Happy September!  All of a sudden, the New England weather has turned cool and crisp and VERY autumnal.  This put us in the mood for cold weather food to warm us up and nothing warms like a hearty chili! 

But THIS chili recipe is not only tasty, it is healthy too!  Smoky, spicy, with a faint hint of sweet, this vegetarian chili is chock full of beans and sweet potato chunks and hominy (yes, I had to look that up to see what it was…) it is so hearty and flavorful you won’t even miss the meat!  It is relatively low calorie too, so you can have the indulgence of chili flavor without the stratospheric calorie count. I believe it {totally coincidentally} even qualifies as vegan…wow.

By the way, hominy is a corn product. You’re welcome.

Jenna found this chili recipe while trolling for something suitable for the weather on the Serious Eats website and adapted it for the Instant Pot.  Anything with “sweet potato” in the name immediately piques my interest, so no surprise, our dinner fate was sealed. We went on a search and destroy mission to procure the ingredients. The most challenging to find was the dried chili peppers needed for  the make-your-own chili paste step, but it was totally worth the trouble - this stuff is delicious!  It has even won awards in deep south carnivore chili territory!

A couple of notes before we share the recipe…

If you haven’t worked with chili peppers before, you need to know that gloves are your friend to keep the sting out of the equation…also do NOT touch your eyes with chili pepper hands!

We have adapted this to the Instant Pot to make quick work of a very flavorful stew, but you CAN make it on the stovetop as well - it just takes 3 or 4 times as long to be done. We are impatient and often don’t plan that far ahead!

Please Note: This post contains affiliate links meaning I may make a small commission on any purchases at no extra cost to you.

I’ve included links to some of the less common ingredients and my favorite kitchen appliances that help make this easy.

Sweet Potato, Bean, and Hominy Chili Recipe

adapted from the Serious Eats recipe by Kenji Lopez-Alt

Ingredients

• 3 whole sweet dried chilies like Costeño, New Mexico, or Choricero, stems and seeds removed (we used New Mexico)

• 3 whole rich fruity dried chilies like Ancho, Mulatto, Negro, or Pasilla, stems and seeds removed (we used Pasilla Negra)

• 4 cups water or vegetable stock (we used Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base)

• 1/4 cup raisins

• 1 cup orange juice (or 2 tablespoons orange juice concentrate)

• 2 whole chipotle chilies in adobo sauce with 2 tablespoons sauce from the can

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 1 large onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

• 1 poblano pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)

• 3 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)…since we (at least some of us) are half Italian, we used 5 because if some is good, more is better

• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin

• 2 teaspoons dried oregano

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

• 1 teaspoon marmite or vegemite (optional, we did NOT opt for this…)

• 1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand

• 2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 (15 ounce) can hominy, drained and rinsed (confronted with a choice in the canned vegetable aisle between white and golden hominy, we opted for golden, which, it turns out, is the slightly sweeter of the two)

• 1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

• Kosher salt

• 2 tablespoons vodka or bourbon (we used the bourbon)

• 2 tablespoons corn masa harina

Directions

• Place dried chilies in a large saucepan over medium heat. Toast, stirring and flipping the chilies occasionally, until pliable, lightly puffed, and fragrant, about 4 minutes. 

• Add vegetable stock, raisins, and orange juice, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until chilies are plumped and tender, about 15 minutes. Drain chilies and raisins, reserving water separately.

• Combine chilies and raisins with the chipotles and their sauce. Blend until completely smooth using a stick blender or small food processor.  We needed to add back a bit of the reserved liquid to get it smooth.

• Heat oil in the Instant Pot on the sauté setting (or, if doing this the old fashioned way, in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat) until shimmering. 

• Add onions and poblanos and cook, stirring frequently, until softened but not browned, about 4 minutes. 

• Add garlic, cumin, and dried oregano and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. 

• Add puréed chilies, soy sauce, and marmite if using, and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. 

• Add reserved chili liquid from hydrating the dried chilis, tomatoes, kidney beans, black beans, hominy, and sweet potatoes. Stir to combine and season with salt to taste.

• Seal lid on Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes, followed by a quick release.  

  OR alternatively, bring to ingredients to a boil over high heat, reduce to lowest heat, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until sweet potatoes are fully tender and flavor has developed, 1 to 1 1/2 hours, adding more liquid as necessary if chili threatens to scorch.

• When chili is finished cooking, whisk masa into vodka or bourbon, add to chili and stir to combine and thicken. 

• Season to taste with salt.
  
  Serve, garnished with any of the traditional chili garnishes…cilantro, chopped onions, scallions, avocado, lime wedges, and a side of warm tortillas or corn muffins as desired.

This tastes even better reheated the next day!

Our favorite corn muffin recipe for the quintessential New England Wayside Inn corn muffins can be found here.  If you are a die-hard carnivore and chili is just not chili for you without meat, THIS chili recipe is for you! 

This vegetarian chili is the best!

Enjoy!