Quinoa & Sweet Potato Chili

I don't know about you, but my Pinterest food board is insane... mostly filled with decadent & delicious goods that throw on calories just by reading the ingredients- but there are a few on there that are for the more healthy inclined- like this one- Quinoa & Sweet Potato Chili.

Super healthy, crazy filling (if it's just for two you may want to cut the ingredients in half), and really, really tasty. I made the chili for dinner one night and then used it as the filling for a burrito the next day for lunch... my husband & I have actually been eating it all the time and there's still a ton left! So like I said, you may want to cut the ingredients in half.

But I highly recommend making it. Perfect for those cold days when you want to warm up with something hearty, but not feel gross afterwards.

This recipe is from Milk Free Mom. I slightly changed some of the ingredients (but only because I didn't have everything from her original recipe on hand). Here's what I used:

Ingredients:

29 oz of black beans, rinsed and drained (you can use canned but we used bagged... less sodium
6 oz can tomato paste
28 oz vegetable broth
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 heaping teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 heaping teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into bite sized chunks
1 cup dry quinoa
Salt and pepper to taste
Avocado

Cooking Time!

Heat the oil in a large heavy soup pot over medium low heat. Add chopped onion and cook until soft and they start to turn brown (about 10 minutes). Add the garlic, and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste, cayenne pepper, paprika, cumin, and oregano and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the beans, broth, and potatoes, and season with salt and pepper . Cook for about 5 minutes, then add the quinoa. Continue cooking for about 15 minutes – 30 minutes (this was not enough time to cook my quinoa, so I put the lid on after 30 minutes, and cooked for another 30 minutes) stirring frequently, until quinoa and potatoes are cooked and the chili has thickened. Add a bit of water if the chili becomes too thick for your liking. Top with avocado and Enjoy!

ps- We made ours a little less healthy by accompanying the chili with a dollop of sour cream (so good!) and some snow chilled IPA's :)