Lizzy T
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Paleo Sweet Potato Chili
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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 ½ 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.
Buy our downloadable Healthy Dinner Recipes Cookbook with 22 of our most popular healthy main dish recipes including Paleo, Whole30, gluten free and sugar free options!
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Paleo Sweet Potato Chili
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.
Servings 10 servings
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
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
Calories: 361kcal | Carbohydrates: 69g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 3g | Sodium: 1527mg | Potassium: 900mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 11970IU | Vitamin C: 13.8mg | Calcium: 216mg | Iron: 5.1mg
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 🙂
A half cup of chili powder?? Surely that is an error…
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.