Sweet potato and black bean chili is a new staple in my kitchen. This dish can be strictly vegan/vegetarian or paired with your favorite meat proteins. It stays good for a full week so it’s perfect for meal prep. You can basically throw all the ingredients in a slow-cooker and forget it. That is, until things start to break down, melting together, and smelling way too good.

Your grocery list

Produce

Sweet potatoes
Bell peppers (any color)
Yellow or red onion
Garlic
Cilantro

Dairy

Greek yogurt (for garnish)

Baking and pantry items

Kosher salt
Garlic powder
Dried oregano
Smoked paprika
Cumin
Freshly ground black pepper
Bay leaves
Sugar (white or brown will work, it’s just needed to balance the acidity from the tomatoes)
Vegetable or chicken broth

Canned goods

Diced or crushed tomatoes
Black beans

Other

Your favorite bourbon (optional)

Equipment/tools you’ll need

Knife and cutting board
Peeler (for sweet potatoes)
Slow-cooker / crockpot
Large spoon, for occasional stirring and serving

Step-by-step instructions for making sweet potato and black bean chili

1) Prep the ingredients

Sweet potatoes should be washed, peeled and chopped into large pieces. The smaller the pieces, the quicker they will soften and break down, but I like to cut mine into around 1″ cube(ish) pieces.
The onion and peppers can be washed and diced into pieces of roughly the same size for even cooking purposes only. The actual size is a personal preference, but try to make sure they are diced to around the same size.
You can use any kind of canned tomato (and even 2-3 diced fresh tomatoes). Crushed will cook faster because they are already more broken down than whole or diced tomatoes.

2) Slow-cook almost everything

The slow cooker does all of the work in this recipe. Once everything is in the pot and stirred together you can go on about your day. Just check on it and stir once each hour.
- On low, cook for 8-10 hours
- On high, cook for 4-5 hours

3) Add beans and cilantro (optional)

To avoid the beans getting too soft and mushy, they are added 1-2 hours before the stew is complete.
Cilantro is added later for a similar reason. Because it is a fresh herb, it only takes a short time to infuse that flavor and overcooking it could take over other flavors in the chili.
- On low, cook for 2 more hours after adding black beans and cilantro
- On high, cook for 1 more hour after adding black beans and cilantro

Tips for making great sweet potato and black bean chili

Keep it simple. This is basically a vegetable stew so feel free to add any extra vegetables that you have on hand that need to be used. This recipe does develop a lot of flavor as is and I haven’t done all the tests to definitively tell you how every vegetable will react after 5+ hours of slow cooking. Other potatoes, heartier vegetables like carrots, pumpkin, or turnips would be good additions because they can stand up to a longer period of cook time.
Add fresh elements closer to the end. Beans and cilantro will only need an hour or so to cook through and add their flavors to the chili. Fresher flavors like lime juice, Greek yogurt, and more fresh cilantro will balance out the stewed down flavors of the chili.
Adding bourbon makes this (and really any chili) a more interesting bite.

How to store sweet potato and black bean chili

Once the chili has cooled down, it can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. To freeze: portion it into individual ziploc bags; it keeps for up to a month. To reheat: Empty frozen contents directly into a small pot to reheat over medium low heat.

Ways to adjust your sweet potato and black bean chili

Switch out sweet potatoes and tomato for russet potatoes and garnish with loaded potato toppings for a loaded potato and pepper soup.
Serve with your favorite proteins – sauteed or grilled chicken, shrimp, salmon.
Turn up the spice by including jalapeno peppers along with the bell peppers or adding red pepper flakes, to taste.

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Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili