I made a *darn* good chili last week, if I do say so myself (and I do. So does the rest of the family, including my parents). I had a few sweet potatoes left in the house and I desperately wanted to make up for the absolute fiasco that took place when I threw together that icky chicken and sweet potato I-don't-know-what-I-was-thinking dish.
This was much better. So much better, I demonstrated it on BlogHer's new webShow, The Juice. You can see the video by clicking here.
This is a cheap, vegan meal that doesn't leave you hungry 15 minutes later. I promise.
The Ingredients.
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and in 2-inch chunks
1 yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed (or 2/3 cup dried beans, soaked overnight and boiled briskly for 10 minutes because of the freaky red bean toxin thing)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 (14.5-ounce) can tomatoes (whatever's on sale, mine had oregano and roasted garlic)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup water
1/2 cup orange juice (not pictured. If you don't have any in the house, use water)
Use a 5-6 quart slow cooker. This is enough food to feed a family of 4 regular-sized, or 6 smallish people. Peel and chunk the sweet potato and add to the pot. Add diced onion. Follow with the red bell pepper, can of tomatoes, the beans, garlic, and seasonings. Pour in OJ and water. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until the onion is translucent and the sweet potato is fork-tender (if you want the sweet potato to get really squishy and disappear when stirred, cook longer).
The Verdict.
Super tasty. I loved the sweet smoky flavor this had, and was thrilled at the depth of flavor that came from this spice combination. The sweet potato and beans were plenty filling, and Adam didn't once mumble that he'd really like a steak. My kids ate it, but un-veganized it by adding shredded cheese and sour cream.
I will definitely make this again. Thank you so much to BlogHer and to Tropicana for the fun day of filming for The Juice production. I had an absolute ball, and am touched to have been included. Thank you.
other great chili dishes:
traditional chili
poor man's chili
clean-out-the-pantry chili
white chili
presidential (Barack Obama's) chili
36 comments:
That actually sounds good. Part of me wants to try it, but mention anything remotely vegetarian in nature and my husband flips his lid. Every once in awhile I manage to sneak one in... but I'm not sure he'd go for this. But it sounds so good... lol
I think this is a veggie dish my husband would eat, at least if I subbed black beans for kidney. Sounds yummy!
This sounds yummy. I have everything on hand and will be making it tomorrow. Quick question ... do you layer the beans over the onions?
Sounds yummy! I will have to half it, as nobody will eat it but me. . . lol. Does it freeze well? ? Thank you!
Hi Mlhummy, sure! I don't think the order really matters much, though... ;-)
Renlim, it should definitely freeze well, though I haven't personally tried it.
--steph
Sounds good and I think I have everything to make it tomorrow! I tried to make a chili today but forgot to turn on the crock and it sat on my counter for at least 3 hours before I realized my mistake. :( Wasn't worth the risk of food poisoning to eat it, even tho everything was already "cooked." Biggest bummer was then trying to figure out what to make for dinner!
Wait - chipotle powder? Where'd that come from or who carries it? I can only find the whole-smoke-dried jalapeno's I have to grind myself.
Any help appreciated :)
This sounds so great! Here's my question...what (if anything) would you use in place of the beans? I can't eat 'em, but would love to try this recipe!
Congrats on winning the One Lovely Blog Award. See the details on my blog http://makemegoyum.blogspot.com/
I'm fairly sure that tinned kidney beans are already cooked. If the tin doesn't give instructions warning you to cook them carefully, you should be able to eat them straight from the tin. (This is definitely the case in Ireland). It's the raw ones you need to be careful of.
I make a similar chili in the crockpot with black beans and butternut squash, and it's always a huge hit. If I make chili for a party, I'll usually make a traditional chili with meat and the vegan bean and squash chili, and the vegan one always gets gobbled up first!
My version used berbere, an Ethiopian spice blend with hot and smoky flavors. There's also a sweet aroma to it... adding a pinch of cinnamon to the spices on your list would give it a similar depth.
Yum! I'm back visiting my mother and this will be our next meal. You inspire me!
This looks great! And I have everything in the house! Gonna try it!
Thanks so much for sharing! I love your blog...I've read it a bunch but, am only just now leaving a comment because I only just now figured out how to leave a comment...LOL.
Hi, I just wanted to tell you that, that is a really nice photograph of the dish.
Well Done!
I absolutely cannot stand sweet potatoes--is there a substitute I could use instead of them? I generally do love all of your other recipes though (except the ones that feature sweet potatoes).
