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Black bean sweet potato chili is a smoky, sweet, and savory chili made for stove, Crockpot, or Instant Pot. This meatless recipe includes quinoa for added texture and nutrients.
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Why you'll love this recipe
Black bean sweet potato quinoa chili is a family-favorite plant-based recipe that comes together quickly and easily. It's nutrition-loaded and deliciously flavored with the perfect blend of smoky chipotle and classic chili seasoning. Sweet potatoes and black beans pair together nicely and the quinoa adds even more nutrition.
Just like 3 bean vegetarian chili, this sweet potato and black bean chili is approved for multiple diets and includes instructions for the stove, crockpot, or Instant Pot.
Key ingredients
Ingredient amounts are included in the printable recipe below.
- Onions and garlic - These are key players in flavoring this chili.
- Seasonings - The combination of chili powder, cumin, and chipotle powder (or chipotle in adobo) adds a smoky flavor that complements this chili's savory black bean and sweet potato flavors.
- Sweet potatoes - Use diced sweet potatoes or yams with this recipe.
- Black beans - Use canned, stove-cooked, or pressure cooked black beans in this chili.
- Corn - Use fresh, frozen, or canned corn. It adds texture and sweetness to this moderately spiced black bean chili.
- Canned tomatoes - Any neutral-flavored canned tomatoes will work for this recipe. I prefer to use crushed tomatoes for their saucy texture.
- Quinoa - Use any color quinoa and always rinse thoroughly before cooking unless the package indicates that the quinoa is pre-rinsed.
- Vegetable broth - Any broth will work for this recipe. You can even use water in place of broth.
- Sea salt - I prefer to add this to taste later in the recipe.
How to make this recipe in a pressure cooker
In the recipe card below, I've included stove, crockpot, and Instant Pot methods for this sweet potato chili. But, because I get asked the most questions from pressure cooker beginners, I wanted to offer step by step Instant Pot photos for this recipe.
Select "Sauté" and add OIL. When it reads "Hot", add ONION and GARLIC. Cook and stir a few minutes until tender. Add CHILI POWDER, CHIPOTLE POWDER or ADOBO, and CUMIN. Sauté briefly, then add a splash of BROTH, stirring to release any bits from the pot and form a paste. Guys, this paste is pure flavor magic for sweet potato chili!
Press "Cancel" and add SWEET POTATOES, BLACK BEANS, CORN, TOMATOES, QUINOA, remaining BROTH, SALT, and PEPPER. Stir to combine. Pressure cook the chili.
Turn pressure release valve to "Venting" position to release any remaining steam. Press "Cancel", open lid, stir, and devour your delicious quinoa chili.
Recipe tips
- This recipe isn't suitable for dried black beans as the cooking time required would cause the sweet potatoes and quinoa to overcook.
- I specified fire-roasted tomatoes in the recipe, but you can use any neutral-flavored canned tomatoes, such as diced, whole-peeled, or crushed tomatoes.
- If you substitute the chipotle powder with chipotle in adobo, I recommend finely chopping the chilies to prevent chunks.
Recipe variations
- To make this recipe without quinoa, reduce the liquid amount by 1 cup for any given method.
- Reduced-sodium pantry staples, such as canned beans and vegetable broth, give you flexibility in adjusting salt levels to your liking.
- You can replace the corn with another vegetable such as zucchini or bell peppers.
More chili recipes
📖 Recipe
Black Bean Sweet Potato Chili Recipe
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When scaling the recipe 2x or 3x, the gray ingredient note stays the same. Adjust quantities accordingly.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Avocado Oil
- ½ medium Onion, diced (1 cup)
- 3 cloves Garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons Chili Powder Blend, *Not pure chile powder
- ½ teaspoon Chipotle Powder, or ½ teaspoon chipotle in adobo
- ½ teaspoon Ground Cumin
- 1 large Sweet Potato, peeled and ¼-inch diced (about 2 cups)
- 2 (15 ounce cans) Black Beans, drained and rinsed (about 3 cups cooked)
- 1 cup Corn, fresh or frozen
- 1 (14.5 ounce can) Fire Roasted Tomatoes, or preferred variety
- ½ cup Dried Quinoa, rinsed
- 2 ½ cups Vegetable Broth
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- topping ideas: cilantro, lime, salsa, sour cream, tortilla chips, avocado, jalapeno
Instructions
Stove instructions (see other methods below)
- Heat OLIVE OIL in a 4 quart soup pot on medium-high.
- Add ONIONS and GARLIC. Sauté until tender, stirring as needed.
- Add CHILI POWDER, CHIPOTLE POWDER, and CUMIN. Sauté the onions a few minutes until fragrant.
