Slow Cooker Sweet Potato & Turkey Chili

This protein rich slow cooker chili is so filling and satisfying! With a double dose of protein from white beans and turkey, vitamin C and filling fiber from the cauliflower rice and the sweet potato, this recipe is packed full of flavor and nutrition that will keep you full and energized. I love batch prepping and freezing it for quick and easy weeknight dinners. 

As a registered dietitian and busy mom, I get that you don’t have time to be stuck in the kitchen! I have been LOVING my slow cooker for this. Get everything prepped in the morning, or even the night before and enjoy as it fills the house with delicious aromas while you do whatever else needs doing! This slow cooker sweet potato and turkey chili is one of those recipes that keeps on giving. Not only is it packed full of flavor, it’s also a freezer friendly recipe that’s perfect for batch prepping. Plus the dietitian in me made sure it’s full of delish nutrition like filling protein and fiber, plus antioxidant vitamin C from my favorite instant veggie add in, cauliflower rice! It requires no prep, and blends well into almost any dish (like this fried rice or this cottage cheese mac and cheese) because of its neutral flavor and small pieces. It’s truly a dietitian’s best friend!

What I love most about this recipe is that the majority of the cooking is done in the slow cooker! Once you have a few key ingredients prepped, you can set it and forget it. Whip it up on Sunday morning and then go and enjoy your day. When you come home you’ll have a delicious and nourishing meal ready to warm you up!

Main Ingredients For This Sweet Potato Chili

Sweet Potato: I roast the sweet potato in this recipe before adding it to the slow cooker. I find it keeps its structure better this way but you can throw it right in raw to save time! I love the balance of texture and flavor sweet potato adds to this dish!

Turkey: I used ground turkey for this recipe. It’s a lean meat that adds heartiness to the chili. You can substitute any ground meat, like beef or vegetarian ground round if you prefer! One tip,  make sure to brown the meat before adding it to the slow cooker (more on that here).

Mushrooms: The mushrooms add an earthy flavor and meaty texture to this recipe. I use canned sliced mushrooms in my chili to save time at the cutting board but you can use fresh if you prefer or have some in the fridge.   

Mixed Beans & White Kidney Beans: It’s just not a chili without beans! I use a mixture of canned legumes to add to the heartiness of the chili. Rinse and add straight to the crockpot for some quick and easy extra protein.  

Cauliflower Rice: You can make your own cauliflower rice or you can use store bought cauliflower rice. The cauliflower rice adds to the texture of the dish while also adding some nutritional benefits (more on that here). 

Corn: Corn adds a touch of sweetness and color to the chili. It provides more texture to the chili while also adding a pop of flavor and color. 

How to Make This Sweet Potato Chili

What Makes This Chili Different From Other Slow Cooker Recipes

Over the years I have made a lot of different variations of chili which means I’ve also made some mistakes along the way and have worked hard to perfect the perfect slow cooker chili. I found most slow cooker recipes follow the set it and forget it formula where you add all the ingredients to the pot and set it to cook. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for recipes that save time – sometimes it’s all about getting dinner on the table. 

But I developed this recipe to have as much flavor as possible by making the most out of your time in the kitchen. There are two important steps when making this recipe that sets this apart from other slow cooker chilis:

1. Browning the meat (or ground round) before adding it to the slow cooker. Browning the meat is a crucial part of building flavor for any recipe. So how do you make perfectly browned meat? You have to let it sear (heat + fat required for this). Once you put the raw meat in the frying pan, do not stir it right away. Let it sear and brown. Trust me! 

2. You also want to make sure that there is enough room in your pan for the meat to sear. That means not overcrowding the pan. Make sure to use a large surface area so the meat has room to brown. If the pan is overcrowded, the meat will still cook, it just won’t brown as nicely.

