Sweet Potato Turkey Chili
This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share a commission.
Sweet Potato Turkey Chili is loaded with lean ground turkey, chopped sweet potatoes, tomatoes, beans, and plenty of spices. This chili is full of flavor, is both hearty and lean at the same time, and cooks up pretty quickly. Everything you need for a weeknight meal.
For a classic DELICIOUS chili recipe, try my Hearty Beef Chili. For a vegetarian one, be sure to take a peek at my 3-Bean Pumpkin Chili! Or try a spicy version that’s more of a soup – this Green Chili Chicken Soup!
BEST Sweet Potato Chili
(Scroll on if you don’t want to read about memories!)
I love how food takes me back to some memory hidden away in my brain. Like the homemade cookies my mom used to make that lined the back kitchen counter. Warm cookies after school with a big glass of milk to dunk them in. Really, nothing better. Or the nachos my hubby and I used to eat (BEFORE the pizza!) at our favorite pizza joint during our college years.
I remember the breakfast burritos I used to cook up for the kids for dinner, after a long evening of running them to sports and activities. And then there are the countless pans of mac and cheese I made during their “picky” years (with perhaps a hidden veggie or two they didn’t know about).
Chili is definitely one of these meals. Mom used to make it all winter long, and she filled a big roasting pan for our family of eight. Dad loved beans AND chili powder, so it always had loads of that. To this day, chili really isn’t chili unless it has plenty of beans and chili powder (and for me, jalapeños!).
Quick poll. What is your “must-have” ingredients for your chili? Do tell!
One thing I’d never had, until I concocted this recipe, is sweet potatoes IN my chili. Seems like a weird concept at first, until you try it. But I must admit. The mixture of the sweet from the potatoes is a perfect combo with the spiciness of the chili. SO good, and I think you will soon be a fan!
Chili Ingredients:
Y’all know I’m a Tex-Mex girl, and I love anything spicy. This soup has basically all of my favorite ingredients PLUS spice. To make this chili, you will need:
- Ground turkey – I use a lean version.
- The fresh veggies – onion, jalapeño, garlic, and of course, sweet potatoes.
- Canned goods – fire roasted tomatoes, tomato paste, and beans.
- The spices – chili powder, cumin, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper
- Chicken broth – lower sodium, preferred
- Plus toppings galore!
I’m a sucker for a big bowl of soup or chili. Give it to me ANY cool night of the week and I’m a happy girl.
How to make Sweet Potato Turkey Chili:
Step 1
Chop veggies. Chop the onion, jalapeño, and sweet potatoes. Then mince the garlic. Set aside.
PRO-TIP: Make sure you chop the sweet potatoes pretty small so they take less time to cook! (See below.)
Step 2
Brown Turkey. In a large saucepan, over medium high heat, add olive oil. Then add ground turkey, onion, and jalapeños.
Step 3
Add garlic and seasonings (chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper) to the meat. Stir and cook for another couple of minutes.
Step 4
Add liquids and beans. Then add the chicken broth (start with 5 cups), the fire roasted tomatoes, tomato paste, and beans (undrained). Bring this to a boil.
Step 5
Add sweet potatoes. When mixture is boiling, add cubed sweet potatoes. Turn heat down to a simmer (bubbling slightly). Let the chili cook until sweet potatoes are fork tender.
Step 6
Check seasonings. Test the chili to determine if additional seasonings are needed.
Step 7
Serve. Serve chili with your choice of avocado slices, shredded cheese, sour cream, and crushed up tortilla chips (or crackers).
Variations to this chili:
- Use ground beef instead of ground turkey.
- Try another type of bean instead of the cannellini beans. Black beans, chili beans, pinto beans, you name it.
- Don’t like spicy? Use regular diced tomatoes instead of fire-roasted, go easy on the chili powder and cumin, and skip the jalapeño (or just the seeds).
- Don’t like sweet potatoes? Oh c’mon try them anyway! 🙂
Suggested Chili Toppings
- avocado slices
- shredded cheese
- sour cream
- crushed up chips or crackers
- extra jalapeños
This is a fabulous recipe to make for game day, and something different too. Offer up some delicious toppings to go with the chili, make a fun cocktail and maybe a bowl of the best Baked Artichoke Dip or some Spicy Chex Party Mix!
Enjoy!
Kitchen Tools Used: (Amazon Affiliates)
xoxo ~Sue
Sweet Potato Turkey Chili
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 pounds lean ground turkey
- 1 large onion – chopped
- 3 cloves garlic – minced
- 2 large jalapenos – diced (without seeds, unless you like spicy!)
