Simply prepared in a skillet, this deliciously zesty sweet potato chili is on the dinner table in under twenty-five minutes! Brimming with lean ground beef, tender cubes of sweet potato, onions, red bell peppers, red beans, warm spices and a touch of sharp cheddar cheese, this is my favorite hearty chili recipe to cozy up to.
Sweet Potato Chili, a Hearty One-Pan Take on Chili
Zesty one-pan recipes filled with spices and warming, hearty, and even healthy ingredients, are the kinds of meals which I most enjoy preparing when the days and evenings take a turn for the cooler.
Comforting braises, thick stews and mildly spicy chilis are my favorites, and filling them to the brim with layers of flavors, colorful veggies and lean meats are the way to go. These always warm my belly, and offer wonderful coziness!
This easy sweet potato chili recipe is my colorful take on traditional chili, simply prepared using only one skillet or pan. It has a short cook time (just long enough to soften the sweet potatoes), and is filled with all of those favorite ingredients that I love most in a hearty, hot bowl of chili.
Topped with a little spoon of cool sour cream and some crunchy corn chips on the side for dipping, this spice-filled sweet potato chili is a scrumptious, easy meal to enjoy on a cold evening, all cuddled up in a warm blankie, on the couch!
How to Make Sweet Potato Chili in a Skillet
I love the flavor of lean ground beef, as well as some sweetness and color from diced sweet potato, red onion, and red bell peppers, so I was inspired to use those ingredients in this chili recipe.
Red kidney beans offer a hint of texture, and the finishing touches of sharp cheddar cheese, fresh cilantro and green onions add some rich savoriness and freshness.
While some traditional chili recipes can require a long simmer time to develop those rich flavors, my sweet potato chili recipe comes together in no time at all.
I simply use a large skillet or pan to saute and cook all of my aromatic ingredients together and create those deliciously zesty and warming layers of textures and flavors.
Then, my chili is ready to be ladled into a big bowl, finished with some extra cheese and my favorite toppings, and enjoyed spoonful after hearty spoonful!
Here's a glance at my recipe for sweet potato chili: (or just jump to the full recipe...)
- Into a large cast-iron skillet or braising pan I crumble in my ground beef, and cook that until no longer pink.
- Next, the deliciously zesty aromatic ingredients such as onions, peppers and spices go into the pan, and are sauteed with the beef.
- The colorful diced sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and beans are folded into my skillet next, along with some beef stock; and then the mixture is gently simmered for about 20-22 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are tender.
- To finish things up, I stir a touch of cheddar cheese directly into the chili for extra flavor, then spoon into bowls while hot and top with additional cheese, cilantro, greens onions, and any other toppings I'm craving!
Recipe
Sweet Potato Chili
by Ingrid Beer
Category: Entree
Cuisine: American
Yield: Serves 4
Nutrition Info: 542 calories
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- Olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef (94/6 ratio)
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dry oregano
- ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 1 red onion, diced
- 2 small red bell peppers, cored, seeded and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 extra-large sweet potato (or 2 small), peeled and diced into medium-small cubes
- 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained of juice
- 1 cup beef (or chicken) stock, warm
- 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
- 4 green onions, chopped, divided use
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided use
- Sour cream, as optional garnish
- Place a large, non-stick heavy-bottom pan over medium-high heat, and drizzle in about 1 tablespoon of the oil; once hot, crumble in the ground beef, breaking it up slightly with a spoon, and brown it for about 2-3 minutes; next, add in a couple of pinches of salt and black pepper, the oregano, cumin, chili powder and paprika, and stir to combine.
- Add in the diced onion and red bell peppers, and saute those together with the ground beef for about 3-4 minutes; add in the garlic and stir to incorporate, and once that becomes aromatic, add in the tomato paste and stir, and cook the mixture for a minute or two.
- Next, add in the diced sweet potato and the diced tomatoes, plus the beef or chicken stock, and stir to combine; then, add in the kidney beans and gently fold those in.
- Cover the pan and gently simmer the chili on low for about 20-22 minutes, or until the sweet potato cubes are tender, stirring occasionally; turn off the heat.
- To finish the chili, fold in the chopped cilantro, about half of the chopped green onions, and about half of the cheddar cheese; serve the chili in bowls topped with a sprinkle of the remaining cheddar cheese, and sour cream, if desired. (This is delicious with a side of cornbread or corn chips, as well!)
Tips & Tidbits for my Sweet Potato Chili:
- Lean ground beef, or other meaty options: Using an organic 94/6 ratio lean to fat ground beef is what I opt for here, but other delicious options to use are ground turkey or ground chicken.
- Vegetarian sweet potato chili: If you'd like to go the vegetarian route for this chili recipe, it's super easy! You can leave out the ground beef and simply saute the aromatics and spices together, then proceed with the recipe. Or, you can opt for a sliced mushrooms to create that hearty, meaty texture, or ground soy or tempeh and crumble that in. (I actually love the crumbled soy—it looks and tastes just like ground beef to me.) Also, you can sub veggie stock for the beef or chicken stock!
- Colorful veggies: While the sweet potatoes and red bell peppers offer great color and flavor, other tasty add-ins are green bell peppers and corn. You could also substitute black beans or pinto beans for the red kidney beans.
- Prepare ahead for easy serving: This simple recipe can be prepared a day or two ahead of when you'd like to serve it. The flavors will deepen and mingle that much more! Simply allow it to cool once cooked, then keep in a covered container or pan, and gently re-heat when ready to serve.
Feast your eyes on these, :
Hungry for more hearty and warming recipes? Check out this White Chicken Chili, this Sweet Potato Hash, this Hungarian Red Potato Goulash, or this Gumbo-laya!
Cook's Note: This recipe was originally posted in 2013, and has been updated with even more love!
Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious
What a hearty bowl of chili! And with a side of cornbread, how can I resist?!
Ricki @ The Questionable Homesteader
Oh this looks really yummy! I especially like the fact that you used sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes. Will have to make this, just in the crock pot instead of on the stove...
The Cozy Apron
Thanks, Ricki - and whatever method of prep is easiest for you is the perfect way to go . Enjoy!
The Cozy Apron
Isn't she a cutie? We just couldn't resist... 😉
Doris
Just finished making this tonight and oh my goodness!!!...this chili is amazing. It could very well be the best thing I've made so far (I'm still learning and navigating my way through the kitchen!)I added a bit of Jack Daniels barbecue sauce to it at the end and that definitely added to the flavor phenomenally. And can we talk about perfect timing? So great to dive into a bowl of this the first day the chill starts to kick in! Thank you so much for posting this wonderful recipe.
The Cozy Apron
Doris, thank you very much for coming by to share some comments on your experience with the recipe - I'm thrilled that you enjoyed this, and I'm sure that it had a nice little kick with the bbq sauce, too. It makes me feel good that you had this on the first day that things started to get cold - perfect timing, indeed!
Sarah
Somebody mentioned making this in the crock pot... do you (or anyone else) have any recommendations or tweaks that need to be made to make this a successful slow cooked recipe? Thanks!
The Cozy Apron
Hi Sarah, great question! The only thing I can think to suggest is to keep it on a lower setting as to not over-cook and break up the sweet potatoes too much (they cook pretty quickly, believe it or not). If it simmers gently on not too high a setting, it should be fine.
Toni
I made this last night, and it was delicious. It was by far the best homemade chili I have ever had. The cornbread sprinkled on top was the perfect pairing.
Thanks!
The Cozy Apron
Perfect, Toni! Glad you enjoyed the recommendation of the cornbread, too. Thanks so much for taking a moment to come back and share the experience!
Alisa
Thank you so much for this recipe! It is delicious. It is near the top of my favorite chili recipes, and I love chili! My husband made it the other night for dinner and it was great, so tonight is my turn to make it again. I kept asking him exactly what he did, hoping it will taste just as good.
Thanks!
The Cozy Apron
Hi Alisa! I love that this recipe is being enjoyed by your hubby and you, two chili "connoisseurs", apparently! How fun that you're making it this time - and I'm sure yours will be just a tasty as your hubby's! 🙂
Mary Clare
Made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious! I added some crushed tomatoes and corn to stretch the recipe a bit. SO good!
The Cozy Apron
Excellent, Mary! So happy you enjoyed!