- Add a splash of BROTH and use the utensil to release any bits stuck to the pot.
- Add SWEET POTATOES, BLACK BEANS, CORN, TOMATOES, QUINOA, remaining BROTH, SALT, and PEPPER.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes until sweet potatoes are fork-tender and quinoa is cooked, stirring as needed
- Serve warm.
Recipe Notes
-
Select "Sauté" and add OIL.
-
When the display reads "Hot", add ONION and GARLIC. Cook and stir a few minutes until tender.
-
Add CHILI POWDER, CHIPOTLE POWDER or ADOBO, and CUMIN. Sauté briefly and add a splash of BROTH, cooking and stirring to release any bits stuck to the pot and form a seasoning paste.
-
Press "Cancel" and add SWEET POTATOES, BLACK BEANS, CORN, TOMATOES, QUINOA, remaining BROTH, SALT, and PEPPER. Stir to combine.
-
Secure the lid and set pressure release valve on "Sealing" position. Select "Manual" or "Pressure Cook" and set the Instant Pot on "High" pressure for 1 minute (you read that right ... only 1 minute), followed by a 10 minute natural pressure release (NPR).
-
Flip pressure release valve to "Venting" position to release any remaining steam. Press "Cancel", open lid, and stir.
Equipment
- 6-quart Instant Pot for pressure cooker method
- 4 quart slow cooker for slow cooker method
- 4-quart soup pot for stove method
Janet says
hi, I made this yesterday and had to chuck it, is it a type error with the amount of chilli? 2 tablespoons. it wasn't edible far too hot. I'm sure it would have been lovely if maybe 2 tsps.
Traci says
Hi Janet, it's not an error. My chili recipes call for chili powder which is always a spice blend. It sounds like maybe you used chile powder aka pure ground dried chiles(?) in which case, you're right, 2 teaspoons would be plenty. I have noted the recipe card to avoid this mixup in the future. Let me know if I can help further and thank you for taking the time to comment.
Cheryl says
I used cubed butternut squash, doubled the spices, liquid and quinoa. Absolutely the best veggie chili ever!
Traci says
Yay!! I'm so glad you went for it and I'm all for doubling spices! Thank you so much for the feedback. Enjoy!!
Nancy says
Another slam dunk! Thanks 🙃
Traci says
Woohoo! Glad you went for it and love it as much as we do. Thanks for the feedback! I really appreciate it. Enjoy!
Jan says
Hi Traci, I made this recipe once and we loved it. I used the actual chipotle in adobo and it was great. I want to make it again to bring with us on a trip where we're staying in an airbnb with our son & daughter-in-law, but I have two questions: 1) Can this be made ahead and frozen? 2) Can I sub one of the cans of black beans for one can of dark red kidney beans?
Thanks so much!
Jan
Traci says
Hi Jan! I'm glad you liked the recipe. Yes you can make ahead and freeze, then thaw overnight and reheat as needed. Also, yes, feel free to substitute any beans for the black beans. Thanks for asking and I hope you enjoy!
Jan says
Do you buy fire-roasted diced tomatoes in puree? If so what brand? If not, how do you "partially puree" the can of diced tomatoes, and how much to you puree? At one point, I found canned fire-roasted diced tomatoes in puree somewhere, but I can't remember where or what brand. Thanks, Traci!
Traci says
Thanks for asking this question, Jan. Fire roasted tomatoes are usually sold as 'diced', so I like to blend them slightly to get a 'crushed tomato' texture. So, not fully blended into liquid. I find it makes the chili more saucy. You can use any blender to do this. Hope that makes sense. Let me know if I can further clarify 🙂 Enjoy!!
Jen says
This was sooo good. Very simple to make and everyone loved it. Even my son who is not a fan of sweet potatoes, ate it all. Having all the different toppings was fun, so people could choose what they liked. In my opinion don’t skip the lime, I loved what it added to the chili.
The Kitchen Girl says
Yayyy! I'm so glad you enjoyed this chili. I, too, have someone who doesn't care for sweet potatoes AT ALL and truly enjoys this chili...crazy huh! And omg yes the lime and the cilantro are keyyyy for me. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave feedback. Much appreciated! 🙂
Princess says
This is delicious and so easy. Thank you for publishing.
The Kitchen Girl says
Yay! You are so welcome 🙂 I'm glad you're enjoying the recipe. Thanks for taking the time to let me know. I appreciate it!
Rosanna says
Planning to making your recipe 😊
What do you recommend in place of the corn?
The Kitchen Girl says
Yay! You can simply leave the corn out or, for volume, sub it with more sweet potatoes or black beans. Enjoy the recipe 🙂