Julie Clark
Posted:
Paleo Sweet Potato Chili
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Indulge yourself in a bowl of Paleo Sweet Potato Chili that is spicy and full of beef. It’s thick, rich and slightly sweet while being grain free, sugar free and dairy free.
There’s nothing that says comfort food during the winter months like a bowl of spicy chili. We made a sweet potato version of our traditional chili recipe (which by the way won best chili recipe in several chili cook-offs!). No beans. No sugar. Just thick, meaty and heart warming chili with sweet potatoes and lots of flavor.
This Sweet Potato Chili Recipe switches out beans for sweet potatoes and carrots, both of which add a natural sweetness to the chili. It’s a no bean chili recipe that your family will love. And the best part, it can be made both in the slow cooker and on the stove top.
What readers are saying:
Jacqui says, “This chili is AMAZING!!! A friend made it for our family after I had surgery. Even my non adventurous husband and daughter thought this recipe was awesome. It was the fastest a pot of chili has ever been consumed.” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Deborah says, “I just wanted to share that I just won a chili cook-off with this recipe! There were 16 total entries, and I didn’t even tell anyone that it was a Whole30 recipe. My entire family loves this chili. It is so easy to cook. I NEVER leave comments on pages, but this time I had to!” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Ingredients
A note about key ingredients:
- Ground beef. Or you can use ground turkey or even Italian sausage for more flavor.
- Petite diced tomatoes. This is helpful for picky eaters who don’t love chunky tomatoes.
- Chili Powder. Yes, this recipe calls for ½ cup chili powder. It’s not a mistake. Add less if you’d like, but it’s the flavor that many have come to know and love. We’re crazy for our homemade, sugar free chili powder.
- Beef stock. In a pinch, substitute chicken broth or vegetable broth.
✨ See the recipe card for the full list of ingredients. ✨
How to Make Sweet Potato Chili
Make this easy chili in 4 steps.
- In a large dutch oven, brown the ground beef, onions and garlic. Cook until the ground beef is no longer pink. Drain off any fat.
- Add the tomatoes and sauce, beef stock, carrots and sweet potatoes.
- Then add all of the remaining seasonings. Mix well, bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Then lower the heat to low and simmer, covered, for about 30-40 minutes or until the sweet potatoes and carrots are tender.
Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Chili
This soup recipe can easily be made in the slow cooker, making it an easy meal for you to throw together in the morning and have it calling your name when you get home at night.
Instead of simmering the chili on the stove, you can brown the ground beef on the stovetop, drain off the fat and place it into the slow cooker. Add the other ingredients and let it simmer on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.
Make it a meal.
Top the chili with your favorite toppings such as slices of avocado, fresh cilantro, sliced green onion or parsley. Serve a simple salad on the side.
If you’re not following the paleo diet, it’s excellent with sour cream or cheddar cheese.
If you’re not limiting grains, may I suggest this Asiago Cheese Bread? It’s simply amazing with a bowl of hearty soup.
Storage Instructions
Like with many soup recipes, a bowl of chili is often better than next day. Allow any leftovers to cool to room temperature, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Can you freeze this sweet potato paleo chili? Yes! Make a big batch of this chili in advance and place separate into individual portions. Store in a freezer-safe container in the freezer for up to 2 months. It’s easy to pull out individual portions on busy nights!
Frequently Asked Questions
What other vegetables can you add to chili?
Zucchini, cauliflower, and butternut squash are all great options. We love all of these ideas to use in place of sweet potatoes to help make it a little more low carb.
Can I use ground turkey in chili?
Yes! We’ve used both ground beef and ground turkey in this Whole30 chili. You can even use ground chicken if you’d like. Each ground meat will change the flavor of the soup so pick whichever you like best.
Paleo Sweet Potato Chili
Indulge yourself in a bowl of Paleo Sweet Potato Chili that is spicy and full of beef. It’s thick, rich and slightly sweet while being grain free, sugar free and dairy free.
