Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili with Sweet Potatoes
Author: 
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • 2 Tablespoons unrefined olive oil (or skip this if you don’t want to pre-saute vegetables)
  • 1 red onion, chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 sweet red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 jalapeno, diced (remove seeds to make it less hot or use half or omit altogether)
  • 4 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 Tablespoon chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1-2 teaspoons sea salt (depending on salt in tomatoes)
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 28-ounce container chopped or diced tomatoes with the juice (I prefer to use Pomi from a box or tomatoes in glass jars to avoid the inevitable BPA in canned tomatoes.)
  • 1 ½ cups cooked black beans or 1 15-ounce can, drained and rinsed (click here to learn how to cook beans from scratch, otherwise Eden Organics doesn't use BPA in their cans)
  • 1 ½ cups cooked kidney beans or 1 15-ounce can, drained and rinsed
  • 2 medium sweet potatoes, about 1 pound total, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
  • 1 cup water (use 2 cups water if cooking this on the stove)
Instructions
  1. Omit this step if you cannot bear to pre-cook anything when using a slow cooker. I like to sauté my vegetables because I think it adds more flavor, but feel free to dump everything (omit the oil) into the slow cooker and press “start.” Otherwise, heat oil in a large skillet (if not using a slow cooker, sauté in a large pot) over medium heat. Add onion, peppers and garlic and sauté until onions are tender and translucent, about 6 minutes.
  2. Add spices, salt and pepper and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. If your tomatoes are unsalted, use 2 teaspoons salt.
  3. Add tomatoes and their liquid and cook for another minute or two.
  4. Pour the onion and pepper mixture into a 4-6 quart slow cooker. Stir in beans, sweet potato and 1 cup water. (If cooking on the stove, add remaining ingredients to the pot plus 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook until sweet potatoes are tender and everything is nice and thick, about 1 hour.)
  5. Cover and cook until sweet potatoes are tender and the chili has thickened, on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours.
  6. Taste for salt and pepper. Serve with desired toppings such as tortilla chips, diced avocado, chopped cilantro, and sour cream.
Notes
I have also served this with cooked quinoa and millet, which was delicious. Also, I think adding some chopped fresh leafy greens about 10 minutes before serving would be very nice, too. Swiss chard, spinach and kale would all work well.
Recipe by Pamela Salzman at https://pamelasalzman.com/slow-cooker-vegetarian-chili-with-sweet-potatoes-stovetop-version-too/