
Black Bean, Sweet Potato, and Quinoa Chili with Smoked Chipotle
Flavorful, vegetarian black bean, sweet potato, and quinoa chili with a cooling smoked chipotle greek yogurt creme. This healthy chili is made in one pot, packed with protein, and perfect for weeknight dinners.
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Happy Monday!
I thought it would be fun to start off the week with 10 random things. Ready?
1. You should rent the movie The Lucky One. I watched it this past weekend and decided that the plot was weird but that Zac Efron is probably one of the most good looking human beings on the planet and totally worth staring at for 1.5 hours. Do it.
2. WHAT THE FREAKING DELICIOUS… Hasselback sweet potatoes with oatmeal cookie crumble? I need to eat these every day for breakfast. Or dessert. I haven’t decided yet; all I know is that it was love at first sight.
3. Trader Joe’s makes Nonfat Pumpkin Greek Yogurt. It’s like a drug, so plan accordingly. Swirl that in your oatmeal in the morning, dip a pita chip in it, or put it in a smoothie. Addictive. Like really freaking addictive.
4. The 32 Best Things About Being an Adult. I can’t decide what my favorite one is. But probably unlimited access to Toaster Strudel? Yes, definitely.
5. Apparently Monica Lewinsky is writing a book. I really think it’ll be up for a Pulitzer Prize, don’t you?
6. Lemon poppyseed pancakes. Put that on your brunch list asap. With blueberry syrup of course.
7. Here’s a 100 calorie guide to your favorite Halloween candy. A bit depressing yet also very helpful as I think one year I ate like 10 mini Reese’s because they were… well, mini?
8. Check out A Cup of Jo; it’s a women’s lifestyle blog that I’ve fallen in love with. (Hint: you might see a recipe of mine over there if you dig around!)
9. Stay weird.
10. October is National Chili month. Let’s celebrate by eating this chili! It’s vegetarian, hearty, and amazing with a smoked chipotle greek yogurt sauce. Extra points if you serve it with cornbread.
I ate this chili all weekend. At first it’s slightly sweet, but has a tiny bit of kick from the chipotle tabasco sauce (a must have condiment in my opinion). It’s also full of a medley of spices including tumeric, cumin, chili powder, cinnamon, and a pinch of nutmeg. Ugh it was everything I wanted: sweet, savory, and perfect for a chilly fall day.
I swear you’ll fall in love with it. And it’s hearty enough to last you a couple of days. Or if you prefer, you can freeze half of it and take it out later during the winter when you need a big bowl of comfort.
I can’t forget to tell you about the magical smoked chipotle greek yogurt topping. My roommate and I made it last week as a dipping sauce for sweet potato fries, but it was so good I started putting it on everything. I couldn’t resist making it again for that cooling yet spicy topping. It’s made with plain greek yogurt (or sour cream), tabasco chipotle sauce (also used in the chili!), honey, and a tiny bit of dijon mustard. I am so in love with it!
Another great part about this dish? It’s versatile!
I ate it for breakfast one morning with a fried egg on top of it. It’s perfect served under grilled chicken or fish and is a great way to use up in season fall veggies while also get your whole grains in. It can also be made vegan if you leave out the greek yogurt topping.
Either way, let’s just get into fall and enjoy a bowl of comfort.
More healthy chili recipes:
Slow Cooker Black Bean Quinoa Pumpkin Chicken Chili
Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken Chickpea Chili
Two-Bean and Corn Chipotle Turkey Chili (healthy!)
Lentil & Quinoa Chili {vegan & gluten free}
Black Bean, Sweet Potato, and Quinoa Chili with Smoked Chipotle

Flavorful, vegetarian black bean, sweet potato, and quinoa chili with a cooling smoked chipotle greek yogurt creme. This healthy chili is made in one pot, packed with protein, and perfect for weeknight dinners.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 medium carrots, diced small
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon Smoked Chipotle Tabasco sauce
- salt, to taste
- 1 can (15.5 oz) low-sodium tomato sauce
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- 2 can black beans (15.5 oz), drained
- 3 cups low-sodium vegetable stock, plus more to thin if desired
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced into small cubes
- For the Smoked Chipotle Creme:
- 1 cup plain greek yogurt
- 2 teaspoons Smoked Chipotle Tabasco sauce, plus more if desired
- 1/2 teaspoon honey
- 1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard
Instructions
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Heat the olive oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrots and salt; saute for 5 minutes or until onions become translucent.
