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
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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.
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Notes
Nutrition
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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.
Very good. My whole family loved it!
Made this tonight, subbing brats for chorizo. It was fantastic!
I browned the onions, sausage and garlic and then threw everything else in the crockpot…I’m cooking it on high since I didn’t decide to do it until noon…I’ll let you know how it turns out. I made it stove top once before and LOVED it!
This had the perfect amount of heat for us, very flavorful. For some reason at my local grocery store they hardly ever have chorizo so I used some leftover Conecuh sausage and some sweet italian I had in the freezer. It was great! I added an extra half cup of water, an extra small sweet potato to try and stretch it, which was good since my boyfriend ate two huge bowls :)
I could only find the spanish chorizo so I just ended up using them (just chopped them before browning).. and it was so delicious!! :D For those who can’t find mexican chorizo, spanish chorizo works just great! Never knew how easy it is to make delicious chili at home. Thanks Beth!
I had to go to 3 different stores to find chorizo (I live in Canada, so Mexican food is less common), but it was worth it. Such an easy, flavourful meal, and I love the flavour contrast with the sweet potatoes. The whole fam approved!
Love this recipe! I didn’t have Mexican chorizo handy – seems to be harder to find than Spanish chorizo – so I used soy chorizo. Tofurky makes one, Trader Joe’s is good too. Results were fantastic! I also added chopped carrots and zucchini. Healthy and delicious. This is a keeper.
I’m in France so I’m going to try to make this with merguez (spicy fresh North African sausage) since there’s no Mexican chorizo to be found… it’s sweeter, I wonder how this’ll work, I’ll post when I’m done so my continental brethren can enjoy this fucking awesome looking chili :)
It sounds delicious!
OMG SUCCESS. I REPEAT, SUCCESS. CANNOT STOP EATING. merguez and haricots rouges is a go.
I made this yesterday. First, the boyfriend couldn’t stop saying how amazing it smelled while cooking. And it tasted even better! Made lots of leftovers for lunches and I froze some too. Will make again! The combination of spicy and sweet is so comforting. Thanks!
This was great! Mexico chorizo is not available in Australia, so I made my own using turkey mince instead of pork. I also added 250g of cooked spinach to get some greens into this one pot meal.
This was even better the next day, served with cornbread. I need to find a better chorizo though, since mine wasn’t spicy enough to come through in the dish. I’m already set to make this one again!
We made this last night and it was really good! I actually just had some left overs for lunch at my desk.
The combination of chilli flavors with spicy chorizo and a hint of sweetness from sweet potatoes was great.
Great variation of chilli for a change.
I cant wait to try thissssssssssss :-D
I actually just made the chorizo and sweet potato enchilladas for dinner last night and they were sooooo good. Usually I’m not a fan of chorizo, I used soyrizo, but that flavor combo with the sweet potato was awesome!
This was fantastic! I gambled and used salsa instead of diced tomatoes, because I didn’t have any cans of diced tomatoes at home, but it actually turned out really well. I also added a scant teaspoonful of cocoa, as I usually do with chili. Very tasty and made lots of leftovers. Thank you for the recipe!