Smoky chipotle peppers, hearty black beans, and tender sweet potatoes come together in a bold, spicy tomato sauce to create this incredibly flavorful sweet potato black bean chili. A guaranteed crowd-pleaser for vegans and non-vegans alike!
There so many ways to make chili! I should know — I think I've tried pretty much every one that doesn't involve meat. From cauliflower chili to tofu chili to tempeh chili and even quinoa chili. But I really, really love this sweet potato black bean chili.
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Sweet potatoes and black beans are an awesome flavor combination, and one that I've used in a handful of other recipes besides this chili, like my sweet potato black bean tostadas, sweet potato black bean burgers, and sweet potato black bean burrito bowls. The addition of smoky, spicy chipotle peppers adds to the deliciousness of this mix.
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Olive oil. I like to use olive oil, but you can use another high-heat oil, like coconut, canola, or avocado oil if you'd like.
- Onion.
- Red bell pepper.
- Garlic.
- Spices. All you need is chili powder and ground cumin, both of which you can get in the spice aisle of just about any grocery store.
- Fire roasted tomatoes. Fire roasted tomatoes will give your chili some extra smoky flavor, so it's totally worth using them if you can get ahold of some. If not, no worries! Just use regular old diced tomatoes.
- Sweet potato. Use an orange or red sweet potato, which might also be labelled at a yam at some grocery stores in the United States.
- Black beans. We're using canned black beans to make things easy. If you prefer to cook your beans from scratch, go for it! You'll need about two cups of cooked beans.
- Vegetable broth. Water will work if you don't have any broth on hand.
- Tomato paste.
- Chipotle chile peppers. Chipotles are sold in cans, in the international foods aisle of most grocery stores. They'll add smoky flavor as well as some heat to the chili.
Tip: Be sure to grab some of your favorite chili toppings at the store! Chopped scallions, fresh cilantro, avocado, guacamole, crushed tortilla chips, vegan sour cream or cashew cream, and vegan shredded cheese are all great options.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Heat your olive oil in a pot, then add diced onion and red bell pepper. Sweat the veggies for a few minutes to start softening them up.
Step 2: Add the garlic and spices to the pot. Cook everything briefly, stirring the whole time to prevent anything from burning.
Step 3: Add the fire roasted tomatoes, black beans, sweet potato, broth, tomato paste, and chipotle peppers to the pot. Stir everything up, bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer for about thirty minutes.
Step 4: The chili is done when the sauce is thick and the sweet potatoes are tender. Once it reaches this stage, take the pot off of heat and season it with some salt and pepper to taste. Your sweet potato black bean chili is done!
Step 5: Ladle your chili into bowls and enjoy it alone, or with your favorite chili toppings. It's great with some crusty bread, vegan cornbread, or vegan corn muffins on the side.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover sweet potato black bean chili will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about three days, or in the freezer for about three months.
Variations
- Switch the beans. Black beans are my favorite for pairing with sweet potatoes, but other types of beans work just fine! Try pinto beans, kidney beans, or cannellini beans.
- Add veggies. Got some extra veggies hanging around in the fridge? Add them to your chili! Try corn, summer squash, zucchini, spinach, or kale.
- Five alarm sweet potato black bean chili. For extra heat, add some cayenne pepper or your favorite hot sauce.
- Cocoa chili. Add a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder to your chili. Sounds weird, but it will enhance the flavor.
- Beer chili. For a super robust, intensely flavorful chili, substitute beer for the vegetable broth.
Frequently Asked Questions
It sure is!
It has a slight kick, thanks to the chipotle peppers. If you'd like a milder chili, skip the chipotles and add a teaspoon or two of smoked paprika instead.
More Vegan Chili Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Chipotle Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 (14.5 ounce/411 gram) cans fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 medium sweet potato (about 1 pound), diced (½ inch)
- 1 (15.5 ounce/439 gram) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 chipotle chili peppers in adobo sauce, finely diced
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Coat the bottom of a large pot with the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and bell pepper. Cook them for about five minutes, stirring frequently, until they begin to soften.
- Add the garlic, chili powder, and ground cumin to the pot. Stir everything up and cook the mixture for about one minute, stirring constantly to prevent anything from burning, until it becomes very fragrant.
