Chili Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Guinness-spiked chili, spooned into buttery sweet potatoes, topped with cheese and your favorite chili toppings. The chili is smoky and savory, and the potatoes are sweet with a salty-crispy skin.
I love the combination of dark beer and chili-inspired spices. The coffee/chocolate nuances of the beer partner perfectly with the smokiness of the chili powder and cumin. And if you like a spicy chili, the caramel-like quality of dark beer work incredibly well with heat too.
What kind of beer should you use? I like the “roasted barley”, deep flavor dark beer adds to this chili, but any beer works, including IPA, amber, and even light. If you like the beer, you’ll like it in this chili.
Do you have to add the beer? No, definitely not. I love the richness it adds, but you can leave it out and replace it with beef broth or more tomato sauce.
What type of beans should you use? I used chili beans, tender pink beans in a savory, seasoned sauce. You can use your favorite seasoned or unseasoned beans in this chili. When using regular beans, rinse and drain them first, to remove any excess salt.
Can you make this chili spicy? For sure! You can either use hot chili powder, or add a few teaspoons of your favorite hot sauce when you add the tomato sauce. In my house, I like to serve hot sauce on the side so everyone can customize the chili to his/her liking.
What type of potatoes should you use? I used sweet potatoes (the golden potatoes, not the dark orange yams). The sweet flesh is an excellent partner for chili. That said, you can use orange-fleshed yams and/or regular Idaho/russet potatoes too. And don’t forget to rub the potatoes with olive oil and season them with salt before roasting. The oil creates the most spectacular crispy skin and the salt adds a distinctly wonderful crunch.
Chili Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 potatoes of choice, sweet potatoes, yams, or Idaho/russet potatoes
- Olive oil for coating the potatoes
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1 cup tomato sauce, or crushed tomatoes, or tomato puree
- 1/2 cup beer of choice, I used Guinness
- 15- ounce can chili beans of choice, or regular beans (rinse and drain unseasoned beans)
- 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese, or cheddar cheese, or cheese of choice
- Chopped green onions for serving
- Chopped fresh cilantro for serving
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
- Scrub the potatoes clean and pat them dry. Rub olive oil all over the potatoes and season them with salt. Place the potatoes on the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 60 minutes, until tender.
- Meanwhile, brown the beef in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Add the chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and stir to coat. Cook for 1 minute, until the spices are fragrant.
- Add the tomato sauce and beer and bring to a simmer. Add the beans, reduce the heat to low, partially cover and simmer for 20 minutes (or until the potatoes are finished).
- Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
- Halve the potatoes lengthwise and spoon the chili over top. Top with cheese, green onions, and cilantro and serve.