Indulge yourself in a bowl of Paleo Sweet Potato Chili that is spicy and full of beef. It’s thick, rich and slightly sweet while being grain free, sugar free and dairy free.
Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Chili
There’s nothing that says “fall” like a bowl of chili. It hasn’t always been this way for me. When I was younger, I was never a chili lover. I remember my mom making a pot of chili and making a small pot of the same chili without beans for us kids. Chili was tolerable. Chili with beans was not tolerable.
Times have certainly changed. I’d make a big pot of chili to eat on every week if it were up to me. What made me fall in love? Our favorite sweet and spicy chili recipe that you can find here. It’s thick. It’s meaty. It’s full of beans and tomatoes. And it’s slightly sweet. I love my chili just a tad bit sweet.
Is chili on the paleo diet?
Well…that depends on how it is made. We love sweet chili but obviously not many sweet things are on the paleo diet. This chili has sweet potatoes but everything is A.OK. for both the Whole30 and the Paleo diet. As always, check recipes and the ingredient labels to be sure the recipe and ingredients are compliant.
Paleo Chili Recipe without Beans
Since we are trying the best we can to eat a paleo diet at meal times, my favorite, most-loved chili recipe was off-limits. One of my goals this fall was to take that recipe and make it fit into a paleo, clean-eating diet. With no beans and no sugar, how did we do it? We added in veggies! Carrots and sweet potatoes to be exact.
When I took the first bite of this paleo sweet potato chili after it had simmered in my slow cooker all day, I was so pleasantly surprised. It actually tasted sweet! You see, those wonderful little sweet potatoes baked right into this chili and gave it the perfect amount of sweetness. Learning how to cook without sugar, grains and dairy hasn’t been easy, so when I have a victory like this, it makes my week!
Homemade Chili Powder
Sometimes sugar can be hiding in store-bought spice mixes. We’re crazy for our homemade, sugar free chili powder that seasons this chili perfectly. Find our recipe here.
Healthy Slow Cooker Chili
And it can easily be made in the slow cooker, making it easy for you to throw together in the morning and have it calling your name when you get home at night. Instead of simmering the chili on the stove, you can brown the ground beef, drain off the fat and place it into the slow cooker. Add the other ingredients and let it simmer on low all day (6-8 hours on high for 4-5 hours).
What vegetables can I add to chili?
We’ve had questions about what else you can add to this chili. We’ve heard zucchini, cauliflower, and butternut squash. We love all of these ideas to help make it a little more low carb.
Can I use ground turkey in chili?
Yes! We’ve used both ground beef and ground turkey in this Whole30 chili. You can even use ground chicken if you’d like. Each meat will change the flavor of the soup so pick whichever you like best.
You added 1/2 cup of chili powder? That has to be wrong!
Nope! It’s not. This chili gets RAVE reviews using this amount of chili powder. As with any other spice, you can always use less if you’d like!
What to Serve with Chili
Do you need a grain free bread to go with this soup? Try it with these dinner rolls. If you’re not limiting grains, may I suggest this Asiago Cheese Bread? It’s simply amazing with a bowl of hearty soup.
A delicious Whole30 Sweet Potato Chili recipe!
This paleo sweet potato chili recipe will make a decent sized batch of chili, so you’ll be sure to have leftovers for a busy night or for lunches.
Read our Ultimate Guide to the Whole30 Challenge here.
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Paleo Sweet Potato Chili
Ingredients
- 2 lbs hamburger
- 1 red onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 can tomato sauce 29.5 ounces
- 2 cups petite diced tomatoes with juice
- 3 cups beef stock
- 1 cup carrots sliced
- 5 cups sweet potatoes peeled and cubed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1/2 cup chili powder
- dash of oregano
- dash of red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, brown hamburger, onions and garlic. Drain off the fat.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the saucepan. Mix well, bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for about 30-40 minutes or until the sweet potatoes and carrots are cooked through.
- Remove and discard the bay leaves. Then serve!
- Slow Cooker Option: Instead of simmering the chili on the stove, you can brown the ground beef, drain off the fat and place it into the slow cooker. Add the other ingredients and let it simmer on low all day (6-8 hours on high for 4-5 hours).
Video
Nutrition
Alma Vorrei says
YUM! Just made this for family (sooo glad it turned out yummy). Thanks for the great flavor filled recipe.
Priya Shiva says
Looks yummy and awesome photography!
Julie Clark says
Thank you!
Lisa Thompson says
Love this recipe. Great as is, and I love that I can modify with different meats (I’ve tried sausage and sliced brats). I’ve also used butternut squash, added red bell peppers, used lots of extra carrots, and experimented with different amounts of stock/tomato sauce/chili powder. I make a lot of soups and curries and I am so happy any time to find one that’s versatile and full of healthy ingredients! Thank you!!
Haley says
I was super skeptical about this recipe. I was kind of weirded out at the idea of sweet potatoes in chili and I was worried the amount of chili powder would be too much.
I added a can of black beans, omitted carrots but put in a chopped yellow pepper and half a chopped zucchini, otherwise followed the recipe. Put it in the crock pot and waited.
It was AWESOME! I made it for my crew at work (we’re firefighters) and they LOVED it. We topped it with cheese and sour cream, served with cornbread and salad. None of us are paleo but the recipe just sounded intriguing.
Thank you!
