This vegan sweet potato and black bean chilli is delicious, healthy, and hearty. Low in calories and gluten-free, you can enjoy it as a one-pot meal or along with your favourite sides.
For a hit of rich umami flavour, stir in a dollop of yeast extract and a splash of vegan Worcestershire sauce. If you like coriander, add the chopped stems during cooking and garnish with the fresh leaves when serving.
This chilli keeps well in both the fridge and freezer, so make a big batch and enjoy it for lunches and dinners in the days or weeks to come. For similar recipe ideas, check out this sweet potato and lentil dal, smoky jackfruit chilli and creamy black bean curry.
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Is sweet potato chilli good for you?
Sweet potatoes are a great source of fibre, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C, and most of our B vitamins. They're one of the healthiest and most cost-effective foods on the planet, with one of the highest nutrient-rich food scores per dollar.
One serving of this sweet potato and black bean chilli provides:
- Calories: 341 kcal
- Protein: 15 grams (30% of RDA)
- Fibre: 17 grams (71% of RDA)
- Iron: 8 mg (44% of RDA)
Are black beans good for you?
Pulses such as black beans are an excellent source of plant-based protein, fibre, vitamins, and minerals. They truly are nutritional powerhouses.
They're also cheap and widely available, meaning you can prepare healthy and filling meals without breaking the bank. Try adding them to a hearty soup, or simply roast the beans as a snack.
For more vegan dishes based around legumes, check out these recipes for vegan three-bean salad, smoky butter bean soup, vegan breakfast hash, and vegan kidney bean curry.
What you'll need
This sweet potato and black bean chilli uses simple ingredients to create a healthy vegan one-pot meal. You'll need:
- Sweet potatoes for carbs and a tonne of healthy nutrients
- Black beans for protein and that classic chilli texture
- Mixed spices including ground cumin and smoked paprika
- Tinned tomatoes for the bulk of the dish
How to make sweet potato and black bean chilli
Heat the oil in a large pan on medium heat. Add the onion and stir occasionally for 4-5 minutes.
Next, add the chopped garlic, chilli, and sweet potato cubes and cook for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper (1).
After a few minutes, stir in the tomato puree, tinned tomatoes, black beans, Marmite, Henderson's Relish, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, bay leaves, and vegan stock (2).
Break the tomatoes apart with a spoon, mix well, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook on a low/medium heat for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, stir in the spinach and the chopped coriander stems. It will look like a lot of spinach at first, but it'll soon cook down. Simmer for another few minutes (3).
Once the spinach has wilted and the sweet potato cubes are soft, adjust the seasoning and serve.
Serving suggestions
This chilli is great with a dollop of vegan sour cream or crème fraiche, chopped coriander, and a squeeze of lime juice. Other suggestions for toppings include homemade guacamole, crushed tortilla chips, easy pico de gallo, grated vegan cheese, and sliced spring onions.
While the sweet potato in the recipe makes this a great one-pot meal, you could reduce the amounts and enjoy the chilli with other sides such as:
- Boiled rice
- Creamy vegan mashed potatoes
- Baked potatoes
- Cajun-spiced potato wedges
- Tacos or burritos
- Vegan rainbow slaw
- Nachos
- Roasted cauliflower
Recipe FAQ
This recipe uses tinned black beans, but you could substitute these for any beans you like. You could also soak and/or pre-cook your own dried beans, or try other legumes such as chickpeas or lentils. Want to find out more? Check out my Beginner's Guide to Pulses.
If you need to ensure that this recipe is 100% gluten-free, use a vegan stock and yeast extract that are certified or labelled as such. You'll want to make sure that any additional toppings or sides are also gluten-free.
Store this sweet potato chilli in the fridge for up to four days. Simply reheat in the microwave or in a pan with a splash of water to loosen it up.
You can store this chilli in the freezer in sealed containers or resealable bags for up to six months. Defrost before reheating in the microwave or in a pan with a splash of water.
Variations and tips for sweet potato chilli
- Sweet potato: I used 2 large sweet potatoes weighing a total of approx. 1.5 lbs (700 grams), which is roughly equivalent to 3-4 medium sweet potatoes.
- Quantity: If you increase the recipe quantity, just be sure to adjust the seasoning accordingly. You can easily make this chilli stretch further with an extra tin of tomatoes and/or beans.
- Add more veg: Include chopped celery and carrot at the start for a more flavourful base. Add peppers, mushrooms, courgette, kale, aubergine, or anything else you fancy (or want to use up).
- Henderson's Relish: Feel free to swap this out for Worcestershire sauce or half the amount of red wine vinegar (just be aware that these are not always strictly vegan).
- Chilli powder: If you don't have fresh chillies, you can swap these out for approx. one tablespoon of chilli powder (the heat and flavour will vary depending on the powder).
