The Toppings are the Best Part! (Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Chili)

I am always trying to find new ways to use up sweet potatoes.  I get them a lot in my Covey Rise Shares and I usually just bake them or chop them up for a sheet pan supper.  With the weather getting chilly, I started craving chili.  I have only made a vegan chili for the blog with acorn squash in the past, and it was high time I made some again.  I spied a recipe for slow cooker Whole 30 sweet potato chili on Pinterest and thought it would be prefect!

I had a 7 hour Zoom meeting one day and I knew it would end around dinner time and I was not going to be in the mood to cook after.  It would be the perfect day to have this chili!  And indeed it was.  As usual, you can really only see the garnish in my bowl.  But the chili itself was so good!  Kevin loved it and we had plenty leftover so I froze it.  This past Sunday, it was cold and rainy.  I pulled it out of the freezer and it was just as good the second time!  We did not put as much garnish on it and and it was great!

So make this!  The sweet potatoes kind of meld into it so you don't really notice them.  I know, beans and corn in chili is blasphemy, but I added them because they were in the same leftovers container as my green chilis from another recipe.  I also had some spinach going bad so I threw that in too.  I love hiding spinach!  So make this!  You will not regret it.  And if you top it correctly, it is Whole 30 compliant! Full recipe to follow the montage.

I went a little overboard with the toppings!

The cast.

The spices were mixed up ahead of time in order to distribute evenly.

Cook up your meat an onions.

I stirred in the sweet potatoes and seasonings first to get them nice and mixed.

Add the liquid and set it and forget it.

I had a quick break and decided to add in the spinach.

Pin it for a comforting dinner on a busy day!

Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Chili (adapted from the Real Food Dietitians)

1½ lbs. ground beef
1 large yellow onion, diced
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 4-oz. can diced green chilies
4 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in ½-inch cubes (about 3 cups)
1 28-oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained (I had to use two small)

1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. ground chipotle or ancho chili powder

½ tsp. red pepper (optional, we like spice)
2 tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. black pepper

Optional add ins that I used because I wanted to get rid of them!:

small can of corn

black beans

2 cups of spinach 

Additional Toppings:

shredded cheese

tortilla chips

cilantro

lime

sour cream

green onions

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook ground meat and onion until just cooked through.
Transfer to the slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients, stir to combine, and cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until sweet potatoes are tender. 
Serve with additional toppings as desired.

Happy Cooking!

Missy