If you're looking for an easy, delicious, and nutritious vegan comfort meal, look no further! This easy and hearty vegetarian Slow Cooker Lentil Sweet Potato Chili checks all of those boxes and it's the perfect way to warm up on a cold day.
Remember when I told you how cold it has been here when I shared my recipe for slow cooker curried cauliflower sweet potato carrot soup? Well, not much has changed since I wrote that post.
We did get a little breather for a few days when the weather was unseasonably warm(er), but until we hit May, I'm all about easy, slow cooker comfort meals. Like this Slow Cooker Lentil Sweet Potato Chili.
Chili has actually been on the "banned list" in my home for a while. Why? Because at one point, I made it so many times in the span of a couple months, everyone became sick of it (is it just me or is that kinda of funny?!).
Except I never got sick of it because I love chili. Especially chili made in the slow cooker.
Before this time, I think it had been about a year since I made a batch of chili. I gave everyone a heads up that I had planned to make it but instead of making the same old boring bean chili, I was going to change things up.
This time, I decided to throw in lentils, cut back on the beans and add sweet potato. It was a huge win and I'm happy to say that chili is back on the rotation. I've have been "permitted" to make it again, as long as it's this Lentil Sweet Potato Chili!
(This time, I'll be sure not to make it too many times!)
What are the best chili garnishes?
You can have your chili plain or add a garnish. My favourite way to have it is with diced avocado, like in the pictures, but you can top it with what you like. Some ideas:
- minced parsley
- minced cilantro
- crushed tortilla chips
- sliced green onions
- finely diced red onions
- guacamole
And you can serve your chili with a batch of cornbread, the best side for chili!
Can I freeze this chili?
Yes. This recipe makes a HUGE batch, but the good news is that it freezes well and works great for lunches or a leftover supper for a night you don't feel like cooking.
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If you like this lentil sweet potato chili recipe, you may also like these:
- Butternut Squash Sweet Potato Carrot Soup
- Slow Cooker Applesauce
- Smoky Lentil Sloppy Joes
- Curried Cauliflower Sweet Potato Soup
- Instant Pot Split Pea Soup
- Vegan Bolognese Pasta
- Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Lentil Sweet Potato Chili
Ingredients:
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 sweet potatoes, chopped
- 2 x 796ml/28oz cans of diced tomatoes
- 1 x 398ml/14oz can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 ½ cups frozen corn
- 3 ½ cups vegetable broth
- 1 ½ cups dried green lentils
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- salt and pepper to taste
- diced avocado for garnish (optional)
- fresh parsley or cilantro for garnish (optional)
Instructions:
Slow Cooker Directions
- Add all ingredients to slow cooker. Mix well.
- Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4.5 hours
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. More chili powder can be added if you'd like. Give it a taste test and if you find it can use some more, go ahead and add, 1 teaspoon at a time.
Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker Directions (Using a 6 Quart Pot)
- Use just 3 cups of broth instead of 3 ½
- Add all ingredients to pressure cooker. Mix well.
- Place and lock lid onto the pot and close the pressure release valve. Set to pressure cook for 10 minutes. Pot will take roughly 30 minutes to come to pressure.
- When the pressure cooking time has ended, press cancel and allow the pot to natural release for 15 minutes. Once the 15 minutes has passed, carefully open the pressure release valve to quick release the rest of the pressure.
- Once pressure has been released and the float valve pin has dropped, slowly unlock and remove the lid.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. More chili powder can be added if you'd like. Give it a taste test and if you find it can use some more, go ahead and add, 1 teaspoon at a time.
Recipe Notes:
- This recipe makes a HUGE batch (approximately 12 cups). Luckily, this chili freezes very well. Freeze the leftovers or use them for lunches or another supper later in the week.
- Be sure to pick through your lentils and remove for any non-lentil things.
- I use a low sodium vegetable broth and no salt added diced tomatoes.
- Nutrition info is based on 1 of 6 servings (2 cups per serving). Nutrition info does not include any garnishes and uses 1.5 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper. Info is only to be used as a rough guide. Click to learn how nutrition info is calculated on this website.
Nutrition Info:
This Slow Cooker Lentil Sweet Potato Chili recipe was originally published January 26, 2015, images were updated October 2018.
Original Images before post update:
Des H. says
What size crockpot? One of the large ones or a small one?
Gwen Leron says
You'll need a bigger one for this recipe, the recipe makes a big batch. Any further questions, please ask!
Tiffany says
I made this for the first time in my instant pot today and OMG I am in love with this!! Thank you for this recipe! It truly hits the spot!
Gwen Leron says
Yay! I'm so glad you gave it a try, Tiffany. Enjoy what's left!
Sara says
Really good, entire family loved it! Was great with a scoop of salsa on top. Would maybe add peppers next time, if anyone has tried peppers, let me know:)
Gwen Leron says
Wonderful, Sara, I'm so glad your family enjoyed it! I have never added peppers but I think they would make a great addition. Let me know how it goes when you try it and thanks for coming back to leave your comment, I appreciate it very much.
CCG says
Hi there! Have you ever substituted quinoa for the lentils? Would that work or mess things up?
Gwen Leron says
Hi! Good question! I think that quinoa would be nice in this recipe but since quinoa cooks quicker than lentils they will overcook if you put them in at the beginning like you would with the lentils. Lentils also absorb more liquid than quinoa as they cook, so the final consistency of the chili may be more runny. I think it can work with a few changes to the recipe, but with it written as-is, it won't be an equal swap. I do have another recipe for a quinoa chili recipe that you may like, you can find that recipe here. I hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions!
