Full of flavor and so simple to make, this one-pot Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili is a wonderfully satisfying vegetarian meal! Mix and match the ingredients to make it your own, and serve it with avocado, cilantro, and vegan cornbread.
If you’re looking for more plant-based chili recipes, you’ll also love my Lentil Chili, my Veggie Chili, and this creamy Vegan White Chili!
Vegan chili is, hands down, one of my favorite meals. It’s the ultimate versatile cold-weather staple. I can change up the vegetables, beans, and flavors based on the season, what I’m in the mood for, or what I have in the kitchen! And let me tell you, this Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili is one of the most flexible vegan chili recipes on my site.
Showcasing pillowy soft sweet potatoes, hearty black beans, and the classic smoky, comforting chili flavors you crave, it’s a perfect fall food. Oh, and the ingredients couldn’t be easier to mix and match. Out of sweet potatoes? Use butternut squash. Need to clean out your fridge? Throw in even more veggies. Looking for more flavor? Add a pinch of cinnamon or cayenne.
Vegan, non-vegan, veggie-skeptic, or picky eater, I know you’re going to love it!
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“This was so easy to make and was so good!! Even my meat eating hubby loved it! Perfect for a cozy night at home.” – Wendy
Why you’ll love this meatless chili recipe
- Thick, delicious, and hearty! I make this black bean sweet potato chili every fall and winter. Its cozy, smoky flavors, hint of sweetness, and hearty, satisfying ingredients are exactly what I crave on chilly days.
- Seriously flexible – There’s no shortage of ways to make this black bean chili your own. Swap the potatoes for squash, use vegan ground beef, add more veggies, and so on.
- A reader favorite ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Like me, my readers have been loving this chili recipe for years. It has over 100 ratings and reviews! Here’s what Elisa had to say about it: “I’ve been making this chili for years and everyone who has tried it, requests the recipe. I just send them here and recommend all the recipes lol”
How to make sweet potato black bean chili
Find the complete recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
Saute the onion, garlic, and chopped sweet potato in a large pot. Once soft, stir in the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and salt.
Pour in the diced tomatoes and their juices, black beans, and vegetable broth. Stir to combine, then heat to a simmer.
Leave the chili to simmer uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes.
Chili tastes better the next day
I know, I know. How could you possibly wait to eat this chili after smelling its irresistible aromas for 30 minutes?! But trust me, chili tastes even better after it sits for 1 to 2 days.
Serve the warm chili in bowls with your desired toppings and a slice of freshly baked Vegan Cornbread on the side. Enjoy!
Vegan chili topping ideas
Serve each bowl of chili with diced avocado, a dollop of my homemade Vegan Sour Cream, crushed tortilla chips, chopped cilantro, lime wedges, chopped green onions, these Quick Pickled Red Onions, vegan shredded cheddar cheese, and/or a dollop of vegan Greek yogurt on top.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, an equal amount of butternut squash would be a delicious swap!
A simple hack is to mash some of the soft sweet potatoes with the back of a spoon while they’re simmering in the chili. You can also use a little less broth/water. Start with 1 cup, then add more in splashes, as needed.
Vegetables: Saute diced bell peppers, green chile peppers, shredded carrots, diced zucchini, and/or mushrooms with the potatoes. You can also stir in 2 cups of chopped leafy greens, like spinach or kale, at the end.
Grains: A few of my readers have bulked up the chili with quinoa, barley, and brown rice.
Beans and Legumes: The black beans can be combined or replaced with pinto beans, kidney beans, or green/brown lentils.
If you’re not a fan of black beans, replace them with TVP, soy curls, the meaty tofu crumbles from my Ultimate Vegan Chili recipe, sliced vegan sausages, or browned ground vegan beef.
Spices: Cinnamon will add warmth, cayenne will bring the heat, and a little brown sugar will complement the sweet potatoes.
Sure! Just double the ingredients (click the 2x button on the recipe card) and make the chili in the largest pot you own (or cook it in two batches).
Once the chili is cool, pack it into an airtight container and either refrigerate it for 4 to 5 days or freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw the leftovers in the fridge overnight before reheating on the stove or in the microwave.
