Ground Beef and Sweet Potato Chili
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Healthy Ground Beef and Sweet Potato Chili is a tasty, easy dinner. Gluten free and packed with protein, this is the best beef chili recipe! This post is sponsored by my friends at ButcherBox.
If you are looking for the best cozy chili recipe, look no further!
Our Pumpkin Chicken Chili and Paleo Chili are always a favorite, but this chili with sweet potatoes is SO yummy!
why you should make this recipe:
- Protein Packed: 1 cup of this chili has over 30g of protein making this a filling meal!
- Healthy Carbs – Sweet potato makes up part of the base of this chili – loading it with flavor and healthy carbs!
- Dairy Free/Gluten Free/Whole30/Paleo/ – This chili is paleo, whole30, gluten free and dairy free – perfect for anyone following a special diet
Ingredients
To make this ground beef and sweet potato chili you’ll need:
Substitutions:
Oil: You can use any oil you like in this recipe. Olive oil, refined coconut oil, avocado oil, and ghee will all work.
Ground Beef: You can make this with ground turkey or ground chicken instead of ground beef.
Potatoes: I haven’t tried this with russet/gold potatoes but I think it would work!
Spices: Feel free to add more/less spices depending on your tastes.
Veggies: You can add extra veggies to this recipe if you’d like. We recommend 1 cup chopped carrots and 1 cup chopped peppers. Both are delicious.
Beans: Cooked black beans or pinto beans would be a delicious addition to this chili.
Best ground beef for chili:
We LOVE ButcherBox’s Ground Beef. It’s an 85/15 mix, which gives the chili just the right amount of fat to lock in flavor while still being lean and tasty.
Their ground beef is always grass fed and grass finished – so you never have to worry about the quality!
If you want to learn more about the subscription, check out the post I wrote: Butcher Box Review – it gives you ALL the details!
(PS – Their ground beef isn’t just for chili! We use it in our favorite taco cauliflower rice bowls, our Whole30 Stuffed Peppers, and even in these Healthy Turkey Meatballs!)
Want free ground beef? Right Now when you join ButcherBox you can get free ground beef for a year and $10 off! That’s up to 24 pounds of ground beef for free!
How to make Ground Beef Sweet Potato Chili:
- Brown ground beef. While ground beef is browning, chop your onions and sweet potatoes. I like to brown the onions a bit with the ground beef.
- Add everything to the crockpot and stir together.
- Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4. I’ve also included instant pot and stove top instructions below.
Liz’s Tip:
If you are making this in the instant pot, make sure to scrape off any pieces of food on the bottom of the Instant Pot or you will may get a burn notice during cooking. You also must make sure your Instant Pot pressure is set to sealing. See below for instant pot instructions in the recipe.
Do you need to cook the meat ahead of time?
Yes, you need to cook the beef before adding it to the crockpot. It adds texture to the chili and ensures the meat is completely cooked! If you’re making this recipe on the stove/instant pot – you also need to cook the meat.
Serving suggestions:
Rice/Quinoa: I like to serve this chili over rice or quinoa.
If you’re low carb, paleo or whole30: Serve this chili over cauliflower rice, Sheet Pan Roasted Potatoes, or with homemade roasted plantains.
With a side salad. This Avocado Ranch Salad is a great option.
Toppings: Guacamole, avocado, and chopped onion are all great paleo toppings for this recipe. We love cheddar cheese or crushed tortilla chips on top too!
Storage
Storage: This chili will last in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
Freezing: Yes you can freeze this ground beef chili! This chili freezes very well. Allow it to cool completely and store in freezer friendly containers. We like these containers for freezing. For all my freezing tips, check out my post on How To Freeze Soup.
Reheating: You can reheat the chili on the stovetop or in the microwave.
If you LOVE slow cooker recipes you should check out our healthy crockpot cookbook!
Ground Beef and Sweet Potato Chili
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 cup diced onion
- 2 cups diced sweet potatoes
- 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
Stovetop Instructions:
- In a large pot on the stove, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add ground beef to the pot and sauté for 5 minutes.
- After the beef has cooked for 5 minutes, add onions to the pot and sauté for an additional 5 minutes.
- When the ground beef and onions are cooked, add sweet potato cubes, crushed tomatoes and dried spices to the pot. Stir until thoroughly combined.
- Cover the pot and bring the chili to a low simmer for one hour. Make sure to stir every 10 minutes to prevent the bottom of the pan from scorching.
- Once cooked, serve over rice or enjoy plain with your favorite chili toppings!
Crockpot Instructions:
- In a large pot on the stove, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add ground beef to the pot and sauté for 5 minutes.
- After the beef has cooked for 5 minutes, add onions to the pot and sauté for additional 5 minutes.
- Add browned ground beef and onion mixture to the slow cooker base. Stir in sweet potato cubes, crushed tomatoes and dried spices until thoroughly combined.
- Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours.
- Once cooked, serve over rice or enjoy plain with your favorite chili toppings!
Instant Pot Instructions:
- *Warning* The instant pot is very finicky. We do not recommend making this chili in it unless you must as it may give you a burn notice. This chili tastes much better and is easier to make in your crockpot or on the stove!
- Set the Instant Pot to sauté mode for 10 minutes. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add ground beef to the pot and sauté for 5 minutes.
- After the beef has cooked for 5 minutes, add onions to the pot and sauté for additional 5 minutes.
- Important: Make sure to scrape off any pieces of food on the bottom of the Instant Pot or you will get a burn notice during cooking.
- Add add sweet potato cubes, crushed tomatoes dried spices and 1 cup of water to the pot. Water is not listed in the recipe ingredients and should only be used if cooking in the instant pot. Stir together.
- Set the Instant Pot to Sealing, Pressure Cook for 8 minutes. When finished cooking, allow pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure.