Olivia says
We love this recipe at our house! Over the last few years, I have made it at least once per month from September-April, sometimes weekly. I love how easy it is to prep, set, and forget. Turns out great every time, even when I need to substitute canned pumpkin/carrots/butternut squash/regular potato for the sweet potato. I've also swapped out the kidney beans for black beans and garbanzo beans when in a pinch. It's always super tasty and freezes great for weekday lunches when I need to grab something as I am running out the door to work. Until today, I have always used my slow cooker on low per the recipe instructions. I would prep everything in the cooker right before bed (except the broth and canned tomatoes). The next morning, I would add in the liquids and hit "GO". I'm not sure there is anything better than coming home to this chili all ready for dinner, especially if it is snowing. Mmmmm.
We just got an Instant Pot (IP) so I wanted to see how I could translate this favorite over. It was a cinch. I followed the ingredients list exactly as noted above and mixed everything together in the IP. It filled right to the "PC MAX" line but not over. I selected the "Chili" button, set the timer to 20 mins, and allowed the IP to natural release for 30 mins. It was still sealed after 30 mins so I did a quick release to finish it off. Just popped the top and everything is cooked to perfection! Because the slow cooker allows more liquid to evaporate off, the IP chili is a little bit more liquidy. Next time, I will probably reduce the overall liquid by 1 cup in order to have a slightly denser final result. Now I can still have this chili when I forget to get everything put together the night before! Thank you so much, Gwen, for keeping us fed and happy!
Gwen Leron says
Hi Olivia! Thank you so much for leaving this note, it made me so happy! This was one of the first recipes I shared on my website and it still remains one of my favourites. I just made it last week, actually (with black beans instead of red!)! I loved hearing how much you and your family enjoy it. I have had others ask about adapting the recipe for the Instant Pot and I had not gotten around to testing it yet, I'm glad it worked well for you. And you're right, there is nothing better than coming home to this recipe after being out on a chilly day. Thanks for taking the time to leave your message, Olivia, I appreciate it very much! 🙂
Kathy says
This was delicious! I used zesty salsa style canned tomatoes. The seasonings were just right!
Gwen Leron says
Using salsa style tomatoes sounds like a delicious idea, Kathy! I will have to try this. So happy you liked the recipe 🙂
Valerie says
This recipe is soooooo good; I'm obsessed. I've made it twice and craving it right now lol
Gwen Leron says
Yay! I am glad to hear this, Valerie! It's one of my earliest recipes and still a favourite after all this time. So happy you love it 🙂
Kelly Harrington says
Delicious! I've made this in the crock pot a couple times. Have you made it in an Instant Pot? Did it turn out OK? How many minutes would you suggest?
Thanks!
Gwen Leron says
So glad you like the chili, Kelly! I have not tried making it in my Instant Pot yet, but you aren't the first person to ask this and how to make it on the stove top. I will test it out in the coming weeks and add the directions for those other methods as soon as possible 🙂
Susan Johnson says
Hi, I wondered if I have to use green lentils? I don’t see them in my market. I already have brown lentils
Thank you
Susan
Gwen says
Hi Susan, yes, brown lentils can be used in place of the green 🙂 I hope you love the chili!
Stacy Davis says
I do not like beans. Could I add extra lentils or maybe you have a suggestion?
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
Hi Stacy! I've never tried using lentils in place of the beans, but I am pretty sure that making this substitution would work perfectly fine. Let me know how it goes 🙂
Kristen says
There was a lot of liquid still in the crockpot after 9 hours. Should the diced tomatoes be drained before being added?
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
Hi Kristen, no, there's no need to drain the tomatoes before you add them. As the lentils cook, they soak up a lot of the liquid in the slow cooker. I can try to troubleshoot with you...did you add all the ingredients in the ingredient list? And did you add the correct type and amount of lentils? Or were your tomatoes from a can that contained a little more liquid than usual? Did you drain the cans of beans? In the finished chili, there should be a little liquid, like a regular chili, but not so much that it makes the chili too liquidy. I hope some of these things helped you troubleshoot, sorry the recipe did not turn out for you!
Kristen says
Hi! The cans likely contained more liquid than normal. I noticed there was a lot of liquid before adding the broth. I'll drain them a bit next time. Thank you for the quick response!!!
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
My pleasure, Kristen! Sorry it didn't work out this time. I'm actually making it this weekend, the temperature has taken a drastic dip where I am so I need to warm up with this chili! Have a great weekend 🙂
Claudia says
I was really excited for this recipe but after 4.5 hours on high my sweet potatoes are still hard! Did anyone else have this issue? Maybe I didn’t cut them small enough. They’re about 1/2 inch pieces.
Going to keep it on high and check every half hour. Looks like it’s going to be a late dinner tonight.
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
Hi Claudia, sorry to hear it did not work well for you, however, I'm not quite sure why your sweet potatoes would still be hard after 4.5 hours on high. I usually cut mine to the same size, about 1/2" and they cook fine both on high and low. I hope they didn't take much longer to cook for you!
Alyssa says
I'm not sure why but my lentils didn't cook! That's after 6 hours on high and an additional 9 hours on low, puzzling!
Gwen @ Delightful Adventures says
Hi Alyssa, sorry to hear this! Did you use green lentils? And were they fresh? Older beans and lentils tend to not cook properly (if at all). Other than that, I can't think of any reasons why green lentils would not cook after sitting for 14 hours in your slow cooker. At that point, they should have been really mushy.