vegetable broth
- lime wedges for serving (to add fresh lime juice)
- optional toppings: highly recommend at least a generous squeeze of fresh lime juice. other toppings include: sour cream, fresh cilantro, tortilla chip strips, green onion, a dash of hot sauce, shredded cheddar, etc.
Instructions
Stove Top Instructions
- In a large pot (or Dutch oven) over medium heat, sauté the onion with the olive oil until translucent (about 3-4 minutes).
- Add in the garlic and sweet potatoes and cook until the garlic is fragrant (another 1-2 minutes).
- Add the spices (the chili powder, cumin, paprika, chipotle powder, and salt), and stir to coat the onion and sweet potatoes.
- Pour in the diced tomatoes, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to deglaze your pan.
- Add the black beans and broth and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the chili to simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender.
- Serve with a squeeze of fresh lime juice and your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Slow Cooker Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to the basin of a large slow cooker and stir to combined. Cook on high for 3-4 hours, or low 5-6 hours. The chili is ready once your sweet potatoes are fork tender.
- Serve with a squeeze of fresh lime juice and your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Notes
Storage
To Store: once chili has been cooled completely, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week. To Reheat. Option to warm single servings of chili in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove over medium heat until warmed through. If needed, add a splash of broth or water to your reheated chili if it is too thick. To Freeze: This is a great chili to freeze! To do so, place cooled chili into individual sized airtight containers and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, transfer frozen chili to the fridge to thaw (overnight if you can) and then microwave to desired temperature.Recipe Variations and Substitutions
- Use a different onion. If preferred, use a white onion or red onion.
- Try different beans. If desired, replace the black beans with pinto beans, kidney beans, white beans, or canned bean of choice.
- Use water instead of broth. If needed, replace the broth 1-for-1 with water.
- Use a different broth. If you’re not vegan or vegetarian, you could also use chicken broth, chicken stock, or a chicken bone broth in this recipe.
- Leave out the garlic. If you or someone you’re serving is sensitive to garlic, you can skip adding this ingredient.
Viviennne says
The perfect vegetarian dish – the squeeze of lime makes all the difference.
Meredith says
Yes, that extra squeeze of lime is a game changer! So happy to hear you loved this chili too 🙂
Lexy says
A very hearty veggie forward chili, perfectly spiced, easy to put together and so full of flavor. Perfect for these cold nights and makes enough to freeze for a later date.
Meredith says
So happy to hear you loved this chili Lexy! Thanks for giving the recipe a try.