Quick Vegan Chili-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Making these vegan chili-stuffed sweet potatoes is a quick route to a satisfying dinner. If you don’t have the time to bake the sweet potatoes (though their flavor and texture do benefit from the slow oven treatment), microwaving them is completely fine. Both options are presented here.

The bean chili in this recipe is super-easy, made with canned beans and tomatoes, a jar of salsa, and a couple of seasonings.

You can choose between plant-based beefy ground or quinoa for the protein boost in addition to the beans. That said, you can also make this with leftover chili — a great way to give it a new spin!

Complete the meal: Depending on your appetite, either one or both halves of sweet potato can be quite filling. Keep the meal simple with a simple salad or slaw.

Plant-based ground: You have lots of choices! Here are a few (alternatively, use cooked quinoa as suggested in the recipe):

• Your favorite brand of vegan burgers (crumbled)
• Beyond Meat Beyond Beef Crumbles
• Impossible Ground
• Gardein Ultimate Beefless Ground
• Lightlife Smart Ground
• Trader Joe’s Beef-less Ground
• Or, a DIY whole foods option: Walnut & Mushroom Beefy Vegan Crumbles

In praise of sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes are one of the most ancient, nutritious, and valuable food crops of the Americas. Not to diminish the value of white or golden potatoes, but in comparison, sweet potatoes are substantially richer in nutrients.

They’re especially high in vitamin A and the major minerals. With their natural sweetness and glorious color, sweet potatoes lend themselves to simple preparations.

Explore more …

• Vegan sweet potato recipes.
• 5 Ways to Make Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Recipe is adapted from Plant-Powered Protein by Nava Atlas. Photos by Hannah Kaminsky, BittersweetBlog.com.

Baked Sweet Potatoes, the Classic Way

For those of us who lead hectic lives (and who doesn’t these days?), the microwave is a boon for baking potatoes and sweet potatoes. They cook in a fraction of the time it takes in the oven.

But if you find yourself home on a cold or drizzly day, consider baking a few white or sweet potatoes the old-fashioned way. Their flavor deepens and they bake much more evenly in the oven than they do in the microwave.

1  Preheat the oven to 400º F. Scrub the sweet potatoes well (after all, they’ll be sitting on your plate) with a vegetable brush.

2  Conventional wisdom says to poke a few times with a fork to allow steam to escape, but to be honest, I never do this. Line a baking dish with foil. Arrange the potatoes in it and cover snugly with more foil. Or, you can wrap the sweet potatoes in foil individually.

3  Bake until a knife pierces through easily, 45 minutes to an hour, depending on size. That’s it; enjoy!

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Yield: 4 to 8

Quick Vegan Chili-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

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Making these vegan chili-stuffed sweet potatoes is a quick route to a satisfying dinner. 

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 large sweet potatoes

Quick Chili

• Olive oil

• 8 to 10 ounces plant-based beefy-style ground (see options in Notes), or 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa

• 15-ounce can black or red beans, drained and rinsed
• 
1 cup cooked fresh or thawed frozen corn

• 12-ounce jar salsa, your favorite variety
• 
14-ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes
• 
2 to 3 teaspoons chili powder, to taste
• 
2 teaspoons barbecue seasoning, any variety (see Note), optional

Topping

• Vegan shredded cheese shreds, as desired
, optional
• Thinly sliced scallions or chopped cilantro

Instructions

1. Microwave the sweet potatoes until easily pierced (start with 10 minutes baking all 4 at once, then add more time as needed). Or, if you have more time to make ahead, see oven baking tips above recipe box).
2. When cool enough to handle, cut the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise, arrange one to two halves on each plate (depending on appetite and what else you’re serving), and mash the centers lightly. Or, you can cut them down the center but avoid breaking the skins, so that they’re more like a pocket. 
3. Meanwhile, heat just enough oil to coat a large skillet or stir-fry pan. Add the plant-based beefy ground or cooked quinoa and sauté for 5 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring often.
4. Add the remaining chili ingredients and stir together. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
5. Top each sweet potato half generously with chili, followed by a sprinkling of cheese and some thinly sliced scallion or cilantro. If you’d like the cheese to be more melty, you can microwave the individual platings for up to a minute. Either way, serve at once.

Notes

Plant-based ground: You have lots of choices! Here are a few (alternatively, use cooked quinoa as suggested in the recipe):

• Amy’s California Burger or other vegan burgers (crumbled)
• Beyond Meat Beyond Beef Crumbles
• Gardein Ultimate Beefless Ground
• Lightlife Smart Ground
• Trader Joe’s Beef-less Ground
• Or, a DIY whole foods option: Walnut & Mushroom Beefy Vegan Crumbles

Barbecue Seasoning: Look for this tasty seasoning blend in the spice section of supermarkets. One of the popular brands is McCormick. Any of the varieties work well!

See more hearty vegan main dishes.