- 3 Tablespoons chili powder
- 2 Tablespoons cumin
- salt and pepper – to taste
- 6 – 8 cups chicken broth – may need to add more
- 15 oz. can fire roasted tomatoes
- 4 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 30 oz. cannellini beans, canned – undrained
- 2 ½ pounds sweet potatoes – peeled and cubed
- avocado slices, shredded cheese, sour cream, crushed up chips, cilantro – to serve
Instructions
- Chop the onion, jalapeno, and (peeled) sweet potatoes. Mince the garlic. You'll want the sweet potatoes to be fairly small in size to speed up the cooking process.
- In large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add ground turkey, onion, and jalapeños (along with a little salt and pepper). Cook until turkey is browned and crumbled, and the veggies are soft, stirring often.
- Then add the minced garlic and seasonings (chili powder, cumin, additional salt, and pepper). Stir and cook for another couple of minutes.
- Then add the chicken broth, fire roasted tomatoes, tomato paste, and beans to the pot. Bring mixture to a boil, and add sweet potatoes
- Turn heat to a simmer (just bubbling slightly), and cook until the sweet potatoes are fork tender, approximately 40-45 minutes.
- Serve chili with shredded cheese, sour cream, avocado slices, and crushed up tortilla chips/crackers.
Video
Notes
- Use ground beef instead of ground turkey.
- Try another type of bean instead of the cannellini beans. Black beans, chili beans, pinto beans, you name it.
- Don’t like spicy? Use regular diced tomatoes instead of fire-roasted, go easy on the chili powder and cumin, and skip the jalapeño (or just the seeds).
- Don’t like sweet potatoes? Oh c’mon try them anyway! 🙂
My coworker made and brought to our department chili competition, she got third place, but I think it was FIRST PLACE! She made it again and brought some in for me to have at lunch. She’s the best coworker! Thank you Ashley!!
Oh this is so nice to hear and incredibly thoughtful of you to leave a review. Thank you Christine! 🙂
Can I make ahead and reheat? How long do I cool before refrigerate?
How salt and pepper do you recommend
I’m getting ready to make this but I’m curious if it will fit in a 6 quart pan Dutch oven? Thank you
It should fit in that sized pan, Jale. Enjoy!
Absolutely delicious! Will make again for sure.
That’s great! Thanks for your feedback, Jennifer!
Do you have instructions to make in slow cooker
I do not. This cooks fairly quickly so I don’t think using a slow cooker is really worth the extra dishes, etc.
Ok, I was really skeptical about this one! My crew won’t eat sweet potatoes (except Thanksgiving when it is covered in butter, sugar & nuts!) Wish you could have seen the looks on the kids faces when they heard what I was making for dinner! Ha! Ha! But, gotta say this was REALLY good! My hubby thanked me several times for making it! (I took Mike’s advice and bought several avacados!) I did use half turkey & half lean beef. Another awesome recipe Sue! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Cathy! I’m so glad you tried it. Those sweet potatoes sure do add a surprisingly great taste to chili! 🙂
Very easy and fun to make! Best soup I’ve ever had!
That’s awesome, Josh! Thanks for the review! 🙂
SUPERRRRR YUMMY !!!!!
Awww thank you Tiffany!! So glad you enjoyed it! Mwah! 🙂
Your Mom was a very smart lady to make tons of chili! But this one is awesome! My key topping is the avocado slices. Well done!
Awesome chili! I used hamburger and a little sugar as I like a little sweetness in my chili. I will try the turkey next time. I did not use jalapenos but it was the right amount of spice for me. And I love the sweet potatoes . A new favorite for me!
So glad you enjoyed the chili, Lauri! The sweet potatoes give it that extra special something. Thanks for your review! 🙂
I made the chili before I read the other comments so I didn’t make any changes. It was excellent and might be a new “go-to” for me. Easy to make with no difficult to find ingredients. It’s excellent. Try it!
So glad you enjoyed the chili, Dave! Thanks for your feedback. 🙂
I made this soup a second time and adjusted it a bit. The first time I made it I had too much fun pureeing the sweet potatoes and didn’t have enough broth to add extra, so it was pretty thick. Since I prefer a brothy soup, I made sure to puree less and add more broth. I adjusted the seasoning just a little as well, because I used a spicy gound turkey and was afraid it would have too much heat. It was perfect for my taste!! This is a worthwhile chili to make – both nutritious and delicious.
Great idea on pureeing less! I seem to make it different every time. Thanks for your review Jackie! 🙂
This is a favorite! I love the hearty flavor, but it doesn’t leave you feeling stuffed. I’m actually having this soup for lunch today.
So true. It’s healthy so you can eat more of it!
I am a huge fan of “comfort” food so this was right up my ally. I was very easy to make if you buy precut sweet potatoes as I did. Next time I would but them smaller and probably not use the immersion blender. The flavors are fantastic, will make again soon.
I love comfort food too!! 🙂
This is a very hearty chili, and definitely serves as a complete meal. I liked that the immersion blender was used for half the potatoes, because it thickened the chili, but you could also eat it without doing that if you prefer. Delicious!!
Thank you Jackie!! I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