I’m just going to come right out and say this….. I put sweet potatoes in chili way before it was cool on Pinterest. Like, years ago! I didn’t do it on purpose the first time, it went down like this:
I bought the expensive pre-cubed butternut squash at the grocery store and I never used it. My husband nagged me about it until one day I was like FINE I’LL PUT IT IN THE CHILI now shut up about me buying random stuff at the grocery store and let’s move on (the man has a point here though I must admit). So I threw the squash in my regular chili recipe and it was fantastic! How exciting it was when he arrived home after work and I had a new creation to share that made me look like a culinary genius. 🙂 Sweet and spicy for the win!
After the squash I gave sweet potatoes a go because we always have them on hand for making the kids sweet potato fries. I actually loved sweet potatoes even more, and the rest was history! That is until the Pinterest Pinnies were all like:
“Sweet potatoes in everything, all day everyday!”
“Sweet potatoes on fleek!” (still have no idea what that one means)
“Sweet potatoes all up in my chili!”
“Put sweet potatoes in your chili because it is cool now!”
You get the point. Everyone else figured out it was a rockin’ combo and then all of a sudden I was just a regular person again. *sigh*
Back before my culinary genius bubble burst I was actually using a stovetop chili recipe, however for my birthday last year my I received a brand new slow cooker from my mom! If you have followed other slow cooker recipes here, you might remember I had an ancient slow cooker that my mom was gifted for her bridal shower in the 80’s. No clue who bought that for her or why they thought she would ever use it (girl doesn’t cook) but it got me through a few babies and my first apartment. Shout out to the random relative who made that purchase and RIP awful baby poop colored slow cooker! With my shiny new slow cooker I realized how much tastier chili was in the slow cooker vs. on the stove top and I don’t think I will be looking back anytime soon! Shiny new slow cooker for another win!
Recipe Tips
- I cut my sweet potatoes in small cubes (pictured below), however when the chili was done they were pretty well cooked. So much so that they disappeared into the chili a bit. I found this really awesome, however if you are looking for a chunkier finish I would cut them a tad bigger then what is pictured below.
- I added 2 jalapeños and it was bit spicy for us. The spiciness was muted in the leftovers though and that is when it was just right! If you are not into spiciness at all, of course just omit the jalapeño all together.
- As mentioned above, this chili gets better and better everyday in leftovers! It is a great meal to make at the beginning of the week to have a healthy lunch for the next few days.
- I tend to keep chili simple because a speech professor once told me the acronym K.I.S.S. or keep it simple stupid! This sticks to me with chili because when folks are looking for good chili recipes they don’t want to have to go to the grocery store and buy ingredients that they will use 1 tablespoon of and never see again because it is so far back in the pantry.
- I have found (thanks to the back of a Goya bean can) that 2 Tablespoons of cumin, 2 Tablespoons of chili powder, and 2 teaspoons of adobo seasoning are the PERFECT spice combo for chili. This is my go-to amount of spices and it has never failed me. You can certainly play around with it but that combo will give you just enough flavor without being overpowering.
Then we have this close up shot that is so detailed you can literally see that I cut the avocado with a butter knife. Sheesh that expensive macro lens was worth it!
And then there was this cutie…. 🙂 Hi Sammy!
