This sweet potato and black bean vegetarian chili is healthy, warming and packed with flavour. It’s naturally gluten free and dairy free too, making it a great crowd-pleaser dish when you are catering for different dietary requirements.
Packed with fabulous ingredients and full in flavour, it’s a perfect alternative to the classic chili con carne. We are not vegetarian but we enjoy this chili just as much (probably more) than the meaty variety. You get plenty of protein from the black beans, then a tonne of goodness from all the lovely veggies too.
Make a big batch for weekly meal prep or impress friends and family with this delicious veggie supper. The chili itself has a gentle kick to it (halve the chili powder if you really dislike spice), but paired with chunky guacamole and cooling yoghurt this dish is juuuuust right.
Can I Make any Ingredient Substitutions?
This is a very flexible recipe, so feel free to change up the base vegetables and beans if you wish. If you can’t get hold of black beans, kidney beans are an ideal alternative. You could also try cannelini, pinto or butter beans.
I personally love the balance of vegetables included here, but there’s no harm in chucking in a bit of extra veg if you have some spoiling in your fridge. I often throw in extra carrots as we seem to have a permanent glut of them at the moment!
No spinach? Try kale or spring greens instead. They will have a slightly chewier texture, but still work beautifully in this dish.
Sweet Potato & Black Bean Vegetarian Chili
Sweet Potato & Black Bean Vegetarian Chili (GF, DF)
Ingredients
- 0.5 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large white onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 2cm cube fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
- 2 medium carrots, sliced
- 1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped
- 1 heaped tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- 1 gluten free vegetable stock cube
- 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
- 200ml water
- 1 tbsp gluten free tamari sauce
- 400g tin black beans, drained and rinsed
- A small tin of sweetcorn (approx 200g)
- 200-250g washed fresh spinach leaves
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- To make this sweet potato and black bean chili, first take a large saucepan and place over a medium heat. Add the olive oil and the onion, gently sauteing the onion for 5 minutes until it begins to soften.
- Now turn the heat down to medium-low, add the garlic and ginger and cook for a further 2 minutes.
- Next add the sweet potato, carrots and pepper to the pan, stirring well for a couple of minutes.
- Add the tomato puree, chili, cumin and crumbled stock cube to the pan - stir everything together and cook for a couple of minutes until the spices become fragrant.
- Tip the chopped tomatoes, water and tamari into the pan. Give everything a really good stir and turn the heat up to medium until the mixture starts to bubble. Then turn the heat back to medium-low and leave the chili to simmer, covered with a lid, for 30 minutes.
- After this time, add the black beans and sweetcorn, then cook for a further 20 minutes.
- Then add the spinach to the pan, allowing it to wilt on top of the gluten free vegetarian chili with the lid on the pan. This should take 5 minutes, then you can stir through.
- Season with salt and pepper then you are ready to serve! This gluten free vegetarian chili is perfect served with brown rice, then try topping it with chunky guacamole, yoghurt and cheddar cheese for extra cooling flavours. We love ours with some gluten free tortilla chips for scooping too.
I hope you enjoy making and eating this fantastic sweet potato and black bean vegetarian chili. Why not try out one of my other gluten free vegetarian recipes:
Bon appetit! x
