This Crock Pot Vegetarian Lentil Chili with sweet potatoes is a healthy spin on comfort food – it's the perfect hands-off dump dinner!
How to make sweet potato lentil chili
This sweet potato lentil chili is SO easy to make thanks to the help of your slow cooker! You pretty much just dump and press start.
Here are the instructions:
- Dump all ingredients except for spinach in the slow cooker in the order they appear.
- Cook on low for 8 hours until sweet potatoes are tender and lentils are soft.
- Stir in spinach, then serve with toppings of choice.
Ingredients and substitutions
- olive oil – use any neutral oil you'd like, such as canola, vegetable or sunflower oil
- yellow onions – red or white onions will work here, along with shallots
- celery – leave it out if you don't like it, or use carrots instead for more veggies
- garlic – you can use jarred garlic here
- red and green pepper – feel free to use any colour bell peppers, or add jalapenos, or leave them out altogether if you don't like peppers
- sweet potatoes – I don't recommend any substitutes here; you could use quinoa instead to add carbs and protein though
- brown lentils – green or black will also work. I don't recommend red for this recipe as they will become mushy
- corn – leave it out or use quinoa as a starch instead
- chili powder, cumin and smoked paprika – feel free to use regular paprika, or use 1 tbsp chili powder in place of the spices
- crushed tomatoes – diced tomatoes or tomato sauce will also work
- vegetable broth – use any broth you'd like
- chopped spinach – any greens, like kale or Swiss chard, will work
Making it on the stovetop
You can easily make this recipe on the stovetop! Here are the instructions:
- Saute onions, garlic, celery and sweet potatoes with olive oil over med-high heat in a large pot for 5-6 minutes until softened.
- Stir in spices, then rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 45 minutes with a lid on, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in spinach, then serve and enjoy.
Making it in the Instant Pot
You can easily make this recipe in the Instant Pot. The sweet potatoes may be a bit mushy, so I suggest you cut them into larger chunks before cooking under pressure. Here are the instructions:
- Add all ingredients to Instant Pot in order in which they are listed, besides spinach.
- Cook on high pressure for 2 minutes, then do a quick release of the pressure.
- Stir in spinach, then serve and enjoy.
What to serve with vegetarian chili
This sweet potato chili is super hearty on its own, but you can serve it with sides to make it a larger meal. Here's what I would suggest:
- Crusty bread
- Side salad
- Oven fries
- Roasted or steamed broccoli
- Cauliflower rice
- Wild rice
- Quinoa
Toppings for lentil chili
You can also top this chili to make it even more out of this world! Here's what you could use:
- Jalapenos
- Sour cream
- Cheese
- Cilantro
- Pico de gallo
- Avocado
- Lime wedges
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Storing and reheating
You can easily store this chili in the fridge up to 5 days. I recommend storing in individual portions in glass meal prep containers so all you have to do is reheat in the microwave for 2-3 minutes.
Freezing lentil chili
You can also freeze this chili! Store in glass containers with lids up to 3 months. Reheat from frozen in the microwave for 6-7 minutes, stirring halfway through. You can also reheat on the stove.
More vegetarian slow cooker recipes
- Slow cooker African peanut stew
- Slow cooker butternut squash dal
- Instant Pot/slow cooker minestrone
- Crockpot vegetable soup
Meal prep tools
- I use brown lentils like these ones here
- Get your Slow Cooker here
- I also love these glass meal prep bowls for reheating this chili in individual portions
Crock Pot Vegetarian Lentil Chili
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 yellow onions, diced
- 4 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 1 cup brown lentils
- 1/2 cup Corn
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 (750mL) can crushed tomatoes
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups chopped spinach
Instructions
- Dump all ingredients except for spinach in the slow cooker in the order they appear. Cook on low for 8 hours until sweet potatoes are tender and lentils are soft. Stir in spinach, then serve with toppings of choice.
- Will keep frozen up to 2 months – to reheat, microwave on high for 5-7 minutes, stirring halfway through.
Comments & Reviews
Renee says
Love this recipe! Just dropped a batch off for a friend going through treatment for breast cancer — the perfect healthy meal filled with delicious flavors. This will be in the regular meal rotation as we move into cooler months. Thanks for the great recipe!
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you loved it 🙂 What a sweet thing to do for your friend!
Colleen says
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it. I just have a question: would it taste similar without the chili powder, or do you know of a less-spicy alternative? My kids won’t eat anything spicy.
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Colleen, thank you! You do need to add the chili powder to get the flavour. My suggestion would be to cut the amount in half and then you can always add more from there. It really doesn’t make it spicy.
Bonnie says
Can I use red lentils instead of brown?
Taylor Stinson says
You can but they will break down and not stay in tact, they will be mushy. If you’re ok with the change in texture, go for it!
Allison says
Can frozen spinach he used? It is easier for me to keep that on hand (fresh often goes bad to quickly)
Taylor Stinson says
For sure you can use frozen 🙂
Linda says
In the instructions it says to add everything except spinach but in video you also added the corn same time as spinach??
Taylor Stinson says
That may have been an oversight on my end. It doesn’t matter too much if you add the corn before or after cooking. It doesn’t get overcooked if you add it in with the rest of the ingredients. The spinach will though.
Carmela says
Can I cook in a regular pot?
Taylor Stinson says
Yes you can!
Cat says
How long would you recommend? 1-1.5 hrs?
Nikki says
So delicious!
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so glad you enjoyed 🙂
Lisa says
Can you cook on high for 4 hours?
Taylor Stinson says
Yes you can!
Ekta says
Can I used canned lentils?
Taylor Stinson says
Yes, you can! Timing shouldn’t change at all.
Victoria says
Is this for the 6 quart instapot?
Taylor Stinson says
Yes it is!