The chili will thicken as it chills, but I find that stirring in a splash of broth/water while reheating always helps thin it out.
Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili
Ingredients
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced small
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
- 2 tablespoons mild chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 28 ounces diced tomatoes, with their juices OR fire roasted tomatoes
- (2) 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups vegetable broth or water
Optional toppings
- 1-2 chopped avocados
- chopped cilantro
- chopped green onions
- Vegan Sour Cream
- Vegan Cornbread
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium heat, add the olive oil. Saute the diced onion for 3-4 minutes, until translucent, then add in the garlic and sweet potato and cook about 2 more minutes.
- Next add the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika and salt. Stir into the vegetable mixture.
- Pour in the diced tomatoes along with their juices, drained and rinsed black beans and broth/water. Stir to combine. Simmer the mixture, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes.
- Use the back of a spoon to mash some of the sweet potatoes for a thicker texture, if desired.
- Serve with avocado chunks, cilantro, chopped green onions, vegan cornbread or vegan sour cream.
Video
Notes
- For oil free, simply use water to saute instead of oil.
- May substitute peeled/chopped butternut squash for the sweet potato, if desired. You could also add 2 cups of baby spinach or chopped kale.
- For a thicker chili, add less broth/water.
- To make in an Instant Pot: Use the saute feature and cook the onion, then the garlic and sweet potato, then the spices just like in the regular instructions. Turn off the Instant Pot for a moment and add the diced tomatoes, black beans and water. Stir, then seal and set the timer to 8 minutes at high pressure. Release pressure manually, and serve with desired toppings.
- To make in a slow cooker: Add all ingredients to a crock pot and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 7-8 hours.
- The recipe can easily be doubled or even tripled to serve a large crowd.
- The chili freezes well and will keep in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
This chili was a little bland for my taste. I did make it in the crockpot so that may have compromised some of the flavor. I added a tablespoon of vinegar at the end to add some acidity.
I made half the recipe tonight in the instant pot. The flavor is superb. I had to drain the water and it came out too mushy. I assume I did something wrong as I am not a whiz at the instant pot. I wonder if eight minutes was too long for half a recipe or I didn’t release the pressure quickly enough. I will definitely try it again in a pot on the stove because it really is delicious.
Amazing amazing recipe!!! Nora cooks for the win once again.
Glad you loved the chili! Thanks for your wonderful feedback!
Used beef broth instead of water, also added corn and 1 tbsp of brown sugar. Delicious recipe with such depth of flavor, could eat this daily. And super healthy, too! Thanks!
You are welcome, Kasey! Thanks for your wonderful feedback and review! I’m thrilled you loved the chili!
SO GOOD!!
wonderful! I added a handful of baby spinach at the end and served with siracha, vegan mozzarella, and avocado over rice. I only have a 3qt pot so had to halve the recipe, except I used a whole sweet potato. delicious, filling, and the extra veg made it feel like a complete meal I will be excited to eat for lunch this week.
Your chili sounds delicious! Thanks you for your fabulous feedback! Enjoy you lunches this week!
My favorite vegan chili recipe so far! Perfect balance of flavors. Love the smoked paprika element- Gives it a lot of depth. Followed recipe as is, just doubled the garlic. Will be making this again. It’s a perfect match for your cornbread recipe, which is always my go to. 100%. Thank you, Nora!
You are welcome, Sarah! How fabulous that you love the chili! Thanks for your wonderful feedback and review!
Made exactly as written. Will definitely make again!
I’m glad you loved it! Thanks for your wonderful comments and review!
I subbed vegetable broth and added kale and bell peppers. So good! I love all your recipes Nora, please keep doing what you are doing 💚
Thanks for your encouraging words and great feedback! I’m glad you love the chili!
One of the best vegan meals I’ve ever made! You must try this! Even meat lovers will like it!
Thanks for your amazing feedback, Dorothy! How awesome that the chili is a hit!
This chili is so good and versatile. It’s perfect as written but I like to replace one of the cans of beans with zucchini for some extra veggies and also add TVP or tofu ground “beef” for extra protein. I also leave out the onion due to stomach issues and it’s still soooo good.
