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Hearty sweet potato chili is just what you need on a chilly day! Filled with onion, sweet potatoes, fire-roasted tomatoes, and ground beef, this chili is unbelievably satisfying. It tastes amazing, too, thanks to a blend of rich spices that bring the perfect amount of heat. Naturally gluten free, dairy free, paleo, and Whole30-compatible!
Before You Get Started
- I recommend using a lean ground beef so your chili isn’t super greasy, but! Be careful not to use one that’s too lean. The leaner the beef, the easier it is to overcook.
How to Make This Recipe
See recipe card below for full list of measurements, ingredients, and instructions.
Brown and season the beef.
Sauté diced onions in neutral oil until they’re translucent, then add your ground beef. Break the meat up into small pieces and cook it until it’s just browned. That’ll take a few minutes – just be careful not to cook the meat too long! Once it’s just browned, add the spices and stir everything together until it’s all well-blended.
Add the remaining ingredients.
Tomato paste and diced tomatoes, beef broth, water, and sweet potatoes, toss ’em all in! Stir everything together and make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen any bits of ground beef, onions, or garlic that may have stuck there.
Let it simmer.
Do your nails, go for a run, or catch up on this week’s episode of that Apple TV+ show you’ve been watching. OK, well, maybe don’t go for a run. The sweet potato chili needs a minimum of an hour to simmer and meld, though, so you could definitely knock an item or two off your to-do list in the meantime. Just pop in and stir it occasionally so nothing burns.
Cheryl’s Tip: You might be tempted to cut the simmer short, but you absolutely mustn’t! An hour minimum. It makes a huge difference!
What I Love About This Recipe
- The flavors in this sweet potato chili are out-of-this-world incredible. It’s rich and complex, with the perfect amount of heat, not to mention the earthiness of the sweet potatoes.
- It’s SO satisfying. Onions, garlic, sweet potatoes, fire-roasted tomatoes, plus ground beef and savory broth? It’s guaranteed to make you feel full and happy.
- Everything about this chili recipe is naturally paleo, Whole30, dairy free, and gluten free. Perfect if you’re on a round or feeding a varied group. The absolute best part, though? Nothing about it feels like “diet” food.
Recipe Variations
- Add Beans: For an even-heartier, even-more-nutrient-packed sweet potato chili, add beans! Black beans are my personal favorite – I love how they pair with sweet potatoes. 2 cans of black beans should do the trick. Make sure to rinse them and drain them well first, then add them with the beef broth and sweet potatoes.
- Happy Hour: For a deeper, rich flavor, replace the cup of water with a cup of your favorite beer. Of course, this doesn’t apply if you’re on a Whole30 round. No alcohol allowed in that case!
- Keep it Gluten Free: Make sure your beef broth is 100% free of gluten and any cross-contaminants.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions or variations listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
Sweet Potato Chili
Equipment
- large dutch oven or similar heavy-bottomed pot
- Large wooden spoon
Ingredients
For the Sweet Potato Chili
- 2 tablespoons refined coconut oil or avocado oil
- 3 cups diced white onion approximately 2 medium white onions
- 2-3 tablespoons minced fresh garlic to taste, approximately 4–6 large cloves
- 2 pounds lean ground beef 85/15 or 90/10
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano plus more to taste
- 2 teaspoons chili powder plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoons chipotle chili powder more or less to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin plus more to taste
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt more or less to taste
- 1 dash ground cinnamon plus more to taste
- 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
- 2 14-ounce cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 3 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 1 cup water or 1 cup low-sodium beef broth
- 1 cup diced sweet potatoes approximately 1 medium sweet potato; peeled, diced into bite-sized cubes
Serving Suggestions (All Optional)
- thinly sliced green onions
- diced avocado
Instructions
For the Sweet Potato Chili
- Place dutch oven on stovetop over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons refined coconut oil and continue heating pot until oil is hot and shimmery.
- When oil is hot, add 3 cups diced white onion. Stir to incorporate, then sauté onions, stirring frequently, approximately 7 to 10 minutes or until onions are soft and translucent.
