There are a few ways to make Chili. Sweet Potato Chili with Root Beer. Is there anything else to say? You can use ground beef, chicken, or turkey for chili, but what were doing today is roasting sweet potatoes for our unique twist on chili.
Watch How We Made Sweet Potato Chili
The sweet potatoes will get an infusion of smoked jalapeños in adobo sauce for flavor and then tomatoes, chili powder, garlic, cumin, oregano and sweet root beer.
Love the chipotles in adobo sauce and love the cumin in this recipe. Both of which will deepen the flavor and keep us on the chili track instead of vegetable stew.
Beware, the Chipotles in adobo sauce have enough flavor that you may only need a tablespoon (or less) to give the chili enough heat and smoke.
How Do You Make Sweet Potato Chili
To make sweet potato chili you will need sweet potatoes, tomatoes, beans, chili powder, onions, garlic, cilantro, chipotle in adobo sauce, masa and lime.
Start by roasting peeled and lightly oiled sweet potatoes in a 425-degree oven for 30 minutes. They will develop a beautiful color and a little char.
While the potatoes are roasting, in a large heavy bottom pot, cook the garlic for a minute or two and then add the chopped onions. Cook the onions for just a minute or two before adding the chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Cook all this a few minutes more until fragrant.
This recipe is protein packed with the addition of beans. Two kinds of beans to be exact. Kidney beans and black beans. You could add pinto beans if you prefer and that would certainly be ok.
Add the beans, tomatoes and root beer to the pot. Bring the chili to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Stir the pot and cover. Cook the chili for 1 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally so that the chili does not stick.
I’m not worried about chili purists arguing about beans in chili. We are pretty far off the trail today anyway with sweet potatoes and Not Your Father’s root beer.
Masa Is One of The Secrets
One of the secrets to this winter recipe lies in the Masa that we add in the last few minutes of cooking.
Create a slurry of masa and water, then, add to the slurry some liquid from the chili. Stir this slurry together until thin. Adding in a little more chili liquid at a time. After your slurry is thin enough add the entire slurry back into the chili pot. This not only will help thicken the chili but also creates another depth of most welcome flavor.
Look at it any way you want. This may be the best chili I’ve ever made.
Cilantro Ties All The Sweet Potato Chili Ingredients Together
Roughly chop cilantro leaves and add them in as the chili finished. About 30 minutes before the chili is done. Cilantro will add notes of citrus and pepper to the chili. The longer it cooks, the less flavorful it will become.
Cut some lime wedges and finish this sweet potato chili with a fresh squeeze of lime. This will really go a long way in brightening the complex flavors.
To smooth out the heat from the chipotle peppers and if you like a little extra flavor, go ahead and dice some avocado to garnish the chili or a good dollop of sour cream. Enjoy!
Vegetarian Sweet Potato Chili Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 pounds Sweet Potatoes
- 28 ounces Tomatoes diced
- 12 ounces Root Beer
- 3 1/2 cups Water 1/2cup reserved
- 1 medium Onions
- 2 tablespoons Limes
- 1 tablespoon Cilantro
- 15 ounces Kidney Beans
- 15 ounces Black Beans
- 1 tablespoon Garlic minced
- 4 tablespoons Chili Powder
- 1 tablespoon Cumin Powder
- 1 tablespoon Oregano dry
- 1 tablespoon Chili In Adobo Sauce minced
- 3 tablespoons Masa Harina
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Pepper
- 2 tablespoons Grapeseed Oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 F degrees. 218 C
- Peel and cut the sweet potatoes (3 pounds) into 1 inch dices. Place the cubes into a large bowl and coat with Grapeseed Oil (1 tablespoon) and salt (1 teaspoon) and pepper (1/2 teaspoon).
- Place the sweet potatoes on a rack or on a sheet pan and roast for 30 minutes until a nice color develops. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- Preheat a large heavy pot to medium and add Grapeseed Oil (1 tablespoon). Add Minced Garlic (1 tablespoon) and Sweet Chopped Onion (1 medium) and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant.
- To the onions and garlic mixture add Chili Powder (4 tablespoons), Cumin Powder (1 tablespoon), Chili in Adobo Sauce (1 tablespoon), Kosher Salt (1 teaspoon) and Black Pepper (1 teaspoon). Stir the mixture until well combined and fragrant.
- To the pot add in the Diced Tomatoes (28 ounces), Kidney Beans (15ounces), Black Beans (15 ounces), Root Beer (12 ounces), Water (3 cups), Dry Oregano (1 tablespoon) and Lime Juice (2 tablespoons)
- Stir and cover the pot. Bring to a boil, stir again and reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for 2 hours stirring occasionally.
- Make a slurry with Masa Marina (3 tablespoons) and Water (6 tablespoons) Stir the Masa and water to combine.
- Remove the cover from the pot and add in the slurry. Bring the pot to a simmer and stir until the chili begins to thicken.
- Add the roasted sweet potatoes to the pot and chopped fresh cilantro (2 tablespoons)
- Stir, cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes before serving.
- Garnish the Sweet Potato Chili with diced avocado and/or sour cream.
Nutrition
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