Healthy Sweet Potato Turkey Chili

Comfort food with a kick!

I’ve always loved chili. It’s probably America’s number one comfort food of all time. And although I use a different method to create it each time I’ve narrowed it down to a few different recipes. I also love a good sweet potato – hard to believe they’re so healthy. But, this is my first attempt at combining the two.

Most highly regarded chili chefs combine spicy (often extremely) with a touch of sweet to offset the heat and contrast the two flavors. This is often done by adding brown sugar, or barbecue sauce to the pot at some point. However, adding sweetness from a potato sounded interesting, as it’s much more healthy. Reducing sugar and adding vitamins at the same time!

Sweet potatoes are loaded with vitamins!

• Vitamin A: Exceptionally high (roughly 106% of the Daily Value, powered by beta-carotene)
• Vitamin C: ~14.8 mg to 19.6 mg (~16% to 22% of the Daily Value)
• Vitamin B6: ~0.2 mg (~12% of the Daily Value)
• Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin): ~0.106 mg (about 3 times more than yams)
• Vitamin K: ~0.2 mcg

Incidentally, my family had an ongoing argument regarding weather a Sweet Potato and a Yam are the same thing. However, they are not. Sweet potatoes are vastly superior in vitamin A and beta-carotene, whereas true yams contain slightly more vitamin C and vitamin B6 per 100 grams. And, they’re a different color.

This recipe is delicious, and very healthy. Loaded with the vitamins listed above, along with a lot of fiber and protein.

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Healthy Sweet Potato Turkey Chili

Healthy chili with spice and a bit of sweet.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Servings: 6 Servings

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium sweet onion coarsely chopped
• 3 stalks celery
• 1 medium Bell pepper
• 2 cloves garlic finely diced
• 2 lb. ground turkey
• 4 cups 2 medium sweet potatoes peeled and cut into cubes
• 2 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1 Tbsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 medium Jalapeño pepper
• 1 Tbsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• ¼ tsp. cinnamon
• 28 oz. crushed tomatoes no salt added
• 1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
• 1 c. chicken broth or water
• 1 15 oz. can pinto beans drained
• 1 15 oz. can kidney beans drained
• 1 15 oz. can sweet corn drained
• 1 bunch bunch cilantro
• 1 lime juiced

Method

 

1. In a large pot drizzle olive oil. Add onions and cook for 3 minutes until soft. Add garlic and cook for another minute.
2. Move the onions to the side and add ground turkey. Continue cooking over medium heat for 6-8 minutes, or until turkey is almost cooked through. Crumble cooked turkey using a potato masher.
3. Add sweet potatoes and saute for another 2 minutes.
4. In a small bowl combine chili powder, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and mix thoroughly.
5. Pour crushed tomatoes, green chiles, chicken broth and seasoning ingredients into the chili mixture. Mix chili thoroughly and reduce heat to low.
6. Cover pot and simmer for 20 minutes.
7. Drain the beans. Add to pot. Cover and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
8. Season with extra salt & pepper if needed. Then add the chopped cilantro & lime. Serve with toppings!

Notes

Add seasoning to taste. I prefer 2-3 jalapeno peppers, then adding a dry pepper, but that may be too spicy for some. Also, when it comes to tomato sauce there are many options. Some is spicy and adds more flavor. In either case the tomatoes you add make a big difference in the flavor. Regarding beans, some like a lot of beans while many staunch chili cooks claim it should have no beans at all. So if it looks like it needs more beans just add another can, if it seems like too much only one can.

Photo from: ncsweetpotatoes.com