A friend of mine came to dinner and asked, halfway through his second bowl, where the beef was.
There wasn't any. There never had been.
He genuinely could not tell, and I have been slightly smug about it ever since.
The reason has nothing to do with fake meat or a clever substitution.
It is two teaspoons of unsweetened cocoa powder and a tablespoon of soy sauce.
Cocoa turns the pot dark, from bright tomato red to a deep brick brown that looks like it has been simmering all day.
Soy sauce brings the savory bottom note that meat usually provides.
Neither one is detectable in the finished bowl, which is exactly the point.
The other half of the job is texture, and that comes down to liquid.
Two cups of broth, no more, so this ends up thick enough to stand a spoon in for a second.
Glossy whole black beans sitting against soft orange cubes of sweet potato, not a thin brown puddle with things floating in it.
I make it most weeks between October and March.
It takes fifty minutes, most of it hands off, and it costs about six dollars to feed six people.
I'm not selling you a vegetarian chili here. I'm selling you a good one!
Why This Chili Works
Meatless chili usually fails in one of two ways: it tastes thin, or it looks thin. These five choices fix both.
- Cocoa powder for color and depth. Two teaspoons takes the pot from bright red to dark brick brown. It does not taste like chocolate.
- Soy sauce for savoriness. A tablespoon of it delivers the meaty bottom note nothing else in the pot can.
- Spices bloomed in tomato paste. Frying the chili powder into the paste before any liquid goes in is worth more than doubling the spice.
- Two cups of broth, full stop. This is the thick end of the chili spectrum, and it is a measured amount, not a pour.
- Beans in last. Ten minutes at the end keeps them whole and glossy instead of split and grey.
Worth the extra ten minutes of blooming? Every time.
Do Sweet Potatoes and Black Beans Actually Go Together?
They have been going together for a very long time, and not because anyone was chasing a health trend. Both are staples across Mexican and Central American cooking, and they end up in the same enchiladas, tacos and burritos constantly.
The pairing works because sweetness and earthiness pull in opposite directions.
Black beans are earthy and slightly mineral. Sweet potato is sugary and soft.
Put smoked paprika and cumin between them and you get something that reads as complete rather than as two vegetables in a bowl.
Pro tip: the sweetness is also why this chili can take more salt and more acid than a beef chili. Do not be shy with either.
What You Need
- Olive oil (2 tablespoons). Enough to fry the tomato paste properly.
- Yellow onion (1). Diced small, so it melts into the body of the chili.
- Garlic (3 cloves). Minced.
- Tomato paste (2 tablespoons). The vehicle for the spices and a big part of the thickness.
- Chili powder (2 tablespoons). The main event. Use a mild blend and add heat separately.
- Cumin (1 tablespoon).
- Smoked paprika (2 teaspoons). Doing the work bacon would do in another recipe.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder (2 teaspoons). Natural, not Dutch process, and definitely not hot chocolate mix.
- Dried oregano (1 teaspoon).
- Sweet potatoes (1 ½ lb). Peeled and cut into ½ inch dice. Small here, because they only get thirty minutes.
- Fire roasted diced tomatoes (28 oz can). With the juice. Fire roasted is a real upgrade over plain.
- Vegetable broth (2 cups). Measured.
- Soy sauce (1 tablespoon). Tamari if you need it gluten free.
- Black beans (two 15 oz cans). Drained and rinsed. Two cans against one and a half pounds of potato is the right ratio.
- To serve. Diced avocado, chopped cilantro, sliced green onion, sour cream, lime wedges.
How to Make It
Step 1: Soften the Onion and Bloom the Spices in Tomato Paste
Heat the olive oil in a heavy pot over medium and cook the onion for 6 minutes until soft and translucent.
Add the garlic for 30 seconds, then the tomato paste.
Stir the paste around the hot pot for a full 2 minutes, until it darkens from red to rust.
Now dump in the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, cocoa and oregano and stir for 1 minute.
It will look like a dry, dark paste. That is correct.
Step 2: Add the Sweet Potato and Tomatoes
Stir in the diced sweet potato and coat every cube in that spice paste.
Add the tomatoes with their juice, the broth and the soy sauce.
Scrape the bottom of the pot to lift anything stuck there. That is pure flavor.
Step 3: Simmer Thick
Bring it to a simmer and cook uncovered for 25 minutes.
Uncovered matters. This is the only chance the pot gets to lose water.
Stir every five minutes or so, since a thick chili catches on the bottom.
The sweet potato should be tender at the tip of a knife and still square at the corners.
Step 4: Beans In Last, Then Mash to Bind
Stir in the drained black beans and simmer 10 minutes more, no longer.
Press about half a cup of the sweet potato against the side of the pot and stir it back through.
The chili tightens noticeably within a minute.
Season with salt and plenty of black pepper, then let it sit off the heat for 10 minutes before serving.
The Cocoa Powder Question
Nobody believes me about this until they try it side by side. I have made this pot with and without, on the same night, and the difference is not subtle.
- What it does to the color. Bright tomato red becomes dark brick brown. The chili stops looking like pasta sauce.
- What it does to the taste. A slight bitterness that reads as depth, the way a dark beer does in a beef chili.
- How much. Two teaspoons for a six serving pot. Three is noticeable. A tablespoon and you have made a mole, which is a fine thing to make on purpose.
- Which kind. Unsweetened natural cocoa. Dutch process is milder and works. Sweetened drinking chocolate does not.
