Black Bean & Sweet Potato Vegetable Chilli

Overview

A hearty bean and vegetable chilli built around black beans, sweet potato, and mixed vegetables. This dish combines fibre, plant protein, and warming spices to support steady energy and satiety. Ideal for batch cooking and adaptable to different dietary preferences.

Ingredients (4–6 servings)

Base

2 tbsp (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced

Vegetables

1 medium sweet potato, grated or finely diced
1 carrot, grated
½ courgette (zucchini), grated
1 red bell pepper, diced

Protein & sauce

2 × 400 g cans black beans, drained and rinsed
3 tbsp (45 ml) tomato purée
250 ml (1 cup) vegetable stock

Spices

1 tbsp (15 ml) smoked paprika
1 tbsp (15 ml) ground cumin
1 tbsp (15 ml) ground coriander
Chilli powder or fresh chilli, to taste

Seasoning

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Optional to serve

Fresh coriander (cilantro)
Lime wedges
Plain yoghurt or plant yoghurt
Cooked quinoa or brown rice

Method

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 3–5 minutes.
Stir in garlic and cook briefly until fragrant.
Add sweet potato, carrot, courgette, and bell pepper. Cook for 3–5 minutes, stirring to combine.
Add black beans, tomato purée, stock, and spices. Stir well.
Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook 30–40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender and flavours develop.
Season to taste. Adjust thickness with a splash of water or stock if needed.

Serve warm with optional yoghurt, herbs, lime, or whole grains.

Nutrition

Per serving, recipe serves 4. Each included ingredient is scaled from a named per-100 g composition record by edible grams. Optional ingredients are excluded. Missing analytical values are not treated as zero.

Nutrient	Per serving
Energy	250 kcal
Protein	9.8 g
Carbohydrates	36 g
Sugars	6.1 g
Fibre	12 g
Total fat	8.2 g
Saturated fat	1.2 g
Sodium	380 mg

Sodium excludes salt added to taste.

Key vitamins and minerals

Nutrient	Per serving	Reference intake
Vitamin C	51 mg	57% RDA
Vitamin A	460 µg	51% RDA
Copper	0.39 mg	44% RDA
Vitamin B6	0.38 mg	29% RDA
Phosphorus	200 mg	28% RDA
Manganese	0.63 mg	28% AI
Folate	100 µg	26% RDA
Iron	4.6 mg	26% RDA

Vitamins and minerals supplying at least 15% of an adult reference intake, up to eight. RDA is a recommended dietary allowance; AI is an adequate intake, used where the evidence does not support an RDA. Nutrients below the threshold are still calculated and still count towards a daily total.

Bioactive compounds

No bioactive compound has a defensible quantitative value for this serving. Values reported only as presence, traces or ranges are not summed into a number.

Calculation details

Ingredient	Weight used	Composition record
2 tbsp (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil	27 g	USDA FDC 171413 — Oil, olive, salad or cooking
1 small onion, finely diced	70 g	USDA FDC 170000 — Onions, raw
2 garlic cloves, minced	6 g	USDA FDC 169230 — Garlic, raw
1 medium sweet potato, grated or finely diced	130 g	USDA FDC 168482 — Sweet potato, raw
1 carrot, grated	61 g	USDA FDC 170393 — Carrots, raw
½ courgette (zucchini), grated	98 g	USDA FDC 169291 — Squash, summer, zucchini, includes skin, raw
1 red bell pepper, diced	119 g	USDA FDC 170108 — Peppers, sweet, red, raw
2 × 400 g cans black beans, drained and rinsed (480 g drained)	480 g	USDA FDC 175238 — Beans, black, mature seeds, canned, low sodium
3 tbsp (45 ml) tomato purée	48 g	USDA FDC 170460 — Tomato products, canned, puree, without salt added
250 ml (1 cup) vegetable stock	234 g	USDA FDC 171583 — Soup, vegetable broth, ready to serve
1 tbsp (6.8 g) smoked paprika	6.8 g	USDA FDC 171329 — Spices, paprika
1 tbsp (6 g) ground cumin	6 g	USDA FDC 170923 — Spices, cumin seed
1 tbsp (5 g) ground coriander	5 g	USDA FDC 170922 — Spices, coriander seed

