Sweet Potato Chili with Black Beans
A simple and delicious chili recipe - no meat, but with sweet potatoes
Recipe Categories:
Ingredients:
Everyone is probably familiar with chili con carne: a pleasantly spicy and warming stew of minced meat, beans, tomatoes, and spices. As the mince adds to the consistency but not necessarily the flavor, it is relatively easy to make a vegetarian chili sin carne; just replace the animal mince with a vegetarian mince and off you go!
When I saw a chili recipe with sweet potatoes in an old issue of the magazine Slowly Vegan some time ago, I knew I had to try it! In this recipe, the sweet potatoes are still recognizable as such. The texture is therefore slightly different from chili con carne: there is no crumbly mince component, it is more like a stew. So be careful not to use too much water and allow some to evaporate. By the way, this recipe is vegan. I didn’t set out to make it vegan, but it turned out that way…
Have fun and enjoy this colorful sweet potato and black bean chili!
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Recipe
Sweet potato chili with black beans
Ingredients
Preparation Time: 5 min
Total Time: 30 min
Servings: 2
- • 1 small onion
- • 2 garlic cloves
- • 1/2 sweet potato (approx. 145 g)
- • 1/2 bell pepper
- • 1/2 carrot
- • 1 tablespoon oil
- • 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- • 1 tablespoon mild chili powder
- • 1 teaspoon cumin
- • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika powder
- • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- • 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- • 335 g of chopped tomatoes (about 80% of a tin)
- • 1/2 tin of black beans (165 g)
- • 40 g corn from the tin
- • 1 teaspoon salt
- • 1 squeeze of lime juice
- • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
- • 1/2 avocado
- • as a side dish: about 120 g rice
Ingredients
Servings: 2
Preparation Time: 5 min
Total Time: 30 min
- • 1 small onion
- • 2 garlic cloves
- • 1/2 sweet potato (approx. 145 g)
- • 1/2 bell pepper
- • 1/2 carrot
- • 1 tablespoon oil
- • 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- • 1 tablespoon mild chili powder
- • 1 teaspoon cumin
- • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika powder
- • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- • 1/2 teaspoon oregano
Instructions
- 1 Finely chop the onion and garlic. Peel and chop the sweet potato (about 1 cm), peel and chop the carrot. Wash and chop the bell pepper.
- 2 Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion cubes for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes. Then fry the other vegetables (diced sweet potato, bell pepper, carrot) with the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes, then add the tomato puree to the pan.
- 3 Deglaze the vegetables with the chopped tomatoes and a little water. Add the spices and the black beans. Cover the pan and cook on low heat for about 20-25 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are tender.
- 4 Meanwhile, cook the rice with double the amount of water and a little salt.
- 5 While the rice and chili are cooking, wash and chop the parsley and chop the avocado flesh.
- 6 Before serving, add the corn to the chili and heat through. Season to taste with salt and lime juice. Serve on a plate with rice and garnish with avocado and parsley.
Carbon Footprint
Carbon Footprint: 1810 g CO₂e
This ranks it number 33 out of 58 recipes published on the blog so far in terms of estimated carbon footprint.
The carbon footprint of the recipe is therefore slightly higher than the average of the other recipes here on the blog: At least 50% of the recipes cause less emissions, but it is not yet in the worst third of the recipes. 🤨
The chili has a significantly better carbon footprint than our reference recipes: For example, this recipe has 45% fewer emissions than Wiener schnitzel with potato salad and around 35% fewer emissions than lasagna. Looking at the individual ingredients in the chili, rice is actually the most noticeable: It makes up 10% of the weight of the ingredients, but about 21% of the emissions. This is mainly due to the way rice is grown: rice terraces are often submerged in water. This method causes the organic matter in the soil to rot, releasing methane and sometimes nitrous oxide — both of which have a much greater impact on the Earth's climate than CO2.