Julie Clark says
I’m so glad you love it! And yes, we make variations of this all the time with different veggies and beans. Thank you!
Lindsay says
This chili is amazing! You don’t even miss the beans (I know I don’t miss the affects of beans later in my house!)! My kids even love it and it is hearty and filling. I was wondering if I could use this for a freezer meal party. Like brown the meat/onions and then put the ingredients in a ziplock and then freeze for later use. Do you think that would work?
Elisa says
I’ve been making this chili for a long time and we love it. Everytime I make it I think there is orange juice in the recipe. Did it used to call for orange juice or am I just thinking of something else?
Julie Clark says
Nope! I never used orange juice. 🙂
TIM hightower says
great recipe. I made it for the family and everyone loved it. Will be making this again for thanksgiving.
James says
Just made this chilli as the recipe said and it came out damn good even with the half a cup of chili powder which seems excessive but it’s not at all it tastes awesome. We from the potatoes but spicy from the seasonings. A very nice balance the two.
Thank you for the recipe
Hi says
Would this recipe work well with ground turkey instead? If so would vegetable broth be adequate instead of beef broth? Do you think it would work? Thanks
Julie Clark says
It will change the flavor, but yes, it will work!
Nanthapat @ kitchenwitchmaven says
Our family really loved this recipe! I have three little ones that hate sweet potatoes. They ate all of thier chili and asked for seconds!!
Thank you so much for this recipe!
Julie Clark says
You’re so welcome!!! I’m glad your family enjoyed it.
Leila says
Oh my gosh. Made this as my maiden instant pot recipe today, and it is SO delicious! We can’t stop eating it. This is our 3rd Whole30, and we’re not sure how to resist overeating this! It is so magically sweet! 🙂
Julie Clark says
I love that you used the Instant Pot!
Beverly White says
How long did you do in instant pot? This is a favorite recipe!!!
Leila says
I’ve made this 4 times now! I’ve started adding another cup of carrots and another red onion. I brown the meat and onions on the stove first, to maximize flavor. Then I add the garlic. After that, I add everything to my instant pot – the potatoes and carrots are perfect in 10 minutes (plus pressurize time).
I followed the directions for sweet potato chili found on addapinch.com:
“Set the Instant Pot to 10 minutes of High Pressure using the Manual setting. Allow to release pressure naturally and then carefully release any additional pressure before removing the top of the Instant Pot.”
😋
Carla says
Thank you! I was just trying to determine how long to cook in my IP. I am vegan so I substitute 2 cans of black beans instead of the burger. My favorite chili recipe.
Susan says
Made this tonight and loved it!!!!!
Subbed ground turkey for ground beef and chicken.broth for beef broth, because it’s what I had on hand. And added a green pepper because I had one sitting around.
Thanks so much for this recipe! It’s a keeper!!!!
It’s 5 stars from me!!:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Julie Clark says
Thank you so much for the awesome review!
Taylor says
Hi,
So I’m not sure if I missed the serving size, but you have the nutritional facts for each serving, but I don’t see a serving size amount? Maybe 1 or two cups of the chili?
Julie Clark says
Honestly we need to go back and measure the exact amount of soup it makes. I would say probably between 1-2 cups, but we’ll have to measure and get back with you on the exact amount!
Elaine says
What would the timing be to do this in an Instant pot?
Julie Clark says
I’ve not tried it, but I would set it for maybe 5-10 minutes at high pressure (manual) and allow it to naturally release. If you go for close to 10 minutes on high, I’d let it naturally release for maybe just 3-4 minutes then open it.
Heather M. says
This was so tasty! I will definitely be making it again. I substituted ground turkey and fire-roasted tomatoes since that was what I had on hand. Very, very good!
Julie Clark says
Great ideas!! We love it with ground turkey but I’ll have to try the tomatoes!
Courtney Clarke says
I love this recipe! It is a staple meal in my house. I do use ground turkey to save money and I also only add a dash of thyme because I do not like thyme very much. It is easy to modify this chili.
Kimberly says
This is my our favorite new chili recipe – even we we aren’t on a whole 30! The first time I made it the flavor was amazing but it was a little too thin for our liking. We like chunky, hearty chili. So now when I make it I make the following adjustments:
2 cans diced tomatoes, one drained one not drained
1 6 Oz can tomato paste
1 14 Oz can tomato sauce (1/2 of what recipe calls for)
2 cups beef stock
Using the paste along with only half of the sauce really helps to thicken it! I’ve been making this every Sunday for lunch prep for the week!
Melinda says
It says the nutritional info per serving, but how big is a serving? We had to modify a couple quantities to make it fit in the instant pot. (Which worked amazing, sauté function to do the onions & ground beef, then add all the rest (as space allows) and we did 6 mins (mid range between what IP called for sweet potatoes & carrots). Delicious.
Crystal says
Hubby and I are new to paleo but with the cold and chili being my favorite meal, I thought it was worth a try-oh my goodness! It was delicious! I added a red pepper that I need to use up, 15.9 oz can of tomato sauce, small tomato paste and only 1/4 cup of chili powder after reading the reviews. And topped with a 1/2 an avocado. Yummy, this one is a keeper!! Can’t wait to see your other recipes on this site! Thanks!
Tracy says
I’ve made this chili several times now- My family and I love it!! Thank you for the recipe!