I come back to this recipe again and again. It is perfect as it is. My occasional variation is to add TVP. Also I like to work from dried black beans and when I do I use the cooking water from the beans instead of regular water.
I am so glad you are enjoying the chili recipe! Thank you for sharing your fantastic feedback and ideas!
Curios as to why this recipe is so high in sodium
The high sodium content comes from the canned beans and tomatoes.
Thank you for this recipe, it was so good. I added a little cinnamon because I’m from Cincinnati and that’s how we do chili, other than that, stuck to the original recipe and we really enjoyed it.
Hi Melissa. You are welcome! Yum to your “Cincinnati’ style chili! I appreciate you lovely comments and great review!
So good! And so simple! I’ve made this as is with all the toppings and with ground chicken in it for my husband. We aren’t vegetarian and is still so good! Thank you for sharing.
I’m so glad you love the chili, Karli! Thank you for your review!
This chili is the bomb! I’ve been testing variations, like combining squash and sweet potato, and adding ground turkey. My workplace has a chili cook-off coming up, and I plan on entering this for first place! I can almost guarantee it will be a unique entry. 🙂
It is delicious as written. I’ve made it several times with no changes at all. It is a great pantry meal for me because I have most of these ingredients on hand all of the time. Last year I took it to a potluck and a month later at a game night my friends asked me to bring the amazing chili again 🙂 I am currently meal prepping for work lunches and am excited to have this for lunch all next week. It reheats beautifully.
Hi Angel. I am so glad that you are enjoying my chili, and that your friends are loving it as well! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback! Enjoy your chili this week!
I made this Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili for 1st time. To give it more of a “meat” like filling & look to it. I added sliced baby Bella & white mushrooms & 1/2 cup of Bulgur grain with an additional 1 cup of water. Also, added carrots since we needed to use them up. Only had 1 can of black beans. So used can of kidney beans. Did all the spices except salt since watching sodium levels. Added cracked pepper & garlic powder. Used Fire-roasted diced tomatoes. Everything turned out amazing. I found this recipe to be a great base to be able to add & adjust to preferences. My hubby & roommate are meat eaters. So when making something like chili with no meat turns them off. But they truly enjoyed it. And went back for 2nds. Also made the Vegan corn bread. They loved it. Next time we are putting green chilies into the corn bread.
Hi Kerry. I’m so glad you’ve tried the chili! This is indeed a flexible recipe, and your additions sound delicious! I appreciate you taking your time to share your wonderful review and feedback! I’m glad the chili was a hit! Also, the green chilies in the cornbread sounds amazing!
Absolutely fabulous! I’ve made this chili a lot & it’s delicious every time. I love how quick and easy to throw together too. Thank you!
Hi Christen. I’m so glad you are loving the chili! Thanks for your fabulous feedback!
Can this be frozen?
Yes, it freezes quite well!
So delicious! We added ground turkey to ours and seasoned the meat with salt, garlic powder, minced onion and paprika. One of the best chilis we ever had.
So glad you loved the chili, Lynsey! Thank you for your review and feedback!
I’m the odd one out and added a pound of ground elk that we harvested. Also added one chopped mild/medium pepper and served with macaroni, cheese, sour cream, onions and acoc.
This is my favorite lunch meal! For about $5 I can have lunch for a week! I made this in my instant pot and used 3 cups of home cooked black beans and 2 cups of my homemade chicken broth. The flavor was amazing. A bit of sweet and sassy. My daughter doesn’t like sweet potatoes, and she even loves it! It makes a lot and I love the fact that I can make it on my lunch break.
It really is a perfect option for lunch! I’m so happy you and your daughter love the chili and thanks so much for leaving such a great review!
Hello Nora, I would really like to make this soup but don’t have a cockpot or instant pot. How would I make this on the stove? Thank you!
Hi Taylor, the instructions in the recipe card will show you how to make the chili in a pot on the stove. Happy cooking!
This is so good. I just started noom and was looking for lo-cal filling lunches and this fits the bill. Lots of flavor and textures. Love it. Will definitely make again.
Hi Jen. Thanks for sharing your great feedback! I’m glad you love the chili, and will be making it often! Happy cooking!