Meatless Monday: Slow-Cooker Vegetarian Chili with Sweet Potatoes

Slow-Cooker Vegetarian Chili with Sweet Potatoes

Happy Meatless Monday!

I have a lot of great things in store for you in the upcoming weeks, including a Q&A with Chef Jorge Chicas, the executive chef of The Bazaar by Jose Andres (featuring a behind the scenes look at their kitchen), a Q&A with Chef Jodi of The Griddle Cafe, and an article on Pinot Days, the upcoming wine tasting event. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, here's another great meatless recipe for Slow-Cooker Vegetarian Chili with Sweet Potatoes. I stumbled across this recipe in the January 2011 issue of Real Simple magazine. As you may know, I'm a sucker for all things slow-cooked. I love putting food into my slow-cooker in the morning, and like magic, having a fully prepared meal waiting for me in the evening.

This fabulous, healthy recipe combines a two-bean chili with sweet potatoes, but what really drew me to it was the combination of spices, including chili powder, ground cumin, cocoa powder, and ground cinnamon. I garnished my chili with cilantro, and served it with a side of my Honey Cornbread (recipe here).

A hearty, filling, healthy meal that's perfect to jolt you out of the January doldrums. Enjoy!

Slow-Cooker Vegetarian Chili with Sweet Potatoes
Adapted from Real Simple January 2011
Serves 4 people
Prep time: 20 minutes; Cooking time: 4 hours
Print Recipe

Ingredients
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped 
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
kosher salt and black pepper
1 28-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 15.5-ounce can black beans, rinsed
1 15.5-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed
1 medium sweet potato (about 8 ounces), peeled and cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces

for garnishing (optional):
cilantro, sour cream, sliced scallions, sliced radishes, and tortilla chips

serve with Domestic Divas Honey Cornbread

Directions
In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine the onion, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, cocoa, cinnamon, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Add the tomatoes (and their liquid), beans, sweet potato, and 1 cup water.

Cover and cook until the sweet potatoes are tender and the chili has thickened, on low for 7 to 8 hours  or on high for 4 to 5 hours (this will shorten total recipe time).

Serve the chili with the sour cream, scallions, radishes, and tortilla chips. Enjoy!

Source for Ingredients
organic onions, organic garlic, and organic bell pepper from Studio City Farmers Market

chili powder, organic ground cumin, and organic ground cinnamon from Whole Foods

organic sweet potatoes, organic fire roasted tomatoes, organic kidney beans, organic black beans, organic cilantro from Trader Joe's

cocoa powder from Surfas

click here for the nutritional information for this recipe