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Add the entire can of tomato sauce to the pot. Next add the black beans, vegetarian broth, all spices, and quinoa. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat to medium, add diced sweet potatoes.
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Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
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Make the smoked chipotle yogurt: combine tabasco sauce, honey, and dijon mustard in a medium bowl.
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Spoon chili into bowls and add yogurt sauce on top. Enjoy! Serves 4-6.
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53 comments
Going to whip this up…
This recipe looks amazing, looking forward to trying it. This is such a great blog!
I saw TJ sell pumpkin cream cheese and I was SO TEMPTED to buy it! I`m sure the greek yogurt is wonderful too.
I’ve made this twice, and I absolutely love it! (My boyfriend does, too.) The only things I do differently are: double the chipotle sauce in the chile and use three cups of stock instead of four.
All around a ten out of ten!
Nice day for Chili.
This is the easiest and most delicious recipe! Thanks for helping me on my new culinary adventure
I was looking for quinoa recipes and found this one….we like really spicy thick chili so I doubled the chili powder and added some minced chipotle peppers and liquid from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce….also cut back on the broth like emn did…super veggie chili! Anu nutritional data available?
Made this the other day and it was delicious. I did up the chipotle sauce (tasted stronger the second day!) and reduced the broth as we like our chili pretty thick and chunky. It's definitely a keeper of a recipe and we'll make it again.
whoa i seriously gotta try this. i hope i can find chipotle tabasco sauce in australia! i LOVE chilli to no end.
This was AWESOME!
We already have a tried-and-true chli recipe that we love….but something in this was calling me. Was it the sweet potato? Quinoa? Chipotle tabasco? I’m not sure, but I am so glad I listened! I just got done making this and it is deeeeelish. Now my only problem is going to be deciding which chili recipe to make next time. Thanks for all of the fabulous ideas! I haven’t tried anything that wasn’t amazing. 🙂
I’m so happy you enjoyed it Janna!
I tried this last weekend and the flavors where delicious.
QUESTION: Why is the quinoa added already cooked? Could it be added before boiling since it will be there 30 mins anyway?
This is what I did. I just added a little extra liquid (not much since I also like a chunkier chili as most people have said on here) and cooked the quinoa right in the chili! It was PERFECT! I saw no reason to cook it in a separate pot only to add it to this one and let it stew another 30 minutes.
All in all I REALLY loved this recipe! I also used actual chipotle peppers in adobo sauce instead of the chipotle tabasco sauce (like others said they did, hey, the whole point is that I still have half a can of that stuff to use up!) and used fresh finely chopped tomatoes and tomato paste instead of tomato sauce. I just like to use what I have on hand while still being as true as possible to the recipe. I DID make the yogurt sauce exactly as written and I have a feeling I am now obsessed with it, too.
I tried this last weekend and the flavors where delicious. Top it with avocado pieces and its awesome.
QUESTION: Why is the quinoa added already cooked? Could it be added before boiling since it will be there 30 mins anyway?
Hi Monique. I’m Kat from the Philippines and I was wondering if there was a substitute for quinoa? Would it make a difference if I did not include it?
I would reduce the amount of broth. You could also add an extra can of black beans!
Monique,
I’m in Germany and I haven’t seen the Chipotle Tabasco sauce around, any alternatives to this? I would love to make this recipe for the weekend. Yum!
Hmmm you could use a regular hot sauce. Really any will work!
I’m obsessed with this. Seriously obsessed. I made it last night for dinner, and had more this morning for breakfast. This is going straight onto my list of regular recipes. The only thing I didn’t have was the chipotle tabasco sauce, so I made it without. It was still delicious, but I am DEFINITELY adding the tabasco sauce to my next shopping list. Thank you for sharing!
