Sweet Potato Black Bean Chilli That Costs Less Than $2 a Bowl
This one-pot sweet potato black bean chili costs about $1.83 a bowl, takes 45 minutes, and freezes well. Get the metric recipe and the full cost breakdown.
Ingredients
| olive oil | 15 ml |
| yellow onion, diced | 1 large |
| garlic, minced | 3 cloves |
| chili powder | 30 ml |
| ground cumin | 10 ml |
| sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 cm cubes | 2 medium |
| black beans, drained and rinsed | 2 cans (540 ml each) |
| diced tomatoes, with their juice | 1 can (796 ml) |
| vegetable broth (50 percent less sodium) | 500 ml |
| frozen corn | 160 g |
| salt | to taste |
Steps
- 1Soften the onion. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and cook the onion for 5 minutes, until soft.
- 2Toast the spices. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, and cumin, and cook for 1 minute, until the spices smell toasty.
- 3Add everything else. Add the sweet potatoes, black beans, diced tomatoes with their juice, broth, and salt, then stir and bring the pot to a boil.
- 4Simmer until tender. Reduce the heat, partially cover the pot, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until a fork slides easily into the sweet potato cubes.
- 5Stir in the corn. Add the frozen corn and simmer for 3 more minutes.
- 6Mash, taste, and serve. Press a few sweet potato cubes and beans against the side of the pot with your spoon, and stir them back in. Then adjust the salt and serve.
Each bowl of this sweet potato black bean chili delivers roughly 13 g of fibre from the beans, sweet potatoes, and corn. Its plant protein also helps keep you full for hours.
Some nights the budget wins every argument about dinner. This sweet potato black bean chilli is built for those nights. It turns pantry cans and two sweet potatoes into a thick, smoky pot that feeds six for less than $2 a bowl. It also tastes like it simmered all afternoon, even though it takes about 45 minutes and only one pot.
How do you thicken chilli without flour?
The sweet potatoes handle the thickening for you. As they simmer, they turn soft and a little sweet against the smoky spices. Mashing a few at the end then gives the pot the body of a chilli that cooked all day. That means you can thicken chilli without flour, and the mashed vegetables add fibre along the way.
The flavour starts building the minute the spices hit the hot oil, and your kitchen will soon pick up that chilli-night smell. If your crowd likes heat, add a pinch of cayenne or a chopped jalapeño with the onion. Then top each bowl with whatever you have, such as plain yogurt, grated cheese, sliced green onion, or crushed tortilla chips. And if you end up with a spare can of black beans, our 30-minute black bean and sweet potato tacos use almost the same shopping list.
Why is this chilli such a good high-fibre dinner?
According to Health Canada's guide to fibre, women need 25 g of fibre a day and men need 38 g, yet most Canadians get only about half that. A bowl of this high-fibre dinner closes a good part of that gap.
Fibre and protein also slow how fast a meal's carbohydrates reach your bloodstream, which helps you avoid the heavy, sleepy feeling that can follow a starchy dinner. Our guide to why you feel so tired after eating explains what happens in your body during that slump. Sweet potatoes add vitamin A and potassium on top of that. And because you cook with reduced-sodium broth and your own spices, you control the salt.
All of that matters if you are working on your blood pressure or cholesterol. A pharmacist can check your blood pressure, and your family doctor can arrange a cholesterol test, so you can see whether changes like this are paying off. Eating patterns built on beans, vegetables, and other whole foods also show up in research on brain health, as our look at how what you eat could affect your dementia risk explains.
Can you make this chili ahead for budget meal prep?
Like most chilli, this one tastes even better on day two, once the spices have settled into the beans. Cool the leftovers and refrigerate them within two hours, and they will keep for up to four days. Single portions also freeze well for about two to three months, which makes this one of the easiest budget meal prep options for the cold months ahead.
Cooking a big pot on Sunday also beats relying on willpower on a tired Wednesday night, as our piece on why willpower is the wrong tool for building habits explains. Pair it with a make-ahead breakfast like our wild blueberry maple baked oatmeal, and a good part of your week's cooking is done.
What do cooks ask about this chilli?
Can you make black bean chilli in a slow cooker?
This sweet potato black bean chilli works well in a slow cooker. Cook the onion, garlic, and spices in a pan first for the best flavour, then add everything except the corn to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours, and stir in the corn for the last 15 minutes.
Do you need to rinse canned black beans?
Rinsing canned black beans in a colander before cooking is worth the 30 seconds. It washes away much of the salty liquid from the can, which lowers the sodium in the finished dish, and it gives the chilli a cleaner flavour. If you buy no-salt-added beans, rinsing matters less, although it still removes some of the starchy liquid.
What can you use instead of sweet potatoes in chilli?
Butternut squash is the closest swap, since it softens and thickens the pot the same way. Regular potatoes, carrots, or extra beans also work, although each changes the flavour slightly. Cut any substitute into 2 cm cubes so it cooks in the same 20 to 25 minutes, and check for tenderness with a fork before adding the corn.
How spicy is this vegetarian chilli?
This vegetarian chilli is mild to medium, depending on your chilli powder, because the recipe adds no fresh chillies or cayenne. For more heat, cook a chopped jalapeño with the onion or add a pinch of cayenne with the other spices. For less heat, use a mild chilli powder and top each bowl with a spoonful of plain yogurt.
What is your next step?
Stretching a grocery budget without shortchanging your health is exactly what dietitians help with every day. The Medimap Health Hub has more budget recipes and nutrition guides. When you want a plan built around your own budget, Medimap can help you find a dietitian near you, so you can stop guessing in the cereal aisle.
Disclaimer. This article is for general information only and is not medical advice. Talk to a qualified health professional about your own situation. If you think you are having a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.