- Once cooked, serve over rice or enjoy plain with your favorite chili toppings!
Made this for dinner. My family wanted more spice so I added some salsa at end.For grandson mashed up sweet potatoes so he didn’t know they were there. He also loved it.
Great, easy recipe! We served over spaghetti squash “noodles” and it was fantastic.
I made this today! Excellent! Yum! Easy peezy!
This was my first time making a chili with sweet potatoes and I am in love!! I made this on the stove and used 93/7 ground turkey since I don’t usually eat red meat, doubled the chili powder (we love lots of chili flavor), and added a cup of chicken broth since I wanted a little more liquid to eat it on its own as a chili rather than thick and served over something. I also doubled the cayenne because we like more heat.
My hubby had his with sharp cheddar cheese and sour cream and I had avocado, plain cashew yogurt, and cilantro since I have a dairy sensitivity. Big win for both of us!
Thanks for this recipe. I had all the ingredients and am making this for dinner tonight. My husband was already asking what I was making that smelled so delicious!
Thanks, Pegg! Glad you liked it!
I made the stove top recipe and loved it! I added funky chopped carrots to the sauce to get in another veggie and served it over GF noodles. I’m someone who doesn’t like a lot of spice and loved this. Will be adding it to the regular rotation.
Glad you liked it, Sarah! Love the extra veggies 🙂
I am not a huge sweet potato fan but let me just say, this is amazing. The sweet potato pairs perfectly with all of the other flavors in the dish and is the right ingredient to balance out the heat. (I like to add extra spice to my chili!) I love quick easy crock pot dishes that I can toss in before heading to work and come home to a deliciously cooked meal. This has been my new go-to chili recipe this fall/winter season!
Yay!! Love hearing this!! So glad you liked the chili!
Absolutely love this recipe!! Sooooo good! I made it for the second time and loved it even more this time! I added peppers and a zucchini!
So happy you liked it, Melissa! Thank you so much!
This chili is definitely becoming a go-to! The flavors are so delicious! We had it over cauliflower rice and topped it off with avocado. To spice up the leftovers on a Friday night, we put a poached egg on top. We’re in the middle of Whole30 and this was a great find! If you do it on the stovetop, definitely watch it closely. I left it on for 1.5 hours and that was a bit too long, even on low heat. 1 hour would have probably been perfect!
So happy you like it, Rosa! Thank you so much!
I absolutely loved this recipe!!! I hate beans and never make chili cause of it… or make it and deal WHAT A GENIUS IDEA TO USE SWEET POTATO INSTEAD. Love love loved this chili! Highly recommend
So glad you liked it, Melissa! Thank you! This and are also beanless!
Made the a couple weeks ago for meal prep for the week and it was so good and so easy to make. Switch out the ground beef for turkey and added some fresh hatch green chili’s that I needed to use up. This one is in the regular meal prep rotation for the fall 😋
So happy to hear that! Love the addition of the chilis!
I love chili in the Fall and this has become my go-to chili recipe. I use turkey instead of ground beef and the turkey really soaks up all the spices. And I love the sweetness of the sweet potatoes! I make this at least twice a month and always make a double batch so I can freeze some for later. It’s the perfect cooler Fall day recipe!
I’ve also modified the recipe a bit when I have vegetables that need to be used. I usually throw them in the pot with the chili. It’s a good way for me to use what I have so it doesn’t go bad. But honestly, I love this recipe as-is and throwing in extra veggies is not necessary!
So happy to hear this!! We often make it with ground turkey or even ground chicken! Extra veggies are always a great idea!
I love this chili. It’s easy, delicious, and keeps so well! The last time I made it, I made extra and froze some so that I would have it later on for lunches/dinner. It lasted me through the month of September! Definitely will be keeping this one in the my fall/winter recipe go-tos!
Thank you so much, Ashley! I’m so glad you liked it!
I made it in the instant pot but put it on the “chili” setting. It didn’t do the burn thing and it was wonderful! Thank you!
We loved this! Followed the instructions to a T and cooked in the slow cooker.
So glad you liked it, Sara!
This was amazing! I did it in my instant pot and added just a little bit more water than you recommended, and it was sooo good! And didn’t burn at all! I served it over quinoa and cauliflower rice and it was a HUGE hit! Added some green onions, chopped jalapeños, and cilantro. This will definitely be a staple this winter!
Thanks, Cami! Glad you liked it!
Okkkaaaay! This was AMAZING!! It was so easy to prepare and I had all of the ingredients at home. It will for sure go into my weekly rotation for meal prep!!
So glad you liked it, Samantha! Thank you!!
Delicious! I added a little lime juice and topped the avocado with more lime juice and a little bit of salt 😋
So glad you liked it, Cheizi! Thank you so much!
Okay, YUM! Perfect for this cold Wisconsin day. Made in the Crockpot and added a can of chili beans. Adding this to our rotation this fall/winter.
Thanks, Jenna! So glad you liked it!
I made this in the crockpot this past weekend and it was DELICIOUS! I added a little more spice, because I prefer the heat, but other than that, I followed this recipe closely. Definitely recommend this for a cold fall or winter day!
So glad you liked it, Carly! Thank you so much!
This was amazing! I made the stovetop version because I didn’t have a crockpot handy, but it was so easy. Such a simple recipe for MAJOR flavor.
So glad you liked it, Alyssa! Thank you so much!
Very straightforward and simple easy recipe to follow. The sweet potato added an unexpected depth of flavor in this dish. Well worth making and will probably become one of our new favorites!!
So glad you enjoyed it, Cathy! Thank you so much!
Wow this is super easy, and really tasty! It makes weekly lunches so easy, because we can change up how we eat it. This is definitely going into my regular meal schedule!
So glad you liked it, Carrie! Thank you so much!