- When it goes in. With the dry spices, into the hot tomato paste, so it toasts along with everything else.
Slow Cooker Version
- Bloom the paste and spices on the stove first. Ten minutes in a skillet. Skip it and the chili tastes raw and dusty, no matter how long it cooks.
- Everything except the beans into the crock. Low for 6 hours or high for 3.
- Cut the broth to 1 cup. Nothing evaporates under a lid.
- Beans in for the last 30 minutes. The same rule as the stovetop.
Toppings
- Avocado. Cool and fatty against a dark, spiced base. The single best one.
- Sour cream. Tames the chili powder and brightens the color of the bowl.
- Green onion. Sharp and raw, cutting through all that softness.
- Cilantro. Chopped, and more than you think.
- Lime. A hard squeeze at the table. This chili wants acid.
Common Mistakes
- Too much liquid. The number one cause of a sad meatless chili. Two cups, measured, and simmer with the lid off.
- Beans in at the start. Forty minutes of simmering splits canned black beans and turns the whole pot grey.
- Skipping the paste bloom. Raw chili powder tastes dusty. Two minutes in hot oil fixes it permanently.
- Dicing too small. Quarter inch sweet potato dissolves. Half inch stays visible.
- Under-salting. A sweet base swallows salt. Season, taste, and then season again.
Variations
- More heat. A minced chipotle in adobo with the spices, or a diced jalapeno with the onion.
- Corn. A cup of frozen kernels in the last five minutes, for color and pop.
- Add ground beef. Brown a pound before the onion and drain it. The cocoa and soy sauce still improve it.
- Pinto or kidney beans. One can of each instead of two of black. You lose the dark contrast in the bowl.
- Dried beans. Cook a pound separately until fully tender, then add them at the ten minute mark like canned.
Storage and Freezing
- Fridge. 5 days in a sealed container, and it is better on day two than day one.
- Freezer. 3 months. No dairy in the pot, so it freezes cleanly.
- Reheat. Low and slow with a splash of water, because it sets up firm in the fridge.
- Portion flat. Freezer bags laid flat thaw in half the time of a tub.
- Toppings fresh. Avocado and cilantro go on at the table, never into the storage container.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do sweet potatoes and black beans go together?
They do, and it is a long standing pairing across Mexican and Central American cooking rather than a modern health idea. The sweetness balances the earthy beans, and smoked paprika and cumin tie the two together.
Why is my bean chili watery?
Too much liquid at the start, or a lid on during the simmer. Use two measured cups of broth, cook uncovered, and mash half a cup of the sweet potato in at the end.
Does the cocoa powder make it taste like chocolate?
Not at two teaspoons in a six serving pot. What you notice is a darker color and a deeper, slightly bitter background, which is exactly what a meatless chili is missing.
Can I use dried black beans?
Yes. Cook a pound of them separately until completely tender, then stir them in at the same point you would add canned beans. Do not try to cook them in the chili, the tomato acid keeps them firm.
Can I make it in a slow cooker?
Low for six hours, with the tomato paste and spices bloomed in a skillet first and the broth cut to one cup. Beans go in for the final thirty minutes.
How do I keep the sweet potato from disintegrating?
Half inch dice, a gentle simmer rather than a boil, and stop at thirty minutes total. The cubes should be tender and still square.
Does it freeze?
For three months, and it is one of the best freezer chilis there is because there is no dairy or meat to change texture.
Two teaspoons of cocoa and a spoon of soy sauce. That's the whole trick, and nobody at your table will work it out.
Recipe
Dark and Thick Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili
Ingredients
For the Chili
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion diced small
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 tablespoon chili powder mild blend
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 ½ lb sweet potatoes peeled, cut into ½ inch dice
- 28 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes with juice
- 2 cups vegetable broth measured
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
- 2 15 oz cans black beans drained and rinsed
- salt and black pepper to taste
To Serve
- 1 avocado diced
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
- 3 green onions sliced
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 lime cut into wedges
Instructions
Build the Base
- Heat the olive oil in a heavy pot over medium heat and cook the onion for 6 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds more.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook it for a full 2 minutes, until it darkens from red to rust. Add the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, cocoa powder and oregano and stir for 1 minute. It will look like a dry dark paste, which is correct.
Simmer
- Add the diced sweet potato and stir until every cube is coated in the spice paste. Pour in the tomatoes with their juice, the broth and the soy sauce, scraping the bottom of the pot clean.
- Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for 25 minutes, stirring every few minutes so it does not catch. The sweet potato should be tender at the tip of a knife and still square at the corners.
Beans and Finish
- Stir in the drained black beans and simmer for 10 minutes more, no longer, so the beans stay whole and glossy.
- Press about ½ cup of the sweet potato against the side of the pot and stir it back through to bind the chili. Season with salt and plenty of black pepper, then rest off the heat for 10 minutes before serving with avocado, cilantro, green onion, sour cream and lime.
Notes
- Cocoa powder: 2 teaspoons darkens the pot and adds depth. It does not taste like chocolate.
- Soy sauce: supplies the savory bottom note that meat usually provides.
- Two cups of broth, measured: and simmer uncovered. Extra liquid is what makes a bean chili watery.
- Beans last: 10 minutes only, or they split and turn grey.
- Half inch dice: smaller sweet potato dissolves into the sauce.
- Bloom the spices in the tomato paste: 2 minutes of frying is worth more than doubling the chili powder.