This was delicious! I paired it with some pumpkin corn bread ( I had left over pumpkin puree in the freezer) and it was a harmonious union 🙂
I’m fairly new to your blog Monique but I love it! Thanks.
P.S. Germany does have Tabasco Chipotle sauce! Now if only I could get some cooking spray…
This was great! It wasn't very thick at all though with 4 cups of broth. Wish I would have either put in uncooked quinoa, or less broth. Other than that, very yummy!
I didn’t cook the quinoa and it was fabulous. Must say you NEED the Chipolte Tabasco. Yum!
How many does this serve?
My guess is 4-5
Yum
I am gonna make this now:)) trying to
Enter recipe into myfitnesspal to figure out calories:))
Had no idea this was posting my comment on fb???? Lol!! I am so technologically challenged!!!
I just made this on Saturday for a Chili Cook-Off. I didn’t use as much liquid, used crushed tomatoes instead of the tomato sauce and threw in some lentils just because I like them. Everyone loved it. In fact they loved it so much I won Best Chili. It was just a little competition among friends but still……thanks for the recipe and inspiration. The yogurt topping was great as well. Since I’m lactose intolerant I improvised and used lactose free cottage cheese that I pureed until smooth but everything else the same. Yummy!
My co-worker Xavier had a big bowl of this. I circled him a few times with some drool on the side of my mouth. I graciously accepted his offer to try some and it was VERY delicious. I’ll be making a big pot soon.
1st Vegan chili that I’ve made. I made it New Years Eve for a friend, we LOVED it! Topped it with sliced avocados
whats the nutrition for one person
I’d like to make this in a slow cooker – I need to go to work all day 8-6 then have guests coming over after 8pm.
Can this sit in the slow cooker that long? Should I make adjustments so it can be ready for guests after 10-11 hours?
thanks!
Hi Peggy! This should be fine in the slow cooker – just cook it on low 🙂
Could I somehow use dried beans in this recipe instead of canned?
Sure! Just be sure to soak the beans how you normally would when cooking with them (and then add them in at the same time as you would canned beans here).
I followed the recipe except I cooked the quinoa with the chili rather than cook the quinoa separately. Unfortunately this made the meal extremely dry. I look forward to trying it again.
Hi Mike! Strange – that method shouldn’t make the chili dry (lots of liquid in here!) This is also a great chili recipe to try that uses uncooked quinoa 🙂
This was absolutely incredible. Great for my toddler without the spicy yogurt topping, but added the perfect kick of spice for my husband and I. Will make this over and over again! Thank you!!!
Amazing! So happy to hear that!
I just threw it all into the crockpot with uncooked quinoa! So far so good! Looks amazing!
Great! Hope you’re loving it!
Awesome. Very easy to make and definitely very tasty. I foresee the leftovers will taste even better. I got lazy and didn’t make the creme to go with it, but it still was super yummy. I will be making this again. Thank you!
Perfect! And yes, the leftovers will be delicious. Glad you enjoyed!
This is probably our favorite AK recipe! Its so easy to whip up, and as vegetarians, we appreciate a good, filling dinner. If I need to, I will throw this in the crockpot in the morning (saute the veggies first) and set it on low, so when we are home after work, dinner is already done!
Perfect! I’m so glad you found this one. Such a great weeknight dinner!
The best vegetarian chili I’ve ever made. It is a staple in our household. We make at least once every week or 2!!! Thanks AK❤️
Amazing! So happy to hear that 🙂
Delicious! I’ve made this multiple times and I love the flavors! Takes a little prep time but very easy to put together. I add in shredded chicken and corn. Yum.
Perfect! Such a great dinner 🙂
I’ve been making this chili for years and love it, even crave it. It’s filling, flavorful and I never miss the meat. I’ve even made it for my sister when she gave birth and she now makes it for her family and associates it with new baby feels ☺️
Amazing! Love that 🙂
This is now a household staple in our house but it took some adjusting. We double all the spices, Tabasco and garlic.