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
This is awesome Julie!! I am trying to eliminate sugar from my diet, which is terrifying for a sugar addict like me. I could live on this chili and be a happy camper. 🙂
I am a huge fan of chili and will eat it most any way I can get it! I’ve never had it with sweet potatoes – I have to try this!
Sounds like a very interesting recipe. Just the fact that it doesn’t have beans makes it sound good. The weather is finally getting cool enough, so I’ll be cooking it soon. I will add cumin to balance the flavors.
I am a massive fan of chili so this recipe is totally perfect for me. Love how it’s paleo and so good for you! Thanks for sharing the recipe, you can consider that I will be recreating it!
We love chili and I’ve never had it with sweet potatoes, but hubby loves those so will definitely have to try this! Thanks for sharing and pinned!
This chili looks so delicious! I’ll be trying it for my husband.
Funny how tastes change as you get older…..moms always know what the good stuff is, don’t they? This chili looks delicious!
My cardio just told me that my heart condition means I have to change to much healthier eating; he recommends Paleo, and since I like chili a LOT, this looks like a recipe worth making.
Thank you for the post; not easy to stop things like sugar and dairy, but I’d rather be healthy–while eating delicious food, of course 🙂
This is an awesome recipe, the chili powder was a bit much for our tastebuds. Next time I will use a little less. I also make this without the meat first and put some in a pan and added kidney beans for my vegan granddaughter and them added the meat last. We loved this!
I plan to cook it in crock pot so wonder if I need to cook meat with other veggies first then add them into crockpot with other ingredient! Thanks!
If I’m making this in the crock pot, do I need to need to first brown the ingredients in a pan or can they just go directly into the crock pot?
This recipe is so simple and delicious! My whole family loved it, so I’ve included in my Whole30 Meal Plan at The Better Mom and my site at The Nourishing Home. I hope it brings lots of new friends your way. Many blessings, Kelly
Silly question…what do you mean by petite tomatoes with juice? Are these canned or fresh tomatoes. Sorry, just want to make sure I’ve got it right. Thanks!!
This was a fast favorite in our house! I’m planning to cook up a big batch and freeze it for easy weeknight meals in the future. Thank you so much for sharing.
I tried this during my Whole30 and it quickly became a household favorite. I’m planning to cook up another big batch and freeze for a few quick weeknight meals. Thank you so much for sharing!
This was amazing. I am on day 29 of my first Whole30 and so I decided to try this out. This recipe is definitely a keeper. Super easy to put together. I let mine cook on low for 2 hours. Great flavor.
I have made this twice, and it’s now my “go to” chili recipe. Being a newbie to Paleo, this recipe was a real find. I can’t imagine eating my old beans and meat chili. This recipe is the best! Thanks for sharing!
I am a little confused. It says to boil and simmer for 30 minutes of cooking on the stove, but then in the next part it says something about simmering for 3 hours. How exactly do I cook this on the stove? Thanks!
I made this today for the first time and am in love. I was sick of chocolate chili after eating it SOOO much. I love sweet potatoes so this is a winner for me. I found that 1/4 cup of chili powder was perfect for my taste. I also added about a teaspoon of cumin. Delicious! Thank you for creating this recipe! My nine-year-old son is having it for his after school snack!
This was so good! I also added 1 tsp of cumin to the chili. Not sure if it made a difference, but it will definitely be in my rotation of recipes from now on!!
The first time I made this chili a while back, I came to realize that my crockpot was small for all the ingredients so I had to transfer about 1/4 to the pot to cook on the stove while the crockpot cooks. So, yesterday, I bought all ingredients in half and it fits perfectly. FYI for those who have small crockpot! It was really delicious. Thanks!
I made this for my in-laws last night and it was a hit! Definitely going to be a staple in our household from now on!
I was searching for a paleo chili recipe to make for the super bowl, looks like I found one. Thanks for sharing looks delicious.
Found this recipe last fall when I was doing a Whole30 and it quickly became a family favorite. We’ve made it every other week since! It’s the only chili recipe that everyone in my household will eat!
Oh. My. Goodness! This was delicious! We made it tonight while it was snowing outside and it was perfect! Thanks for making this recipe and sharing it with us! I really loved the sweet potatoes in the chili… then again, I love sweet potatoes in anything! Maybe I can talk my man into these instead of beans for every chili. We shall see; he loves beans. 🙂 Thanks again!