Instant Pot Sweet Potato Chili is a tasty, hearty vegetarian chili from the Instant Pot. I make it with canned beans (or frozen make-ahead dry beans), and a bunch of spices that go well with the natural sweetness of the potatoes.
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I organize an annual chili-fest at work. (My motto - if you've got a chili, bring it!). We have a bunch of vegetarians at the office, so I'm always looking for a good vegetarian chili to make for them.
That's what led me to sweet potato chili. It just feels like the perfect idea for Fall, even though I'm making it in the spring for a Super Bowl party. Looking for a great vegetarian chili recipe? Give this one a try.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (or olive oil)
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 poblano pepper, seeded and diced (or a green bell pepper or red bell pepper or two jalapeños.)
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ cup chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon allspice (optional)
- 2 large sweet potatoes (1 ½ to 2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 cups vegetable broth (preferably homemade veggie broth or low-sodium store-bought)
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt (if using homemade broth, only 1 teaspoon if using store-bought broth)
- 2 (15-ounce) cans of black beans, drained (Or 1 cup of dry black beans, already cooked)
- 28-ounce can of Fire Roasted Diced tomatoes (with juice)
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 1 cup frozen corn, cooked (optional)
Substitutions
Other peppers: I use poblano peppers because I prefer the flavor to bell peppers in chili. If you'd rather use green bell peppers or red bell peppers, go right ahead. If you want to bring the heat with your peppers, read the next section...
Heat level: This is not a hot chili with the default ingredients. Chili powder is usually mild, and Poblano peppers are mild. If you like heat in your chili, substitute a jalapeno for the poblano. Or, for a smoky flavor, use minced chipotle peppers en adobo - chop up one pepper and include some of the adobo sauce. For heat from your pantry, add 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper with the chili powder to kick it up a notch.
Substitute Squash: Butternut squash cooks a lot like sweet potato and is a great substitute in this recipe.
Different beans: I prefer black beans in this chili, but any kind of bean will do. Replace the black beans with kidney beans, pinto beans, small red beans, white beans, or whatever bean you like in your chili.
Canned beans vs dry beans: I can't cook dry beans directly in this chili; the sweet potatoes would fall apart by the time the beans were even close to cooked. That's why I wrote it with canned beans in the ingredient list. But homemade beans (from dry) taste a lot better. I love freezing my Instant Pot Black Beans for later. I freeze them in 2-cup containers; each container will replace a can of beans.
Fire roasted tomatoes (or not): I like the little hint of smoke fire-roasted tomatoes add to the chili, but regular diced tomatoes will work as well.
Vegetarian or vegan chili: This chili is both vegetarian and vegan as written.
Broth choices: I use homemade Instant Pot Vegetable Broth to keep this recipe vegetarian, but if you don't care about that, homemade Instant Pot Chicken Broth is also good. If you're buying store-bought broth, look for low-sodium vegetable broth or vegetable stock.
Ground turkey or ground beef: I saw a lot of sweet potato chilies on the internet, and a surprising number of them included ground turkey. As I said above, I'm trying to keep this recipe vegetarian. But, if you want turkey, before you add the sweet potatoes, add a pound of ground turkey and cook it until it just loses its pink color. (Nothing else in the recipe will change). Or, you can add ground beef if you want, but I think turkey balances out the sweet potatoes better.
How to make Instant Pot Sweet Potato Chili
Sauté the aromatics
Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in an Instant Pot set to Sauté mode - high. (Or use medium-high heat in a stovetop PC). Add the onions, poblano, and garlic, and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of salt. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onions soften, about 5 minutes.
Toast the spices and add the sweet potatoes
Stir the chili powder, cumin, coriander, oregano, cinnamon, and allspice into the pot, mixing the spices well with the onions. Keep cooking the onions and spices for 1 minute, then stir in the sweet potato cubes, stirring until the cubes are coated with spices and onions.
Everything in the pot
Pour in the vegetable broth and 2 teaspoons of fine sea salt (or 1 teaspoon if using store-bought broth.) Stir the broth into the vegetables, then scrape the bottom of the pot with a flat-edged wooden spoon to make sure nothing is sticking. (Food sticking to the pot leads to a burn warning.)
Stir in the black beans, then pour the can of fire-roasted tomatoes on top. Spread them out, but don't stir the tomatoes. (If the tomatoes sink to the bottom of the pot, they can also cause a burn warning.)
Pressure cook for 10 minutes with a Natural Release
Lock the lid on the pot and cook at high pressure for 10 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker or for 8 minutes in a stovetop pressure cooker. (Use Manual, Pressure Cook, or Pressure Cook-custom mode set for 10 minutes in an Instant Pot). When the cooking time is over, let the heat come down naturally, about 20-30 minutes. (If you're in a hurry, you can quick release any remaining pressure after 15 minutes of natural release). Remove the lid carefully, opening it away from you – even when it's not under pressure, the steam in the cooker is very hot.