- Once onions have softened, add 2-3 tablespoons minced fresh garlic and stir to incorporate. Sauté garlic, stirring constantly, 30 to 60 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add 2 pounds lean ground beef to pot and stir to incorporate, breaking ground beef into small pieces. Cook ground beef until just browned and crumbled, approximately 7 to 10 minutes.
- Add 2 teaspoons dried oregano, 2 teaspoons chili powder, 2 tablespoons chipotle chili powder, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, and 1 dash ground cinnamon to dutch oven. Stir to fully incorporate spices.
- Pour 1 6-ounce can tomato paste into dutch oven and stir until all ingredients are well incorporated.
- Add 2 14-ounce cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes, 3 cups low-sodium beef broth, 1 cup water, and 1 cup diced sweet potatoes to dutch oven. Stir well, making sure spices and tomato paste are incorporated into broth. Use wooden spoon to scrape bottom of dutch oven and loosen any ground beef or spices that may have stuck to pot.
- Increase heat under dutch oven to high and bring liquid to rapid boil. Once boiling, immediately reduce heat under dutch oven to low.
- Simmer chili, uncovered, 60 minutes minimum. Stir chili and taste occasionally, adjusting spices as desired.
To Serve
- Ladle sweet potato chili into serving bowls. Garnish chili with thinly sliced green onions, diced avocado, and other toppings if desired. Serve warm.
- Water: If you’re not paleo or on a Whole30 round, you can use 1 cup of beer instead of water for a richer, deeper flavor.
- Leftovers: Let leftover chili cool completely, then transfer it to an airtight container. Refrigerate up to 4 days.
- Freezer Storage: Let chili cool completely, then transfer it to a food-safe freezer bag or other airtight container. Freeze up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight, then reheat on the stove over low heat, adding broth as needed.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
Did You Make This Recipe?
Tag @40aprons on Instagram and be sure to leave a review on the blog post!
More Soups, Stews, and Chilis to Warm Your Kitchen
- Whole30 White Chicken Chili
- Creamy Chickpea Soup
- Texas Roadhouse Chili Recipe
- Spaghetti Soup
- Instant Pot Turkey Chili
- 15 Bean Soup
- Sweet Potato Soup
- Low Carb Chili (No Beans!)
- Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta Soup
- Italian Meatball Soup with Homemade Meatballs
- Chili with Rice
- Tom Kha Goong (Thai Coconut Shrimp Soup)
- Seafood Chili
- Turnip Green Soup
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This was delicious! I’m adding it to my Whole 30 rotation. I doubled the amount of sweet potato… I think next time I may even do a bit more! I also agree with the comments about too much chipotle chili powder. I used 1.5 teaspoons and it was perfect.
We’re so glad it was a hit! Thanks for sharing, Rachel!
can you use stew meat rather than ground beef?
We haven’t tested it with stewed meat, but let us know how it goes! It sounds like it’d be yummy!
Great recipe, except I’m not sure it truly needs for 2 Tablespoons of chipotle chili powder? Is that correct? Flavor was pretty overwhelming, perhaps I’ll do 1-2 teaspoons next time.
Omg same. I used chipotle powder and this recipe was thermonuclear hot, and I LOVE hot food. My husband and kids can’t eat it at all because it’s so hot.
I wonder if the recipe meant 2 tsp?
2 tablespoons is correct but as always, we encourage readers to scale back on hotter ingredients if they’re at all heat-sensitive! We’ll make sure to highlight that better in our post!
This is an absolutely amazingly delicious chili recipe. I am so glad that I found it. I added some kidney and black beans to it, to make it thicker and to go longer. It is has a hot spicy bite to it that can be toned down, if desired, with a dollop of sour cream. I can’t add how delicious it is. I recommend it to anyone!
I made chili for the first time today and decided to try this recipe. It is absolutely delicious!
Yay! I’m so glad that your first chili was a success 🙂 Thank you for your comment!
When and how much sweet potatoes do you add? Picture looks amazing!
Sorry about that – I updated the recipe!