Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Chili

The theme for this recipe swap was potatoes. Since I really just post baked things on my blog, it was a bit of a challenge to think of what I could bake with potatoes. I submitted Sweet Potato Cookies and in return I got this recipe for Sweet Potato Chili from Cathy’s Kitchen Journey. I do like sweet potatoes so I was looking forward to this one. Plus with the slow cooker, it makes my life easy.

I rarely use dried beans so that was a new thing for me. I bought a mix of beans at the store instead of buying several different types of beans. I soaked them overnight and figured all was good. I decided to cook this on high for the shorter amount of time. Well, I don’t ever use high on my slow cooker as I typically put it on in the morning and then let it cook while at work. The chili just never cooked. After 5 hours on high the sweet potatoes were still crunchy and so were the beans. Ok cook it longer! After 8+ hours on high it still wasn’t completely cooked and I’d kind of given up. It was cooked enough to taste though.

When I was mixing the spices, it seemed like a lot of chili powder. 2 tablespoons was way too much and this was so spicy that had it cooked properly, I still wouldn’t have been able to eat it. I looked at the original recipe and it had only called for 1 tablespoon, and I would have liked that more. While this wasn’t a success for me, I liked the idea of the recipe and I hope to try it again, using canned beans and less chili powder. You can’t win them all, but I still had fun trying something new.

3 cups assorted dried beans
¾ cup chopped onion
4 ounce can green chilies
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder (use less)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cups water
Sour cream, cheese or other toppers

The night before, rinse the dried beans. Pick out any stones and discolored beans. Soak in cold water.

The next day: drain the beans and rinse in a colander. Put in the container of a slow cooker. Combine the onion, chilies, garlic, chili powder, cumin, cocoa, cinnamon, salt, and pepper and add it to the beans. Add the tomatoes (and their liquid), sweet potato, and water. Stir to combine.

Cover and cook until the sweet potatoes are tender and the chili has thickened, on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours.

Serve with sour cream, cheese or other desired toppings

Recipe from Cathy’s Kitchen Journey