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Sweet Potato and Kidney Bean Chilli (Vegan)

A smoky, rich chilli of kidney beans and sweet potato, topped with avocado, dairy-free yogurt and fresh herbs. A vegan dinner with 17g of fibre that freezes well, ready in an hour.

Dinner

60

Serves 4

Two bowls of kidney bean and sweet potato chilli topped with sliced avocado, a spoonful of white yogurt, chives and coriander, beside glasses of green drink

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp (15ml) olive oil
  • 1 large onion (about 150g/5oz), chopped
  • 1 red pepper (bell pepper, about 150g/5oz once deseeded), diced
  • 3 cloves garlic (about 12g), crushed
  • 2 tsp ground cumin, 2 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp mild chilli powder (more if you like it hot) and 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 400g/14oz sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1.5cm/⅝in cubes
  • 2 x 400g (14oz) tins red kidney beans, drained and rinsed (about 480g/1lb 1oz drained)
  • 1 x 400g (14oz) tin chopped tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp (30g) tomato purée (tomato paste)
  • 300ml/1¼ cups low-salt vegetable stock (check the label if you need it gluten-free)
  • To serve: 1 large ripe avocado (about 140g/5oz flesh), sliced; 120g/4oz/½ cup unsweetened soya yogurt (soy yogurt); a small bunch of coriander (cilantro, about 15g), chopped; a few chives, snipped; and the juice of 1 lime (about 15ml)

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and pepper and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft.
  2. Add the garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, chilli powder and oregano and stir for 1 minute, until fragrant.
  3. Add the sweet potato, kidney beans, chopped tomatoes, tomato purée and stock. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring now and then.
  4. Uncover, mash a few beans against the side of the pan, and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes more, until the sweet potato is tender and the chilli has thickened. Stir in half the lime juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  5. Toss the avocado slices in the rest of the lime juice. Serve the chilli in bowls topped with the avocado, a spoonful of yogurt, the coriander and the chives.
  6. The chilli, without the toppings, keeps in the fridge for up to 2 days and freezes for up to 3 months. Reheat until steaming hot all the way through.

Why it works

A bowl gives you about 17g of fibre and 14g of protein for 371 calories, including the toppings.

Two kinds of carbohydrate, both rich in fibre. Kidney beans and sweet potato bring 45g of carbohydrate a bowl, together with the fibre that slows how quickly it is absorbed. That is why this chilli is tagged for blood sugar.

Smoky without meat. Smoked paprika, cumin and a long simmer with tomato purée give the depth you would expect from a meat chilli. Mashing a few beans against the side of the pan thickens it further.

Toppings that add more than flavour. Avocado adds healthy fats and makes the bowl more filling, and dairy-free yogurt cools the spice.

Use tinned kidney beans, which are already cooked; dried red kidney beans must be soaked for at least 12 hours, then boiled hard for at least 10 minutes to destroy a natural toxin, and simmered until tender. Contains soya (in the yogurt). For a meat version, try the beef and black bean chilli.