Sweet Potato & Quinoa Chili
This Sweet Potato & Quinoa Chili recipe with kidney & black beans is hearty and full of flavor, and makes a great vegan lunch, dinner, or meal prep idea! Includes stovetop and slow cooker options.
Meals that can easily fit into your meal rotation are what I really love to share. As we can get a bit bored with the usual meals, it’s nice to have more easy options that come together in a cinch.
Why We Love This Recipe!
- It’s quick and easy. There are no complicated ingredients, everything is probably in your kitchen right now, or can be found right away at your favorite grocery store. And it’s all made in one pot for easy cooking and cleanup!
- It’s healthy and nutritious. This thick and hearty sweet potato & quinoa chili has plenty of protein, essential fiber, vitamins, and minerals while being flavorful and satisfying. Plus, it’s gluten-free, well-balanced, low fat, and includes an option to be oil-free!
I love finding these simple dishes that truly work and can be made over and over again. I know you’re going to love this chili and find yourself making it often during the chili weather season!
Easy and delicious, bring on the chili!
What Goes Into Quinoa Chili?
Here is everything you’ll need, plus ideas for ingredient substitutions (measurements are in the recipe card below):
- The Beans. We’ll be using protein-rich black beans and kidney beans. Feel free to use your favorite in any combo you like. Pinto beans would be great here too!
- Sweet Potato. One large sweet potato is all you need. I peeled mine, but you can leave the skin on for even more fiber (just be sure to scrub the sweet potato beforehand.
- Quinoa. Use your favorite colored quinoa, mine happens to be tri-color.
- Tomato. I’ve used a canned of diced tomatoes, with juices, for ease, but you can use 2 – 3 fresh roma tomatoes if you prefer.
- Tomato Paste. Tomato paste adds a wonderful umami flavor and helps thicken the chili nicely.
- Onion. Any color will do, use your favorite.
- Garlic. If you don’t have fresh garlic on hand, add an extra 1 – 2 teaspoons of garlic powder.
- Spices. You’ll find a tasty mix of chili powder, cumin, and oregano. Plus, I usually add a dash or two of garlic and onion powder for good measure.
- Garnish. This sweet potato & quinoa chili is great with diced avocado, cilantro, and homemade vegan cornbread. If you like heat, a few slices of jalapeno are perfect!
How To Make Sweet Potato & Quinoa Chili
This Sweet Potato & Quinoa Chili is so easy to make on the stovetop and will be ready in under 1 hour!
- Stovetop: In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until soft and edges browned, about 5 – 6 minutes. Add garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Add the chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic & onion powder, quinoa, beans, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, sweet potato, and broth/water, and stir until combined. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover slightly ajar, and cook for 30 – 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Chili is ready when sweet potatoes are tender. Add additional water as needed.
Here is also a method for using a crock-pot, because sometimes you just want to set it and forget it!
- Slow-Cooker: Add all the onion, garlic, diced tomatoes, beans, sweet potatoes, quinoa, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, oregano, onion & garlic powder, and broth/water to the bottom of the crockpot insert, stir until combined. Turn on high and cook for 4 – 6 hours, or turn on low and cook for 6 – 8 hours.
It’s a one-pot meal that’s perfect for lunch, dinner, or make-ahead meal planning!
Eating vegan meals every day that are healthy and tasty is really easy once you get the hang of it!
How Long Will Leftovers Keep?
Leftovers can be stored for 5 – 6 days in the refrigerator, in a covered container. Rewarm on the stovetop or the microwave. This recipe makes great meal prep for the week with vegan cornbread on the side.
Can You Freeze Quinoa Chili?
Yes, it freezes wonderfully for up to 2 – 3 months! To freeze sweet potato quinoa chili, simply store individual portions using freezer-safe containers. You can also freeze larger portions in large ziplock bags or containers. Let thaw before reheating.
Serving Suggestions
- Top with diced avocado and fresh chopped cilantro
- Top with a dollop of Vegan Cashew Sour Cream
- Add a sprinkle of vegan shredded cheese and/or green onions
- Serve with homemade Vegan Cornbread or Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins
- Try topping it on a baked sweet potato!
More Vegan Chili Recipes!
- Quinoa Chili Verde
- Easy Vegetable Chili
- The Ultimate Tempeh Chili
- Vegan Three Bean Chili
- Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili
- See all vegan chili recipes on TSV!
If you try this easy chili recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
PrintSweet Potato & Quinoa Chili
Full of protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, this easy Sweet Potato Quinoa Chili is thick, hearty, and always a good thing!