Servings 10 servings
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 medium red onion diced
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 can tomato sauce 29.5 ounces
- 2 cups petite diced tomatoes with juice
- 3 cups beef stock
- 1 cup sliced carrots
- 5 cups sweet potatoes peeled and cubed into 1" pieces
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1/2 cup chili powder
- dash of oregano
- dash of red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven or large pot, brown the ground beef, onions and garlic. Cook until the ground beef is no longer pink. Drain off any fat.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the saucepan. Mix well, bring to a boil over medium heat. Then lower the heat to low and simmer, covered, for about 30-40 minutes or until the sweet potato cubes and carrots are tender.
- Remove and discard the bay leaves. Then serve with your favorite chili topping.
- Crock Pot Option: Instead of simmering the chili on the stove, you can brown the ground beef, drain off the fat and place it into the slow cooker. Add the other ingredients and let it simmer on low for 6-8 hours on high for 4-5 hours.
Video
Notes
- Yellow onions will work as well. Don’t have minced garlic?
- Add 1 teaspoon garlic powder.
- Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.
- The calories shown are based on the recipe serving 10, with one small serving being 1/10th of the recipe. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**
Nutrition
Calories: 267kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 1294mg | Potassium: 1308mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 15482IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 108mg | Iron: 6mg
This looks so good! I’m gonna try it but one question. Will the potatoes get to mushy if you slow cook all day
This was excellent and perfect for the Whole 30. I did make some tweaks… Sharing on my blog with a link back to you… but your picture is so much better!
Just started my 2nd Whole 30 and I LOVE this chili!! I make a big batch and keep it on hand during the week for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Its great in the morning with a fried egg on it or for lunch with some sliced avocado. So versatile!
I make a lot of chili and have tried many recipes. This is now, by far, my favorite. So rich tasting, but super easy. Love the carrot and sweet potato in it. YUM!
This was really good. I live in Jamaica where we never have snow days, but we do like our soups and stews. I added pumpkin, kidney beans (sorry) and extra seasoning the first time and it was seriously enjoyed. Doing it with chicken mince, pumpkin and cannelloni beans today and it smells so good.
This was amazing! I made it this weekend in the crock pot and it turned out wonderful. Can’t wait for the left overs tonight.
This is such a great variation on chili! We have it quite often and I love how much it makes do we have lunch for the whole week. I just have to cut down the chili powder because it was too spicy the first time. Tonight I have some veggies I need to use up so I’m adding bell peppers, mushrooms, and zucchini. I just added extra stock since it made so much!
I just love paleo. It’s the best diet I have ever tried. I lost weight, and feel so much better and healthier. And the meals don’t suck,
like in most diets.
I’m using the paleo grub cookbook, you can check it out at http://lookingupstuff.com/weightloss/2015/04/23/paleo-grubs/
A good workout can be a great thing for both body and soul. I recommend something I liked a lot. It gives me the opportunity to do workouts at home.
It is a workout system developed by Cosmopolitan.
You can start it free. http://lookingupstuff.com/weightloss/2015/10/22/cosmobody-cosmopolitan-fitness-workout/
The Sweet Potato Carrot Chili sounded enticing and I sought out most the ingredients but I question 1/2 Cup of Chili Powder. A little spice goes a long ways but I wonder if 4 oz. of spice will make it unpalatable.
Hi! I made this last night for some friends and everyone loved it! Thanks so much for sharing. It was the perfect mix of sweet and spicy. My friends and I are from Jamaica and Trinidad so we love our spice lol
I made this tonight and it was delicious!! I did cheat and add some brown sugar since I’m not on a paleo diet but everything else stuck to the recipe. Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Hello,
This was soo tasty and super good. I was just curious to know what you consider a serving size?
how many carbs.per serving. I’m Diabetic and sweet potatoes has sugar.
I can already tell this is a keeper recipe, and can’t wait to try it on my first Whole30 (started it today!).
As far as the Whole30 goes, the only things to watch are to make sure the tomato sauce and beef broth are both ingredient-compliant — and hey, for the latter, that’s an awesome opportunity to make one’s own beef broth.
Thank you!