That's awesome that it's vegan...I am always looking for a good crockpot vegan recipe.
Wanted to say that I made this today and it's YUMMY! I didn't have the chipotle chili powder, so I just omitted it; also didn't have OJ on hand. I thought it was really good, as did my husband, but my girls (aged 1 and 3) only ate the kidney beans, even tho they usually love sweet potatoes. I'm thinking it was the little hint of chili powder. Also, I turned it off after 6 hours - probably would have been better after 5 hours as my sweet potatoes got pretty squishy (but still mostly held their form). I might have liked them a little more firm.
This recipe sounds really yummy!
I love the pictures so tommorow
I'm going to make this recipe!
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I was just wondering if you have ever made yogurt in your crockpot and if so, could you please link me? I made your granola recipe and I will NEVER burn it in the oven again. Wow, how cool is that?. I love crockpotting and your recipes are inspiring.
This looks like a great recipe! I was reading this week about the advantages of eating sweet potatoes and now I have a yummy recipe to try! :-D
The video was great, Stephanie! You rocked! It was so neat to see you on the header, too, before I clicked on the video. Are you going to the BlogHer Food conference in San Francisco? I got my ticket last week and they're sold out now.
The recipe sounds wonderful to me, but I know hubby wouldn't eat it ... he doesn't do sweet potatoes. This will have to be another one I try on the support group folks. ;-) They're happy willing guinea pigs for all your recipes!
Shirley
Looks yummy. I wanted to share a recipe exchange I am doing on my blog each Friday. Here is the link:
http://momtrends.blogspot.com/2009/05/friday-feasts_29.html
I hope you'll consider linking this up--this week I made roasted sweet potatoes.
snuck this is on my husband and he did not even realize there was not any meat in it. we live in mexico and believe it or not, i could not find chipotle poweder. substituted the 1 cup water with 1/4 cup water and 3/4 cup chipotle salsa (easy to find!)
I just found your blog and I am in crockpot heaven. I absolutely love cooking in my crockpot. yayyy I can not wait to read through all of your old posts and find new recipes!!
That looks awesome...I love your recipes!!! I have a large crockpot for roasts, etc. I want to start using crockpot recipes to make candy and chocolates. What size would you recommend? Or does it matter what size?
I made this last night for our family (me, DH, DS (5) and DD (almost 2) and everyone LOVED LOVED LOVED it! Yum-O! Thanks a million!
Stephanie, this sweet potato thing was really good, sprinkled with a bit of trader joes lowfat shredded cheese, and a piece of whole grain bread on the side. Used plain paprika, plain chili powder, just a little cumin. B.F. ate it for lunch 2 days later!
I have made vegan chili in the crockpot in the past. I added a cup of cashews and it was delicious. Love the sweet potato twist to yours!
I surprised my husband this winter by putting sweet potatoes in chili. He thought I was crazy, but pronounced it some of the best chili I'd ever made! He now requests my "Sweet Potato Chili"!
I made this for dinner tonight. It is sooooo yummy. I increased the ingredients a bit because I have a big family, but I think the taste was similar to yours.
My daughter initially thought this was more of a fall/winter stew, but then she decided it was just plain comfort food and said it picked her up after a tiring day of swimming.
Many thanks for a successful night at our table! I'm looking forward to your cookbook. It will definitely be in my cart at Amazon!
Bev
I'm making this for dinner tonight. I think I'll try to shoot it, but I don't think it will be as pretty as your picture!
OK I tried this last night. Excellent that it is fat free and taste was ok but I'd change a bit for next time. First the instructions don't say when you added the beans, but if I made something like this again I would put onions, capsicum, garlic on the bottom; then the sweet potato then the beans and other ingredients. I like my onion well cooked. Might be my cooker too I suppose. I'd add more spices too - like cummin as someone else suggested. Best thing about this recipe is the great idea of adding sweet potato to your favourite chilli recipe I reckon. Thanks for a very funny and imaginative site.
Chili---you never said when to add the cooked, canned kidney beans. Couldn't have been at the beginning with all those other uncooked items.
Hi anon, you're right, I neglected to write in when to add the beans. I'm sorry! I'll add it right now.
Go ahead and add them when you add the rest of the ingredients. The order doesn't really matter at all. The beans are already cooked, but won't get too squishy through the slow cooking.
oxo steph
This dish looks so beautiful with the colours. This is totally new for me but it looks so yummy. Try to make tonight. Thanks so much for sharing.
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