Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili

I occasionally participate in a food swap with other local mamas and I wanted to make a Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili for that a couple weeks ago. I got sick the night before I was supposed to make the chili, so I opted to not make it and chance getting everyone else sick! SO Last night I threw together the Chili that I had intended making weeks before.


Olive oil
1 large onion (I had about 1/4 of a large red onion and a small yellow onion) cut into 1/2" chunks
5 garlic cloves minced
2 carrots 1/4" dice
2 stalks celery 1/4" dice
1 medium/medium-large sweet potato cut into 1/2" chunks
28 oz can of diced tomatoes and their juice or whole tomatoes cut up or squished
1.5 tomato cans of water - this is probably 3-4 cups
~ 4 cups cooked black beans (I had a "2lb" plastic tub worth of cooked black beans that I had previously cooked and froze)
small can of tomato paste
1 cup of corn (I used frozen)
~1-2 tsp of ground cumin
~2 tsp chili powder
~1 tsp dried oregano
~2 tsp salt or to taste
~1/2 tsp ground black pepper or to taste

1. Heat the olive oil in a soup pot/dutch oven add in the onions and garlic saute until soft.
2. Add in the carrots, celery, and sweet potatoes, cover, and simmer for a bit while the carrots soften.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
4. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer until the sweet potatoes and carrots are soft ~20-30 min depending on how frozen the beans might be.

I served this with corn bread, since that is my favorite accompaniment to chili!