Sweet Potato Turkey Chili

It's Saturday. It's the last day of September. The sky is bright and blue and vast and the air is cool and crunchy. Fall in finally here and you can hear the football playing in the background (I watch to support the players protesting ;) and the smells of yard fires burning in the air. It's chili season! Yep, that's just what I think of when I think of these first few weeks of fall! I'll get more to the pumpkin spice craziness in the next few weeks ;)

But for this weekend... it's CHILI time! Last week I had chili on the brain BAD, but it was 90 degrees and it just didn't seem right yet. And this weekend, I couldn't help myself, I needed to make a big pot of chili and enjoy every bite. This batch was sweet potato and ground turkey which is a match made in sweet food heaven. It is the perfect combo of sweet and spice. If you are looking to make that ol' chili recipe healthy- this is a start!

Sweet Potato Turkey Chili Recipe
{gluten and dairy-free, vegan}

1 pound of ground turkey or turkey sausauge ( I always use the most local or natural form I can find!)

2 TB of avocado oil for sautéing
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large red bell pepper chopped
1 large green bell pepper chopped
5-6 cloves of minced or finely chopped garlic cloves
1 TB of minced fresh ginger
1 TB of minced fresh turmeric


4 cups of pealed and cubed sweet potato chunks
1 28 ounce can of crushed organic tomatoes
4 cups of vegetable or poultry broth

3 TB of chili powder
1 ts. of ground cinnamon
1 TB of dried cilantro
1 TB of apple cider vinegar
1 TB of molasses
1 TB of maple syrup
1 TB of coconut palm sugar
1 15 ounce can of organic black beans
1 15 ounce can of organic pinto beans
1 15 ounce can of organic kidney beans

In a large soup pot, a 8-10 quart pot, break up the raw ground turkey and saute until completely browned and cooked. Then saute the onion, garlic, turmeric, ginger and sweet potatoes for 5 minutes until they get a bit soft. Then add in the crushed tomatoes, broth, water, spices and herbs. Then let it come to a boil and add in the beans. Cook on medium heat for 30-40 minutes until the potatoes are soft and the you can add additional herbs, or serve up and top with avocado slices and more fresh herbs. 

Some topping/serving ideas:
diced avocado  
fresh chopped cilantro 
green onion
vegan or regular sour cream or greek yogurt

I hope you give this classic dish a sweet potato and turkey twist. I know chili is chili and maybe you just gotta make it the good ol' way you've always made it, but this recipe is worth a try and it's an adventure on it's own. I hope you ENJOY and have a fun-filled, life-giving weekend, friends!

Much love, xoxo