Comparison of Ingredients
| Ingredients | Carbon footprint per kg | Carbon footprint for recipe | % of ingredients | % of CO₂ emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| onion | 0.2 | 17 | 7% | 1% |
| garlic | 0.5 | 4 | 1% | 0% |
| sweet potato | 1.3 | 184 | 13% | 10% |
| bell pepper | 0.6 | 39 | 6% | 2% |
| carrots | 0.1 | 5 | 4% | 0% |
| oil | 3.2 | 38 | 1% | 2% |
| tomato paste | 1.1 | 14 | 1% | 1% |
| chili powder | 1.1 | 7 | 1% | 0% |
| cumin | 1.1 | 2 | 0% | 0% |
| paprika powder | 1.1 | 2 | 0% | 0% |
| cinnamon | 1.1 | 1 | 0% | 0% |
| oregano | 1.1 | 1 | 0% | 0% |
| canned tomatoes | 1.8 | 603 | 29% | 33% |
| black beans | 1.3 | 215 | 14% | 12% |
| corn | 1.2 | 48 | 3% | 3% |
| lime juice | 0.6 | 12 | 2% | 1% |
| parsley | 1.1 | 17 | 1% | 1% |
| avocado | 0.6 | 39 | 6% | 2% |
| salt | 1.4 | 4 | 0% | 0% |
| pepper | 1.4 | 3 | 0% | 0% |
| rice | 3.1 | 372 | 10% | 21% |
| Fry: 7 min | 71 | 4% | ||
| Fry: let simmer for 25 min | 76 | 4% | ||
| Cook rice: 15 min | 37 | 2% |
Instructions
- 1 Finely chop the onion and garlic. Peel and chop the sweet potato (about 1 cm), peel and chop the carrot. Wash and chop the bell pepper.
- 2 Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion cubes for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes. Then fry the other vegetables (diced sweet potato, bell pepper, carrot) with the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes, then add the tomato puree to the pan.
- 3 Deglaze the vegetables with the chopped tomatoes and a little water. Add the spices and the black beans. Cover the pan and cook on low heat for about 20-25 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are tender.
- 4 Meanwhile, cook the rice with double the amount of water and a little salt.
- 5 While the rice and chili are cooking, wash and chop the parsley and chop the avocado flesh.
- 6 Before serving, add the corn to the chili and heat through. Season to taste with salt and lime juice. Serve on a plate with rice and garnish with avocado and parsley.
Carbon Footprint
Carbon Footprint (2 portions): 1810 g CO₂e
This ranks it number 33 out of 58 recipes published on the blog so far in terms of estimated carbon footprint.
The carbon footprint of the recipe is therefore slightly higher than the average of the other recipes here on the blog: At least 50% of the recipes cause less emissions, but it is not yet in the worst third of the recipes. 🤨
The chili has a significantly better carbon footprint than our reference recipes: For example, this recipe has 45% fewer emissions than Wiener schnitzel with potato salad and around 35% fewer emissions than lasagna. Looking at the individual ingredients in the chili, rice is actually the most noticeable: It makes up 10% of the weight of the ingredients, but about 21% of the emissions. This is mainly due to the way rice is grown: rice terraces are often submerged in water. This method causes the organic matter in the soil to rot, releasing methane and sometimes nitrous oxide — both of which have a much greater impact on the Earth's climate than CO2.
Comparison of Ingredients
| Ingredients | Carbon footprint per kg | Carbon footprint for recipe | % of ingredients | % of CO₂ emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| onion | 0.2 | 17 | 7% | 1% |
| garlic | 0.5 | 4 | 1% | 0% |
| sweet potato | 1.3 | 184 | 13% | 10% |
| bell pepper | 0.6 | 39 | 6% | 2% |
| carrots | 0.1 | 5 | 4% | 0% |
| oil | 3.2 | 38 | 1% | 2% |
| tomato paste | 1.1 | 14 | 1% | 1% |
| chili powder | 1.1 | 7 | 1% | 0% |
| cumin | 1.1 | 2 | 0% | 0% |
| paprika powder | 1.1 | 2 | 0% | 0% |
| cinnamon | 1.1 | 1 | 0% | 0% |
| oregano | 1.1 | 1 | 0% | 0% |
| canned tomatoes | 1.8 | 603 | 29% | 33% |
| black beans | 1.3 | 215 | 14% | 12% |
| corn | 1.2 | 48 | 3% | 3% |
| lime juice | 0.6 | 12 | 2% | 1% |
| parsley | 1.1 | 17 | 1% | 1% |
| avocado | 0.6 | 39 | 6% | 2% |
| salt | 1.4 | 4 | 0% | 0% |
| pepper | 1.4 | 3 | 0% | 0% |
| rice | 3.1 | 372 | 10% | 21% |
| Fry: 7 min | 71 | 4% | ||
| Fry: let simmer for 25 min | 76 | 4% | ||
| Cook rice: 15 min | 37 | 2% |