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 45 min
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4 – 6 1x
- Category: Entree, Chili
- Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or 1/4 cup water (for water saute)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 5 – 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- a few dashes of garlic powder
- a few dashes of onion powder
- himalayan salt, to taste
- 1 cup dried quinoa
- 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (15oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (15 oz) fire roasted diced tomatoes (with juices) or 1 1/2 cups diced fresh tomatoes
- 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
- 1 large sweet potato (about 1 lb.), diced (with or without skin)
- 5 – 6 cups water or vegetable broth (or combo)
Optional garnish for serving
- diced avocado
- cilantro
- diced onion and/or jalapeno
Instructions
Stovetop: In large pot or dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, cook until soft and edges browned, about 5 – 6 minutes. Add garlic, cook 1 minute more. Add the chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic & onion powder, quinoa, beans, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, sweet potato, and broth/water, stir until combined. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover slightly ajar and cook for 30 – 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Chili is ready when sweet potatoes are tender. Add additional water if chili is too thick for your liking.
Slow-Cooker: Add all the onion, garlic, diced tomatoes, beans, sweet potatoes, quinoa, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, oregano, onion & garlic powder and broth/water to the bottom of the crockpot insert, stir until combined. Turn on high and cook for 4 – 6 hours, or turn on low and cook for 6 – 8 hours.
Serve with optional garnishes. You may also like to top it with this easy Cilantro Lime Cashew ‘Sour Cream’. On the side, try this Vegan Cornbread or Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins are delicious!
Serves 4 generously.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 – 6 days. To keep longer, store in the freezer, in freezer safe containers, for up to 2 – 3 months.
Notes
As with all recipes, adjust seasoning to taste. Add a 1/2 teaspoon or so chipotle powder for some added heat.
Use your favorite beans, in any combination.
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Another winning recipe that will go into our rotation! We made the stovetop version as written. We like that the prep time went so quickly and the cook time is not too long and mostly hands-off. This is a flavorful one-pot chili that is potluck worthy! It is so nutritious and we appreciate how well-rounded it is since the recipe incorporates beans, grains, and veggies. Next time I will probably add more sweet potato because my family LOVES sweet potatoes.
This is one of my favorite recipes and such a crowd pleaser! Love love love!
Loved it but tweaked it a little bit. I roasted chopped fresh tomatoes and roasted the cubed sweet potatoes before adding them in. I also had to improvise when I ran out of chili powder. I found some “Ancho Chili and Coffee” seasoning in the cupboard so used that to make up the difference with the chili powder (we like to live on the edge around our house-LOL). It was terrific and added a Smokey flavor that took things up a notch. Enjoyed it with vegan sour cream and home made guacamole. I’m definitely going to use that ancho/coffee seasoning again next time.
Not sure how to figure out what would be an accurate serving size (my daughter enters everything into an app and this one is tricky).
Can this be made in the instant pot? If so, what would the cook time be and how would you adjust the amount of water or broth?
Great question, Wynne! Yes, you can make this in an Instant Pot, cooking on High pressure for 3 minutes. No changes are needed for ingredients, just add everything to the pot and give a good stir before attaching the lid. Enjoy!
This is so good! Even my sweet potato avoiding daughter said she loved it – thank you for this recipe!
Just made this for dinner & it turned out phenomenal. It was the perfect recipe for a rainy fall evening. Thank you Julie! Xoxo.
Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed the chili, Christin! It is perfectly hearty and warming for a chilly day. :)
It was easy to make, the tomatoes just over powered the whole recipe I feel like. When we first took a bite all I could taste was tomato, it just tasted like a maranera sauce and not like a chili. We keep adding stuff like bbq sauce and other common chili add ins but the tomatoes is still over powering.
I absolutely loved this in 2022!! I followed the recipe exact with the exception of adding a cup of sweet corn, because why not? I used a standard size carton of vegetable broth “low sodium” which equals about 4 cups. Around 30 mins into simmering , I stirred and decided to add a cup of water, I was afraid it was going to burn. But I probably could have gotten away with just 1/2 a cup. The sweet potatoes where perfect exactly at 40 mins!! It’s iffy cooking on my old gas range. Topped off with vegan sours cream and jalapeños and it was absolutely delicious. Will definitely make this for meal prep ❤️❤️
This was so good! I left mine on the stovetop on super low setting for about 1.5 hours and it was thick and delicious! Also added some chipotle pepper and smoked paprika. Thanks for the great recipe!
Excellent recipe. I added a bit more heat just for personal preference. I feel fortunate to have discovered simple-véganista.