Inside: Try this delicious sweet potato chili recipe in your instant pot or electric pressure cooker for a hearty meal that’s ready in just minutes!
By Sarah Nichols, Contributing Writer
There is something special about chili. Not only is chili extremely versatile, but it can be very frugal and filling. A simmering pot of hot chili can warm your insides on a chilly day. It’s a classic comfort food!
But this chili recipe is extra special because it has love in it.
If you have ever joined my family at our dinner table, it was probably over a pot of this chili. This is also the recipe I make for loved ones who are celebrating new births, grieving losses, and/or just in need of a meal to help them through a rough time.
I pray for the families that will eat it as I brown the beef and chop the veggies and stir in the spices. It’s been refined over the years and even won first place at our church chili cook-off. You can see the original recipe here. It’s a simple recipe to make, but it does require time for simmering.
This past Christmas I received an electric pressure cooker instant pot, and after a little bit of experimenting and tweaking the original recipe, I was able to come up with a quick version of this recipe that is almost as delicious (I’m not sure anything can rival the slow simmering of flavors that occurs on the stove top.)
Sweet potatoes are the star ingredient. They add a hint of sweetness to the chili. You can also find some ground beef, onions, beans, celery, and bell pepper. I hope your family enjoys this chili as much as we do!
Sweet Potato Chili in the Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef (or lean ground poultry to make it a THM E)
- 3 1/2 cups tomato sauce (or two 15 oz. cans)
- 1.5 cups of water or broth 1 small onion (diced)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced) 2 medium diced bell peppers
- 3 large stalks celery (diced)
- 1 medium or 2 small diced sweet potato (diced into 1/4 inch cubes)
- 2 cans of beans drained and rinsed (kidney or red beans are tasty)
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon unrefined sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper dash cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
Instructions
- Turn the instant pot to the saute setting. Then, add the ground beef and saute until browned.
- Once it’s almost browned, add the garlic, onions, and celery and saute a couple of minutes longer. Toss in the rest of the ingredients and give it a good stir.
- Set the lid to the closed setting so pressure will build and set the timer to 8 minutes on high pressure.
- Once done, carefully use the quick release to relieve the pressure. Serve with rice or a baked potato for a delicious hearty meal.
Notes
For the stovetop version of this recipe go here.
If you love chili, you’ll also enjoy these recipes for Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Chili and White Turkey Chili!
As written, this recipe is a THM XO. If subbing in lean ground turkey or chicken for the beef, this meal will become a THM E.
Michelle Knight
This recipe looks really good, I have never heard of putting sweet potatoes into chili. It definitely looks good enough to try!
Tom
You can use butternut squash too instead of sweet potatoes
Ivey
This dish is cooked from my grandmother 🙂 Memories… 🙂
Laura
Easy and excellent. Added an extra can of beans because I like them and made rice in a pan on rack on top of the chili. Eight minutes worked perfect for it too. Will definitely make again.
Kenna Vowell
Planning to make this tonight! Could I use frozen sweet potatoes or should I cook them a little first?