Hearty + Cozy Sweet Potato Turkey Chili

This healthy sweet potato turkey chili recipe is perfect for an easy, high-protein meal for weekdays and weekends alike, and it comes together in less than an hour! With simple ingredients,

this recipe

Today's weather report is... chili today, but hot tamale!

Why yes, that was a dad joke straight from the source (my dad), but also my (charmingly?) awkward way of introducing you to a certain sweet potato turkey chili that is, hopefully, your next warm and cozy recipe.

The reasons to love chili are many. For one, it's nutritious and filling with its high protein content and a number of veggies hiding out in there. It's also sure to warm you up on a cold day, and it's so easy to make. Once you get it simmering on the stove, you can clean up your kitchen or just take a minute to chill while you wait. So easy weeknight dinner recipe? Check.

Ingredients You'll Need

For this turkey sweet potato chili recipe, you'll need mostly pantry staples (love that):

• Olive oil
• Yellow onion
• Ground turkey
• Sweet potatoes
• Canned diced tomatoes (fire-roasted, if possible!)
• Tomato sauce
• Tomato paste
• Chicken or veggie broth
• Worcestershire
• Spices: cumin, chili powder, cayenne, salt, pepper

Recipe Shortcut: If you made some roasted sweet potato cubes earlier in the week and have one or two cups left, you can toss leftovers right in with this chili to save time!

Step-by-Step Instructions

If you've made chili before, or even soup, these will be very familiar to you; however, I do have two different stovetop methods.

1. Brown the meat with the onions. Sauté onions in olive oil until fragrant and softened, then add ground turkey and sauté until browned.
2. Tomato paste & sweet potatoes. Stir in tomato paste and sweet potato cubes and sauté for another minute.
3. Add liquids and spices. Fire-roasted diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Worcestershire, broth, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper.
4. Simmer. At least 30 minutes, but for sure until the potatoes are completely cooked through. As with all soups/stews, the longer the better.

After all the methods, top that chili off! Cheese, avocado, sour cream, cilantro, lime -- more on this critical step below...

Modifications & Tips

Remember how I said chili is forgiving? Well, here are some ways you can modify this sweet potato turkey chili and still have excellent results:

• Squash for potato. Sub in cubed butternut squash for sweet potato, following the same instructions.
• Spice it up. Add a little more cayenne, a drop or two of hot sauce, some diced green chiles or other spicy peppers -- whatever you'd like! Chili gets spicier as it simmers, so take it easy. You can always add more later, but you can't take away the spice. In a dire situation (e.g. you made sweet potato turkey chili for a group of people who are hungrily waiting on it but you made it way too spicy...) you could make another half batch without spice and combine it.
• Make it thinner. This particular sweet potato turkey chili recipe is THICK. If you want to thin it out, just add more broth.
• Top it off. This probably goes without saying, but topping your chili is where the party's at, and I'm not saying I'll judge you if you don't... but I will. Think cilantro, lime, avocado, shredded cheese (such as cheddar, cotija, Jack), sliced green onion, sour cream, crushed tortilla chips, etc.