Final seasoning and serve
Stir in the fresh ground pepper and the cooked frozen corn. Serve with your favorite chili toppings, and enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
- Burn Warning: This is a thick recipe for a pressure cooker, and in my testing would cause burn warnings if I used less than 2 cups of vegetable broth. If you are still getting burn warnings, release the pressure, unlock the lid, and add another 2 cups of broth (or water) to the pot. Then, scrape the bottom of the pot with a flat-edged wooden spoon to loosen any stuck food. Lock the lid and try again. (It should work fine with the extra liquid).
- Make Ahead Sweet Potato Chili: This recipe makes great leftovers. I freeze any leftovers in 2-cup containers, where they are ready for a quick meal if I need them. Sealed in an airtight container, frozen chili lasts for up to 6 months in the freezer, or you can refrigerate it for a few days.
Instant Pot Sweet Potato Chili
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
Instant Pot Sweet Potato Chili is a tasty, hearty vegetarian chili from the Instant Pot. I make it with canned beans (or frozen make-ahead dry beans), and spices that go well with the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (or olive oil)
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 poblano pepper, seeded and diced (or a green bell pepper or red bell pepper or two jalapeños.)
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ cup chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon allspice (optional)
- 2 large sweet potatoes (1 ½ to 2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 cups vegetable broth (preferably homemade veggie broth or low-sodium store-bought)
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt (if using homemade broth, only 1 teaspoon if using store-bought broth)
- 2 (15-ounce) cans of black beans, drained (Or 1 cup of dry black beans, already cooked)
- 28-ounce can of Fire Roasted Diced tomatoes (with juice)
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 1 cup frozen corn, cooked (optional)
Instructions
- Sauté the aromatics: Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in an Instant Pot set to Sauté mode - high. (Or use medium-high heat in a stovetop PC). Add the onions, poblano, and garlic, and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of salt. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onions soften, about 5 minutes.
- Toast the spices and add the sweet potatoes: Stir the chili powder, cumin, coriander, oregano, cinnamon, and allspice into the pot, mixing the spices well with the onions. Keep cooking the onions and spices for 1 minute, then stir in the sweet potato cubes, stirring until the cubes are coated with spices and onions.
- Everything in the pot: Pour in the vegetable broth and 2 teaspoons of fine sea salt (or 1 teaspoon if using store-bought broth.) Stir the broth into the vegetables, then scrape the bottom of the pot with a flat-edged wooden spoon to make sure nothing is sticking. (Food sticking to the pot leads to a burn warning.)
Stir in the black beans, then pour the can of fire-roasted tomatoes on top. Spread them out, but don't stir the tomatoes. (If the tomatoes sink to the bottom of the pot, they can also cause a burn warning.) - Pressure cook for 10 minutes with a Natural Release: Lock the lid on the pot and cook at high pressure for 10 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker or for 8 minutes in a stovetop pressure cooker. (Use Manual, Pressure Cook, or Pressure Cook-custom mode set for 10 minutes in an Instant Pot). When the cooking time is over, let the heat come down naturally, about 20-30 minutes. (If you're in a hurry, you can quick release any remaining pressure after 15 minutes of natural release). Remove the lid carefully, opening it away from you – even when it's not under pressure, the steam in the cooker is very hot.
- Final seasoning and serve: Stir in the fresh ground pepper and the cooked frozen corn. Serve with your favorite chili toppings, and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Sunday Dinner
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
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Equipment
A flat-edged wooden spoon
Scaling
This recipe doubles easily in a 6-quart pressure cooker. Cut all the ingredients in half and this recipe will fit in a 3-quart pressure cooker. The cooking time does not change; it takes the same amount of time to cook each piece of sweet potato, no matter how many are in the pot.
Storage
Store the wet ingredients (lettuce, tomato, onion) separately from the dry ingredients (buns) in the fridge and recombine when ready. Good for 2-3 days.
These ingredients don't stand up well to freezing.
What to Serve with Instant Pot Sweet Potato chili
I love a lot of toppings on my chili. I'll put out diced onions or diced green onions, sliced jalapenos or pickled jalapenos, hot sauce, sour cream, shredded cheese, minced fresh cilantro, and tortilla chips or Fritos. I think chili is a hearty one-pot meal, but if you want some side dishes, I like my Instant Pot Green Beans and cornbread or dinner rolls for dipping.
Related Posts
If you're looking for all the beans in your chili, try my Instant Pot 15-Bean Chili recipe.
For chilis with meat, check out my Instant Pot Quick Chili with Canned Beans, my Instant Pot 5-Ingredient Chili, or my Instant Pot Steak Chili.
Or, for just sweet potatoes, try my Pressure Cooker Sweet Potato Puree
If you're looking for something else, here is my index of Instant Pot and Pressure Cooker Recipes.
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Mike Vrobel says
Try it, it's fantastic!