Try to tell me you don’t want to eat that sweet potato overflowing with chili.
Yeah…
The sweetness of the potato with the spicy chili is such a good balance and makes for a healthy, hearty meal.
I know a lot of you have freezers full of beef, so give this one a try to change it up from your routine beef recipes!
Oh, and DON’T leave out the cocoa powder. 🙂 It doesn’t make it taste like chocolate, I promise.
Ingredients:
4 large sweet potatoes
1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeño, chopped (take out the ribs and seeds for less heat)
3/4 lb. 90/10 lean ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. cocoa powder
salt & pepper
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1 15.5 oz can kidney beans, drained & rinsed
Optional toppings: shredded sharp cheddar cheese, avocado slices, cliantro, green onions
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
Poke sweet potatoes all over with a fork. Place the sweet potatoes on the prepared pan then place the pan in the pre-heated oven on the middle rack. Bake for 45 minutes – 1 hour or until the sweet potatoes are soft and cooked all the way through.
While the potatoes are baking, put olive oil in a high sided sauté pan on medium to medium high heat.
Add onion and green pepper and sauté for 5 minutes. Add jalapeño and beef to the skillet.
Keep breaking up the beef and stirring. Add the garlic after cooking the beef for about 5 minutes.
Once the beef is browned, drain off any excess fat.
Add the chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, cocoa powder, and salt and pepper to the beef mixture. Stir until the spices are well combined, 1-2 minutes.
To the same skillet, add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and kidney beans. Stir to combine with the other ingredients.
Cover the sauté pan with a lid, turn the heat to low/medium and allow to simmer while the potatoes finish baking.
Once potatoes are ready, cut each potato in half. Serve a half a potato with a heaping scoop of chili, then top with any of the optional toppings. Enjoy!