Chunky Chili Stuffed Sweet Potatoes (Vegan+GF)

I have an exciting recipe to share with you today guys. I mean, I know it’s pretty classic but personally I tend to go through food moods or get into dinner ruts sometimes and I forget about old favorite dinner recipes from the past. That’s why I thought I’d share this anyway.

Before I get into that; some totally random things about me recently. I rarely have super vivid dreams these days but if I do it’s only when I wake up ridiculously early and then manage to go back to sleep (which that is something I usually can’t do). Anyway, I had this really strange morning dream yesterday where a zombie apocalypse was taking over the globe and I mostly just remember that they were all very purple. Very purple-y zombies, yeah. Weird right? Interpret that however you will but I’ve got no clue what it means.

Secondly, I decided to cut my bangs on my own a few weeks ago and…..well, it ended up being more of a hack job so I’m really excited they are finally going to be long enough to fix soon. Hey, I’ve done it successfully plenty of times in the past but this time I was in a hurry. Not a good idea guys, don’t do it.

Another thing I discovered you should never do the other day, spill boiling roasted plum juice all over your foot. Ouch, that was a total kitchen fail. However, the bbq sauce I made with those plums will be coming soon and that wasn’t a fail.

Also, it’s been really strange/sad around our house the past few days because my little sis, Lela, left bright and early Monday morning for a big adventure trip that’s been in the planning for weeks. She’s going to be camping down in the Southern part of Chile with some close friends of our family for the next week and a half. It sounds like she’s having the time of her life so far and that makes me happy. I still miss her like crazy though.

Okay, but now I need to talk about these sweet potatoes. I know you can stuff sweet potatoes with so many things but chili is like the perfect match. This is a really simple chili that I made for dinner over the weekend and the truth is that these potatoes were inspired by me wanting to use the leftovers.

This makes such a great weeknight dinner to have ready to go too. They’re so filling and always a crowd pleaser. You can pile it with so many delicious topping too. I left it at salsa, plain coconut yogurt, and avocado slices for ours but feel free to throw on some diced onion, hot sauce, or even some crunchy chip crumbs. Go wild and make them your own! I’d love to know what you think in the comments as well so let me know. What are you going to top yours with?

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Chunky Chili Stuffed Sweet Potatoes (Vegan+GF)

Nothing complements chili quite like some baked potatoes. This recipe uses sweet potatoes and leaves room for all the toppings you want to add.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 6 medium sweet potatoes baked until fork tender

Chili:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion diced
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 red or jalapeño pepper seeded and minced
• 1 cup tomato paste
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 2 cups water plus a little more as needed
• 3 tablespoons worchestershire make sure it's vegan or skip
• 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
• 2 1/2 - 3 cups cooked beans rinsed (I used a combination of lentils, kidney beans, black beans, and white beans)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper plus more to taste
• 2 teaspoons sea salt plus more to taste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin

Optional Toppings:

• salsa
• sliced avocado or guacamole
• chives or green onions
• coconut yogurt

Instructions

Chili:

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic, and pepper and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until onions are translucent. Add tomato paste, stock, water, and beans to pot and reduce heat to medium low. Add remaining ingredients for chili and stir very well, then reduce heat to low and allow chili to simmer for at least 30 minutes to develop flavor and thicken up.

Stuffed Potatoes:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 C) and line a baking tray with foil.
2. Slit your sweet potatoes down the center lengthwise and use a fork to mash them a little and make a place to pour the chili. Set them on the prepared tray and scoop large spoonfuls of chili into each potato. Place tray in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until tops are browned and potatoes are nice and hot. Remove from oven and cool for a few then serve while they're hot with whatever toppings you'd like.