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More vegan recipe ideas
If you liked this recipe, you may also enjoy:
- Vegan Goulash (Hungarian Stew)
- Vegan 'Beef' Stew
- Jackfruit & Black Bean Tacos
- Quinoa Stew with Sweet Potato, Broccoli & Lime
- Lemony Butter Bean Stew
- Vegan Sausage Casserole
- Black Bean Curry with Cashew Cream
- Vegan Sweet Potato Pancakes
You can also check out my full list of vegan mains.
Full recipe
Vegan Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chilli (GF)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2-3 fresh chillies, finely sliced
- 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-inch cubes (1.5 lbs / 700 g)
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree
- 3x 14 oz (400 g) tins plum tomatoes
- 2x 14 oz (400 g) tins black beans, drained
- 1 tablespoon Marmite (or other yeast extract if GF)
- 2 tablespoons Henderson's Relish (or half the amount of red wine vinegar, see notes)
- 1 tablespoon cumin powder
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons oregano or mixed herbs
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 cup (240 ml) vegan stock
- 5 oz (150 g) fresh spinach (approx. 4-5 cups)
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Small bunch fresh coriander (stems and leaves)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pan on medium heat. Add the onion and stir occasionally for 4-5 minutes.
- Next, add the chopped garlic, chilli, and sweet potato cubes and cook for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- After a few minutes, stir in the tomato puree, tinned tomatoes, black beans, Marmite, Henderson's Relish, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, bay leaves, and vegan stock. Break the tomatoes apart with a spoon, mix well, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook on a low/medium heat for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, stir in the spinach and the chopped coriander stems. It will look like a lot of spinach at first, but it'll soon cook down. Simmer for another few minutes.
- Once the spinach has wilted and the sweet potato cubes are soft, adjust the seasoning then serve with chopped coriander (see notes for more serving suggestions).
Notes
- Smoky Jackfruit Chilli
- Sweet Potato Dal with Lime
- Healthy Black Bean Soup
- Easy Vegan Chilli
- Vegan Potato Hash
- Vegan Goulash (Hungarian Stew)
- Pinto Bean Soup with Chilli and Lime
- Spicy Tofu Jalfrezi
Nutrition
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Vicky
This was amazing! Followed recipe to the letter, kept it at quite a steady high simmer to thicken the sauce a bit but, oh my goodness, it was so tasty. Such an easy recipe with store cupboard ingredients. This is going to be a regular. 😁
The Pesky Vegan
Wonderful to hear, thanks!
Wendy
Satisfyingly deep flavours make this chilli one of our go-to choices for damp and miserable winter days. Adding celery and a carrot at the first stage as suggested really helped, along with a chopped red pepper and a dash of sriracha sauce as I had no fresh chillies. This makes a generous four portions.
The Pesky Vegan
Glad you enjoyed, thanks for the review!
Adrienne Stocks
Love getting your emails. Your photo makes me chuckle!!
Made this today. I don’t usually follow a recipe and apart from a few changes I more or less stuck to the spices part. I had half a celeriac and some cauliflower florets left over so I used them instead of sweet potato. I used one scotch bonnet. I had no spinach or fresh coriander so I subbed shredded cabbage and frozen coriander. I only used 2 tins of tomatoes. Mine looks a lot darker than yours as a result. Tastes marvellous though (had to keep tasting obvs) and I shall be having guacamole and vegan Creme fraiche with it. I’ll chuck some lime halves in too. Can’t wait for dinner.
The Pesky Vegan
I sometimes think I'll change that photo but then decide against it! Thanks for the review, great to hear you enjoyed the recipe!
David
One of the best recipes I have used. Hosted a dinner party and the non-vegetarian s loved it - they couldn't believe that a vegetarian meal could taste this good.
The Pesky Vegan
Thanks David, glad you and your guests enjoyed it!
grace
This was easy to make and very tasty. Thanks!
The Pesky Vegan
Glad you enjoyed, thanks for the review!
mark Simpson
Enjoyed this last night, and it was great as a wrap filling at lunch today.
The Pesky Vegan
Cheers!
Janice
This recipe was super easy! I used pinto beans and chickpeas instead of black beans! Even the “I don’t like sweet potatoes “ person in the family really enjoyed this! I’ll be making it again!!
The Pesky Vegan
That's great to hear Janice, thanks very much for the review!
Amber-Sophie Dugdale
This dish us honestly one of the tastiest home made chilli recipes I've had! It's our new go to chilli recipe. It's so warm and spicy. You have a gift with flavours Ali!
The Pesky Vegan
Very kind words indeed - glad you enjoyed and thanks for the review!
Helen
tasty recipe which is great for batch cooking too!
The Pesky Vegan
Glad you enjoyed - thanks very much for leaving a review!
Claire
I don't know if I'm missing something but this turned out way too tomatoey!
The Pesky Vegan
Hi there, thanks for your comment. I usually add this amount of tomatoes to a chilli recipe for 6 servings, and I've made this several times with great results, so I have to assume it's just a case of differing personal preferences. Hope you can find another recipe out there that's more to your liking!
Vicky
Great to have some different ideas for vegan chilli! Tasty and filling 🙂
The Pesky Vegan
Thanks for the review!