Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili
Standard · 50 min · Serves 4 · Mexican
Dietary: vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free
A hearty one-pot vegan chili of sweet potato and black beans simmered in fire-roasted tomatoes with green chiles, chili powder, smoked paprika and cumin.
Ingredients
For 4 servings
Chili
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, yellow, chopped
- 2 sweet potato, large, orange-fleshed, peeled and cut into 1.25 cm (½ inch) pieces
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced; red or yellow also work
- 4 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp cumin, ground
- 1 tsp oregano, dried
- 1 tsp salt
- 0.5 tsp black pepper
- 475 ml vegetable stock, low-sodium (2 cups)
- 2 can black bean, rinsed and drained
- 1 can tomato, a large 800 g (28 oz) can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes, with their juices
- 1 can green chile, a small 127 g (4.5 oz) can, chopped, with its juices
To serve
- 1 avocado, diced, to serve (optional)
- 5 g cilantro, chopped, to serve (optional)
Steps
Chili
- Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, sweet potatoes, bell pepper and garlic, stir to combine, and cook, stirring often, for 5 to 7 minutes, until the onion is translucent and the vegetables begin to soften. Cutting the sweet potato small, about 1.25 cm (½ inch), is what lets it soften evenly in the time.
- Add the chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper and stir to coat the vegetables. Toast the spices, stirring often, for about 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Pour in the stock, black beans, tomatoes and green chiles with all their juices, stir to combine, and bring to a boil.
- Cover the pot and lower the heat so it simmers gently. Cook for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring a couple of times, until the sweet potato is soft and the chili has thickened. For a thicker chili, mash some of the sweet potato and beans against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon; the starch they release thickens the liquid.
To serve
- Taste and season, then ladle into bowls and top with avocado and cilantro, if you like. Leftovers keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the fridge and loosen with a splash of stock or water when you reheat it.