Cynthia Malm
I made this for dinner last night and it was a huge hit with the whole family. I didn't have the tomato paste and it didn't hurt a thing by skipping it. The only thing I added was a big spoon of curry powder. The curry with the sweet of the sweet potato just brought the whole thing together. It's going into the weekly rotation for a while. Thanks!
The Cozy Apron
Perfect, Cynthia—way to make the recipe your own! Hope you all continue to enjoy!
Kim
I made this today - followed the recipe exactly except less onion. Love it! Going back for seconds. Thanks!
The Cozy Apron
Love that you're going back for seconds, Kim—you deserve it! 🙂 Thanks so much for your comments, and I'm glad you enjoyed!
Kellsey
Looks delicious! I love making chili in the fall, especially during football season (Go Birds!). Definitely saving this one for next Sunday 🙂
The Cozy Apron
Hi Kellsey, that's perfect!
Beth
I came across this recipe on Buzzfeed and decided I had to have it immediately. I made a few changes - I doubled the entire recipe except the beef (I used 1.5lbs for the whole thing), 1 can garbanzo and 1 can black beans in place of kidney beans, and I used more of the spices than the original measurments. I also just topped mine with the cilantro and cheese, b/c I didn't read that it should be folded in.
WOW. This was so tasty!! I love that it was a different take on regular chili. It was also healthier than my normal chili with the addition of sweet potatoes, bell peppers, and more tomatoes than I typically use. The portion sizes were more than filling. I'll definitely be making this again and have passed the recipe to friends. Thank you!
The Cozy Apron
Hi Beth, your adjustments are great! I'm so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, and thank you for passing it along to share with others. Thanks so much for your comments!
Susanne Lairson
I made this twice now and the first time was for a party and I was hoping for left overs, nope not a drop. I got rave reviews. I did tweak it a bit I used ground turkey and probably a bit more chili powder and cumin. I also threw in some black beans and added a bit of brown sugar for a sweet spicy smokey flavor. I wish I would have tried it before our chili cook off at work because it is fabulous and probably would have won!
Debbie
Look forward to making this recipe. I will, however, substitute ground turkey for the beef.
The Cozy Apron
Debbie, wonderful substitution for this recipe. Hope you enjoy!
Mrs M
I never leave comments on web pages but I just had to! I'm not a huge chili fan and have only cooked sweet potato with cinnamon and brown sugar. I've just been advised to go gluten free for health reasons but with a hungry husband and three kids I really don't know where to start for meals! I came across this recipe as I searched for something to do with sweet potatoes, but I'm not even sure why I made it as I didn't really expect anyone to like it. I was so wrong! It was LOVED and DEVOURED by all. I will be making this A LOT now! Best chili I've ever tasted! Thank you for this! Has completely encouraged me with gluten free filling family meals.
The Cozy Apron
Mrs. M, your comments so touched my hubby & I! Loved reading what you wrote! So thrilled you and your family enjoyed the recipe so much, and that it gives you a little hope that you'll be able to find some good-tasting, gluten-free ideas. I'm honored by your comments—it's why we do what we do here at The Cozy Apron! Hope you come back and peruse more recipes! 🙂
Kerri
Made this tonight and the sweet potatoes are not softening, even though I've simmered it for at least 45 minutes or so, even turning it up to medium. It doesn't seem as though anyone else is having this problem....
The Cozy Apron
Hi Kerri, I was wondering if the potatoes you're using are the pale golden/orange, or the deeper orange? Sometimes the more pale ones are quite hard, and take a really long time. The bright orange ones are typically quite sweet and quick-cooking, and should not be taking 45 + minutes. Hopefully you got them to soften up, and could finally enjoy the chili!
Patty House
We've made this three times now. the 2nd time we doubled it. the 3rd time, we double it, but removed the meat. Still very tasty.
Question: Do you know how many calories are in a serving? Wanting to put it into my fitbit app...Trying to lose weight doing the Daniel Diet and everything in this is approved! Yay! (minus the meat, cheese and sour cream).
A
Made this tonight with some tweaks: roasted light yellow l, small cubes, sweet potatoes in oven before adding to the pot. Doubled the seasoning. Very hearty and warming chilli. Thanks for the healthy, hearty recipe!
The Cozy Apron
Glad you enjoyed!