Mainly from:

Energy: 2 × 400 g cans black beans, drained and rinsed (480 g drained), Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Protein: 2 × 400 g cans black beans, drained and rinsed (480 g drained), Sweet Potatoes
Carbohydrates: 2 × 400 g cans black beans, drained and rinsed (480 g drained), Sweet Potatoes
Sugars: Sweet Potatoes, Bell Peppers
Fibre: 2 × 400 g cans black beans, drained and rinsed (480 g drained), Sweet Potatoes
Total fat: Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 2 × 400 g cans black beans, drained and rinsed (480 g drained)
Saturated fat: Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 2 × 400 g cans black beans, drained and rinsed (480 g drained)
Sodium: 250 ml (1 cup) vegetable stock, 2 × 400 g cans black beans, drained and rinsed (480 g drained)

Assumptions and exclusions:

2 tbsp (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil: USDA SR Legacy FDC 171413 food_portion: 1 tablespoon = 13.5 g
1 small onion, finely diced: USDA SR Legacy FDC 170000 food_portion: 1 small = 70 g
2 garlic cloves, minced: USDA SR Legacy FDC 169230 food_portion: 1 clove = 3 g
1 medium sweet potato, grated or finely diced: USDA SR Legacy FDC 168482 food_portion: 1 sweetpotato, 5" long = 130 g
1 carrot, grated: USDA SR Legacy FDC 170393 food_portion: 1 medium = 61 g
½ courgette (zucchini), grated: USDA SR Legacy FDC 169291 food_portion: 1 medium = 196 g; half = 98 g
1 red bell pepper, diced: USDA SR Legacy FDC 170108 food_portion: 1 medium = 119 g
2 × 400 g cans black beans, drained and rinsed (480 g drained): a standard 400 g can declares 240 g drained weight; 2 cans = 480 g
3 tbsp (45 ml) tomato purée: USDA SR Legacy FDC 170460 food_portion: 1 cup = 250 g, i.e. 1.057 g/ml; 45 ml = 47.6 g.
250 ml (1 cup) vegetable stock: USDA SR Legacy FDC 171583 food_portion: 1 cup = 221 g, i.e. 0.934 g/ml; 250 ml = 233.5 g.
1 tbsp (6.8 g) smoked paprika: USDA SR Legacy FDC 171329 food_portion: 1 tbsp = 6.8 g
1 tbsp (6 g) ground cumin: USDA SR Legacy FDC 170923 food_portion: 1 tbsp, whole = 6 g
1 tbsp (5 g) ground coriander: USDA SR Legacy FDC 170922 food_portion: 1 tbsp = 5 g
2 × 400 g cans black beans, drained and rinsed (480 g drained): The Black Beans food page records dry beans at 341 kcal per 100 g, which cannot be applied to canned drained weight.
chilli powder or fresh chilli, to taste — added to taste, no stated quantity
salt and black pepper, to taste — added to taste, so it is not part of an exact sodium total
to serve (optional): coriander, lime, yoghurt, cooked quinoa or brown rice — optional accompaniments; a portion of cooked grain would add roughly 200 kcal per serving
Four servings is used because the page's original nutrition note stated "based on 4 servings"; the ingredient heading says 4–6.

These are figures for the chilli alone. Grains, yoghurt and other accompaniments add energy and carbohydrate that they do not include. Sodium depends heavily on the canned beans and stock used; low-sodium beans are assumed here.

Extra Guidance

Refrigerates well for up to 3 days.
Freezes successfully for future meals.
Flavour deepens after resting, making it ideal for batch preparation.

Brain Health Notes

Black beans are high in plant protein (~8 g per 100 g cooked) and provide fibre that feeds gut bacteria; fibre fermentation produces short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) associated with gut health. Beans also supply folate and minerals.
Sweet potato and carrots provide beta-carotene and fibre studied for antioxidant and vascular effects.
Bell peppers and tomatoes contribute vitamin C and carotenoids.
Extra virgin olive oil contributes monounsaturated fats and polyphenols associated with cardiovascular and brain health.
Whole grains (quinoa or brown rice) provide slow-digesting carbohydrates and fibre.