So, it finally got cold here. Like, I actually had to wear a sweater when I left the house the other day! :o That made me crave chili. Warm, hearty chili… But of course, I needed to try something new.
Ever since I discovered how awesome spicy Mexican chorizo and sweet potatoes are together (remember these enchiladas?), I’ve been looking for new ways to pair the two up. This chili is a super easy and fairly quick way to do just that. Because chorizo is so heavily spiced, you barely need to add anything else to the chili to achieve maximum flavor. It’s almost too easy. But that’s good, cuz I got places to go, panda costumes to wear, and birthdays to celebrate (yesterday was my birthday y’all!)
Anyway, the combination of spicy chorizo and creamy sweet potatoes didn’t disappoint once again. This chili is the BOMB. My new favorite chili, for sure.
Chorizo Sweet Potato Chili
Looking for a classic chili recipe? Check out my Simple Homemade Chili.
Chorizo Sweet Potato Chili
Servings 6 8 cups totalIngredients
- 3 links Mexican chorizo (about ¾ lb.) ($2.51)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.42)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 lb. sweet potato ($1.00)
- 1 15oz. can diced tomatoes ($0.69)
- 1 15oz. can kidney beans ($1.09)
- 1 15oz. can black beans ($1.12)
- 1 6oz. can tomato paste ($0.55)
- 1 Tbsp chili powder** ($0.30)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- 2 cups water ($0.00)
- 1 bunch green onions ($0.69)
Instructions
- Squeeze the chorizo out of its casing and into a large pot. Cook the chorizo over medium heat, breaking it up as it browns. After it is fully browned, drain the excess fat from the pot (if desired).
- While the chorizo is browning, dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add them to the pot after draining the fat. Continue to stir and cook. Peel the sweet potato and cut it into 1/2 inch cubes. Add them to the pot and continue to stir and cook.
- Rinse and drain the beans in a colander. Add them to the pot along with the diced tomatoes (with juices), tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and water. Stir until everything is well combined. Place a lid on the pot and allow the chili to come up to a simmer. Let the chili simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the sweet potatoes have softened. Serve hot, topped with sliced green onions.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!
Step by Step Photos
This is the Mexican chorizo that I used. Mexican chorizo is different than Spanish chorizo. Mexican chorizo is a fresh meat product and the links are soft, whereas Spanish chorizo is a hard, cured meat like salami. I used three links, or about 3/4 lb. The other two links will be frozen for later use.
Squeeze the chorizo out of the casings and into a large pot. Cook over medium heat, breaking it up into pieces as you go. Cook until it is fully browned. Chorizo is fairly fatty, so you can drain the fat off after it is fully browned, if you’d like.
While the chorizo is browning, dice the onion and mince the garlic. After draining the fat from the chorizo, add the onion and garlic and continue to cook over medium heat.
While the onions and garlic continue to cook, start dicing the sweet potato. First peel it, then cut it into medallions.
Stack a few of the medallions at a time and cut them into strips. Then, cut across the strips into small cubes. You want the sweet potato to be in fairly small pieces (1/2 inch cubes) so that they’ll cook quickly and so there won’t be huge chunks in the chili.
Add the diced sweet potatoes to the pot and continue cooking.
Add the diced tomatoes (with juices) to the pot. Rinse and drain the beans in a colander, then add them to the pot. Also add the entire can of tomato paste. I accidentally got seasoned black beans, but if you use regular black beans it won’t affect the flavor much.
Also add the chili powder, cumin, oregano, and two cups of water.
Please note: Chili powder in the United States is not the same as cayenne or red pepper, which are both very hot. If you use 1 Tbsp of cayenne pepper you’ll burn a hole through your mouth. This chili powder is a blend of mild chiles and other spices. If you don’t have this, you can sub all of the spices for one packet/envelope of chili seasoning.
Stir it all together until the tomato paste has fully incorporated. Put a lid on the pot and let it come up to a simmer. Let the pot simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 30 minutes the sweet potatoes should be soft. Now it’s ready to serve!
Slice the green onions and sprinkle over each serving. You can also add a little cheddar cheese or sour cream…
I dipped some tortilla strips in it. YUM.
Made this last night for my boyfriend and myself, and I must say it was absolutely amazing! I didn’t realize that pictured above is a yam and so I bought a sweet potato (luckily they’re pretty much interchangeable despite the color) and it came out just fine. Coupled with a hot batch of buttery cornbread and we were both happy campers :) delicious recipe!
And Happy belated Birthday Beth! Thanks for sharing all your wonderful recipes with us.
Wait, how can you tell the above is a yam? I bought a yam to make this because I couldn’t find sweet potatoes and I’m not totally clear on the differences and whether that will work. I also had to buy Italian hot sausage instead of chorizo – I hope it turns out ok. I’m not very good at figuring out substitutions!
I believe that yams are orange on the inside, while sweet potatoes are white. I could be mistaken though. I always use yams anyway.
Cant wait to try this! I LOVE those enchiladas when I tried them. SP & chorizo go so good together!
I was inspired by your sweet potato + chorizo recipes to make a couple of different things in that theme lately. One being a chorizo, sweet potato, and kidney bean burger, and the other being a chili stuffed and roasted sweet potato with an egg on top for good measure. Delicious! Hope you enjoyed this chili.
Made this with sweet italian sausage as I couldn’t find any chorizo at Trader Joe’s. Turned out amazing. So glad I took a chance and made a double batch to freeze portions out for the next couple weeks. Yum!
Any Idea how to substitute the herbs and in the Mexican chorizo?
I live in Germany, and it’s hard enough finding good Spanish chorizo. Finding Mexican one will probably give me the greatest headache.
There’s a “spices” missing. Sorry, it’s late here.
I found this basic recipe (you could probably sub the Aleppo peppers for any hot red pepper) and you can probably find more via Google. I hope that helps!
Awesome! Thank you so much! :)
I just made this and it was phenomenal! Like a comforting hug in food form. :) I will definitely make it again. (and again, and again…)
Inspired by this post, I made a version with butternut squash instead of sweet potato (my local grocery was out). It is AMAZING!!! thank you!
Beef chorizo also exists out there. I use that from time to time instead of pork.
I was just looking for a good chili recipe and I knew you could help a sister out! Oh – we have the same birthday :)
Happy birthday!!
No way, my birthday is the 26th October, so close haha :)
Happy Birthday! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE those enchiladas so you KNOW I will be making this. Have Sprouts grocers gotten to NOLA yet? If not, I hope they do soon. They make really good sausages including chorizo. I love Sprouts because they also have the best prices on produce. I would never eat red pepper because of price but Sprouts frequently has them for 2/$1.
Now about your description…it’s the what???? It taste like poop?
The ingredient list says 4 links of chorizo and the instructions say 3 links – which is correct?
Thanks for catching that! It’s three links :)
Well, I ended up making it with 4 links anyway and it was delicious! The only change I made was to add 1 tsp of cayenne because I like my chili spicy.
I was legit looking for a chili recipe earlier today. BudgetBytes has all the recipes I want.
Do you have any suggestions for a type of meat to replace the chorizo? I don’t eat pork. =/
I would use soyrizo! That is what I plan to do, since I’m a vegetarian.
You can look for a beef or vegetarian chorizo. You pretty much have to use a chorizo here to get the right flavor because the chorizo supplies most of the herbs and spices for the chili. Replacing it with another meat will change it quite a bit.
I just made this- have only tasted it so far, but I used Tofurky Chorizo. Seems like it will be great!
That looks tasty Beth.
Happy belated birthday!