3. Roast your sweet potatoes. This recipe includes a quick, high temp roasting of the sweet potatoes. Why? Well, when you roast the sweet potatoes, it not only adds that roasted flavor I love, it also helps the sweet potato hold its shape. If you add the raw sweet potato directly to the slow cooker (which you can do in a pinch!), you will notice that the sweet potato will have a softer texture and blend into the chili more. For optimal flavor without requiring more time, roast the sweet potato while you’re browning the meat and prepping the other ingredients for the chili. They’ll be ready to go by the time you’re ready to add everything into the slow cooker. 

Nutritional Benefits (Nutrition by Addition)

I love looking at nutrition through the lens of what you can add into your plate instead of what you should cut out. This is the concept of nutrition by addition. You see, when it comes to nourishing our bodies, the focus shouldn’t be on cutting out or restricting. Instead, let’s shift the spotlight to what we can add to our plates – nutrient-rich, colorful, and flavorful foods that bring a host of benefits to our overall well-being. 

White Beans: White beans are an excellent source of plant-based protein and fiber. They’re also part of the legume family and are known to be rich in iron, magnesium, zinc, and potassium.  

Cauliflower Rice: I love adding cauliflower rice for an extra boost of nutrition to recipes. I like to add it to smoothies (like this blended coffee smoothie) or my cinnamon roll overnight oats recipe. Cauliflower rice is packed with fiber, vitamin C and K and antioxidants. Adding it into your diet can help support your immune and gut health. I remember when I was in school to become a dietitian learning that Vitamin C helps the absorption of plant-based iron. I never forgot it and specifically like the cauliflower rice in this recipe because of the vitamin C that helps boost the plant-based iron absorption (which you get from the beans). 

Sweet Potato: People are often surprised to learn that these orange colored tots are packed full of nutrition. The truth is sweet potatoes are rich in vitamins A and C, which helps support eye health, immune function, and skin health. They’re also rich in antioxidants that can help combat inflammation and protect your body from free radicals.

Recipe, Kitchen, & Time Saving Hacks

I’m always looking for ways to save you time and energy in the kitchen or tips for reducing food waste. Here are a few tips to streamline this chili recipe so you can spend more time with the ones you love. 

Batch prep: When I talk about batch prepping, I mean making a big batch of a single recipe and either enjoying it throughout the week or putting it in freezer friendly containers (like these reusable bags) and then enjoying quick and easy dinners on those busy nights or when you just don’t feel like cooking. 

This chili recipe is the perfect batch prep recipe. This recipe makes about 8 to 10 portions. Sometimes I’ll freeze it in family-size portions and other times I will freeze it in individual serving portions because it’s such a great lunch recipe. 

Ingredient prep: Ingredient prep is something I do when I want to be able to build different meals throughout the week with the same ingredients. It’s the main meal prep method in my 321 method meal plans. With this recipe you can do a combo of batch prepping and ingredient prepping. 

Here’s how:

Double the amount of sweet potatoes and roast them. I recommend roasting them until they’re soft all the way through (approximately 40 minutes. That way you can use half to make the chili and the other half for other recipes like in this Buddha Bowl with Lemon Tahini Dressing. 

You can also double the amount of ground turkey. Cook it up following the recipe, just remember to use a big enough frying pan or use two separate frying pans. When it’s ready to go, pop half in the slow cooker and then use the other half throughout the week. I love having pre-cooked ground meat for ready-to-go tacos, as a quick way to add protein to a salad, or to make a big batch of my lettuce wraps (yes, you can make these with ground turkey!). 

Buy frozen sweet potatoes: Want to spend even less time at the cutting board? Did you know that you can buy pre-cubed frozen sweet potatoes from the grocery store? I’ve made this recipe with fresh sweet potatoes and with frozen – it does not impact the flavor and you follow the exact same steps! That’s right you don’t even have to cook the frozen yams longer which makes it such a great hack.

If you make this Sweet Potato and Ground Turkey Chili, it would make my day if you would leave a comment and/or star rating below— I love hearing your feedback! And don’t forget to snap a pic and tag me on Instagram @lindsaypleskot.rd so I can see your versions! It makes me so happy to see these recipes come to life in your kitchens! XO

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