- Stir in the fire roasted tomatoes, black beans, sweet potato, broth, tomato paste, and chipotle peppers. Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Lower the heat and let the chili simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, until the sweet potato is tender and the base has thickened up quite a bit. You can add some hot water if the chili thickens up too much before the sweet potato is done.
- Remove the chili from heat and season it with salt and pepper to taste. Adjust any other seasonings to your liking.
- Ladle the chili into bowls and serve with toppings of your choice.
Notes
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I make this recipe every year as soon as the temperature begins to dip in autumn. This recipe just feels like autumnal vibes for me. And I love the way the house smells as it simmers!
I’ve been using this recipe for years and just wanted to tell you how much my family enjoys it. I add an extra chipotle pepper and some cocoa powder. So rich and delicious! Thank you!
I just made this and LOVE it. I added some diced apples with the rest of the ingredients while the sweet potato was cooking, and topped it off in the bowl with a bit of cheddar. Absolutely delicious. This is definitely going to be made often.
This was delic!! But I did not use adobo sauce.
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
When you say vegetable broth, is this the dry broth mix?
It's the liquid kind. If you have a dry mix just add water per the package instructions and add it the the recipes as called for. :)
I tried this recipe this evening and loved it. The only problem was that the sweet potatoes were not cookin so I removed them from the chili and cooked them in some vegetable broth and then added everything to the chili.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I'm not sure what went wrong with the sweet potatoes - maybe not enough broth in the chili? I usually add some if it gets too thick - it will cook off as the chili simmers. Glad it worked out though!!
Delicious recipe! The only thing I had to adjust was the cooking time. The sweet potatoes needed a lot longer time to cook before they were soft. I may take Janet M's advice and cook them separately in broth next time.
I LOVE your site -and it’s name!!
I’m so excited to try this, but it’s just me hat I cook for los of the time... Can this be frozen? If so, are there any specific instructions on how to reheat it? Thank you! I hope you have a beautiful day. :)
Thanks Christie! I'm glad you're enjoying the site! This one actually freezes really well. Just seal it up in a container, then thaw when you're ready and reheat on the stove or in the microwave - nothing special. :) Enjoy!!
Just tried this for dinner tonight! It was really good!
Thanks Sarah! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Do you think this would work in the crockpot?
I think so, but I'm not sure about the cook time. I'd guess 4-5 hours on high or 6-8 on low, but definitely keep an eye on it the first time you try. And please let me know how it turns out if you do!
Made this for dinner, and it was delish. But man was it spicaaay! Topped with vegan sour cream to take it down a bit. Also, it seemed a bit skimpy on the beans, so I doubled up on those and am glad I did. Thanks!
I'm glad you enjoyed it!! It is pretty spicy - my husband usually ends up piling a bunch of cashew cream on this one. Thanks Jessica!
Does anyone have the nutrition facts for this recipe? Did I miss it?
I'm slowly adding nutrition facts to all of my recipes but haven't hit this one yet. Soon! For now you can try calculating it with this: https://www.verywell.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4129594
Can this be made in the crockpot?
I'm pretty sure that would work. I'd just throw everything in at once and keep checking on it until it's nice and thick and the sweet potatoes are soft.
FYI- It turned out AMAZING in the crock pot!! I think I cooked it for about 2 hours on HIGH, stirring several times!
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed it, and thank you for sharing your results with the crock pot! I'm trying to use mine more often, so that info might even come in handy for me. :)
This is a favorite for us! gonna make it again today on this cold and snowy day :)
Glad to hear it! And I'm totally jealous that you're getting some snow!
I made this recipe last night. Absolutely delicious!! My new favorite--and it was so easy to put together.
Glad you enjoyed it! This is a favorite in my house too. :)
Planning on making this for dinner tomorrow night - but I'm wondering if the measurement for chili powder is correct? Only 1 tsp and not a tbsp? Normally in chili recipes they use a lot more, so I just want to make sure before I attempt it!
Hi Alyssa! Yup, I just double checked and it is one teaspoon. I normally go with more chili powder too, but in this recipe I wanted the chipotle flavor to be the most predominant. Feel free to adjust any of the seasonings to your liking though, and enjoy. :)
Can't wait to try it out! Thanks!