30-minute sweet potato & turkey chili recipe to meal prep. We eat this weekly!
I have no clue how it’s Friday already. I just finished my first load of laundry, walking the dogs in the pouring rain, and drinking my breakfast protein-smoothie. My dogs are curled up next to me, Grumples on my left and Leo on my right. We’re watching Beauty and The Beast and enjoying the warmth from the fireplace. I’m trying to enjoy this cozy moment while blogging before I have to get up and finish the rest of the housework. I’m also planning on making a new frosted sugar cookie recipe for the holidays later this afternoon! I’m going to start blogging about this chili before my mind keeps jumping all over the place!
Almost every week, I keep chili in my fridge. I never get sick of it, and I love having a bowl with my dinner salads. Kyle likes to mix the chili with his eggs or dip chips in it. You can never go wrong with a hearty bowl of chili this time of year. I wanted to share the recipe that I make almost every week. It’s effortless, only takes about 30-minutes, and it’ll blow you away with its delicious flavors. Even my dad, the chili cookoff champ, says it’s an impressive recipe.
The cool thing about this chili recipe is that you can customize it very easy. If you are vegan, leave the meat out, and you’ll be good to go. You could also add in some vegan “meat” crumbles if you wanted. If you want to add more vegetables, go for it!
The first thing I do is add a bit of avocado oil to a cooking pot and saute the squash, peppers, and onions. After those have been lightly sauteed, I’ll add in the steamed sweet potatoes.
While the vegetables are sauteeing, I’ll cook up the ground turkey in a pan with a tsp of avocado oil. You can choose to use any protein you want! I always prefer the ground turkey because I like the way it tastes, and I find that beef makes chili a bit greasy. 
Next, I’ll add the green chilies, avocado oil, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and a cup and a half of water. I mix it well and let it simmer for about five minutes. 
Next, I add in the spices, beans, and cooked ground turkey. Mix well, and give the chili a taste test. If it needs more cumin, salt, pepper, or garlic, add it in as you wish. I tend to LOVE tons of cumin in my chili. It adds the extra spice and the dominant chili flavor.
Sweet Potato & Turkey Chili
Ingredients
- 1 Large Onion Chopped
- 1 Medium Summer Squash Diced
- 4 Medium Sweet Potatoes Steamed and Diced
- 2 Large Bell Peppers Diced
- 1 28 Oz Can Diced Tomatoes
- 1 28 Oz Can Tomato Sauce
- 1 6 Oz Can Tomato Paste
- 2 4.5 Oz Can Green Chilis (choose spicy if you want!)
- 1/2 Cup Water (only if you're adding meat)
- 1/4 Cup Ground Cumin (yes that much)
- 1 Tbsp Cayenne Pepper
- 4 Tbsps Chili Powder
- 1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
- 1 Tbsp Onion Powder
- 1/2 Tbsp Sea Salt (or more to taste)
- 1/2 Tbsp Black Pepper (or more to taste)
- 1 28 Oz Can Kidney Beans (drained & rinsed)
- 2 lbs Ground Turkey (OPTIONAL)
Instructions
- Peel the sweet potatoes, dice and steam. (if you're not against the microwave, that works too)
- Chop onion, bell peppers, and squash. Add the vegetables to a cooking pot with a drizzle of avocado oil and cook on high until lightly sauteed. Stir in the steamed sweet potatoes.
- Mix in the diced tomatoes (do not drain), tomato sauce, green chilis, tomato paste, and let simmer for five minutes.
- Mix in the ground cumin, cayenne pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, and black pepper.
- Mix in the kidney beans and ground turkey. Continue to cook on low. Give the chili a taste test to determine if it needs more spice! I always end up adding some extra cumin or garlic by the end of it. The kind of turkey, sauce, or vegetables can change up the spices. No worries, just add more.
Notes
Questions for you!
- What recipe do you make almost weekly?
- Who is the chili maker in your family?
- Crackers or cornbread?
Nothing better than chilli for the cold weather! 😀 I’ve never tried sweet potato in my chilli before, but I’ll give it a try. I love sweet potatoes and the dish sounds super good! 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Totally agree! 😃
Do you brown the turkey first or just cook it in the chili?
I cook the turkey first 🙂
Adding this to my list of meals to make! I already have a bag of frozen sweet potatoes so I’ll probably use those. I also may use chicken instead of turkey just because I have been using rotisserie chicken lately to make my weeknight meals easier.
1. BBQ Chicken! It’s my go-to dinner. Usually pair it with sweet potato fries.
2. Me! Made chili tonight.
3. Cornbread!
Ohhh a great idea. Let me know how it is with the chicken!
I love a good bbq chicken!
I need to make cornbread the next time I make chili!
I read this as I have chili simmering in the kitchen, it makes the house smell delicious 🙂
I love chili this time of year!
Like Kyle I love dipping chips into a bowl.
http://www.justbeingbrooklyn.com
It’s a chili weekend for sure 😉 (pun intended!)
A great combo!
We made this chili and it’s making its way to our recipe vault! I used the vegetarian crumbles as you suggested and my husband had no idea that it was vegan. I will tag you in the recipe picture on Instagram. Thank you for another great recipe!
Awww! This makes me so happy to hear!! 😊
Looks delicious!!
Thank you!!
A fantastic chili recipe!
Thank you!
We also eat this weekly! This high protein, high flavor meal is the perfect fall or winter comfort. It is the only leftovers I truly enjoy!