Are you looking for a new, exciting, and incredibly easy weeknight dinner that is both deeply comforting and wonderfully healthy? These amazing, from-scratch Chili Cheese Stuffed Sweet Potatoes are a complete, satisfying, and flavor-packed all-in-one meal that the whole family will absolutely love.
This isn’t just another sweet potato recipe; it’s your guide to a new dinner-time hero. We’ll show you how to create a rich, savory, and perfectly spiced homemade chili, and how to stuff it into a fluffy, tender, and naturally sweet baked sweet potato. Topped with all your favorite classic chili fixings like sour cream and sharp cheddar cheese, this is a wholesome, crowd-pleasing meal that is destined to become a staple in your recipe rotation.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Recipe Overview: The Ultimate All-in-One Meal
What makes these Chili Stuffed Sweet Potatoes so spectacular is the brilliant combination of sweet and savory flavors, and how easy they are to prepare for a busy weeknight. The sweet potato “boat” is cooked until perfectly tender and fluffy. The filling is a quick and easy, from-scratch chili that gets a wonderful depth of flavor from a clever food processor trick that finely chops all the base vegetables in seconds. A scoop of the sweet potato flesh is mixed right into the chili, adding a subtle sweetness and a beautiful, creamy texture. It’s a healthy, satisfying, and complete meal that is as delicious as it is nutritious.
| Metric | Time / Level |
| Total Time | 40 minutes |
| Active Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Difficulty Level | Easy |
| Servings | 4 |
The Essential Ingredients for This Healthy Meal
This recipe uses a handful of fresh, wholesome ingredients and pantry staples to create its signature comforting and savory flavor.
- The Sweet Potatoes: The sweet, tender, and nutritious vessel for our delicious chili. Look for 4 small to medium-sized sweet potatoes that are relatively uniform in shape, which will help them to cook evenly.
- The “Hidden Veggie” Chili:
- The Vegetable Base: This recipe uses a brilliant time-saving trick of pulsing the carrots, garlic, tomato, and onion in a food processor. This not only makes the prep work incredibly fast, but it also creates a rich, flavorful chili base where the vegetables “melt” beautifully into the sauce, making it a great option for picky eaters.
- Ground Beef: A pound of lean ground beef provides a rich, savory, and satisfying protein. You can also use ground turkey or chicken.
- The Spices: A simple but classic chili spice blend of ground cumin, dried oregano, and a pinch of cayenne pepper provides a wonderful, warm, and smoky flavor.
Step-by-Step to Perfect Chili Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
This delicious, all-in-one meal comes together in just a few simple stages.
Step 1: Cook the Sweet Potatoes
There are two easy methods for cooking your sweet potatoes until they are perfectly tender.
- The Fast Method (Microwave): Scrub and wash your 4 small sweet potatoes. Poke each potato a few times with a fork. Place them in the microwave and cook on high for about 10 minutes, rotating them halfway through, until they are completely fork-tender.
- The Classic Method (Oven): Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork and place them on a baking sheet. Bake for 45-60 minutes, until they are very tender. This method yields a slightly sweeter potato with a crispier skin.
Once cooked, set the sweet potatoes aside and keep them warm.
Step 2: Make the Quick and Easy Chili Filling
Step 1: While the potatoes are cooking, prepare your chili. In the bowl of a food processor, add the 2 roughly chopped medium carrots, the 2 cloves of garlic, the 1 chopped plum tomato, and the 1/2 roughly chopped medium onion. Add the 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, the 1 teaspoon of ground cumin, the 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano, the 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon of salt, and a few grinds of black pepper.
Step 2: Pulse the mixture until the vegetables are coarsely chopped.
Step 3: Heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable mixture from the food processor and cook, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes, until the mixture is dry and fragrant.
Step 4: Add 1/4 cup of water to the skillet and cook, scraping up any delicious browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, until the water has evaporated. This will take about 1 minute.
Step 5: Add the 1 pound of ground beef to the skillet. Cook, stirring and breaking it up into smaller chunks with your spoon, for about 4 minutes, until the beef is browned and cooked through. Remove the skillet from the heat.
Step 3: Stuff and Serve
Step 1: Carefully split your warm, cooked sweet potatoes in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to gently scoop out some of the warm, fluffy flesh from the center of each half, leaving a sturdy border.
Step 2: Add the scooped-out sweet potato flesh directly to the skillet with the beef and chili mixture. Stir everything together to combine. This is the secret that adds a wonderful, subtle sweetness to the chili and makes the filling extra creamy.
Step 3: Divide the sweet potato halves among 4 plates. Generously fill each sweet potato “boat” with the hearty beef and potato mixture.
Top each stuffed potato with a generous dollop of cool sour cream, a sprinkle of shredded Cheddar cheese, and some fresh, sliced scallions. Serve immediately.
The Best Hearty & Healthy Chili Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
A quick and easy weeknight meal, this recipe is for chili-cheese stuffed sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes are cooked quickly in the microwave until tender. While they cook, a simple chili is made by sautéing a finely chopped vegetable mixture of carrots, garlic, tomato, and onion with ground beef and spices. Some of the cooked sweet potato flesh is then mixed into the chili, and the entire mixture is generously stuffed back into the potato skins. The dish is finished with classic chili toppings like sour cream, shredded Cheddar cheese, and sliced scallions.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Microwaving, Sautéing, Stuffing
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 4 small sweet potatoes, scrubbed and washed
- 2 medium carrots, roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 plum tomato, chopped
- 1/2 medium onion, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- Sour cream, for serving
- Shredded Cheddar cheese, for serving
- 3 scallions, sliced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Pierce each sweet potato a few times with a fork. Microwave the potatoes for about 10 minutes, rotating them halfway through, until they are fork-tender. Set them aside to keep warm.
- Make the Chili Filling: While the potatoes cook, place the carrots, garlic, tomato, and onion in a food processor. Add the vinegar, cumin, oregano, cayenne, 1 teaspoon of salt, and a few grinds of black pepper. Pulse until the vegetables are coarsely chopped.
- Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable mixture and cook, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes until it becomes dry.
- Add 1/4 cup of water to the skillet and cook for about 1 minute, scraping up any brown bits, until the water evaporates.
- Add the ground beef to the skillet. Cook for about 4 minutes, stirring and breaking it up into smaller chunks, until the beef is browned and cooked through. Remove from the heat.
- Assemble: Split the cooked sweet potatoes in half. Scoop out some of the warm flesh from the center and add it to the beef mixture; stir to combine.
- Divide the potato halves among 4 plates and generously fill each half with the beef and potato mixture.
- Top each with sour cream, shredded Cheddar, and sliced scallions before serving.
Notes
- This is a quick weeknight meal that comes together in under 30 minutes, thanks to time-saving techniques like cooking the sweet potatoes in the microwave and using a food processor for the vegetables.
- Incorporating some of the cooked sweet potato flesh back into the chili filling adds extra creaminess and flavor.
- The toppings are customizable to your preference.
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
This is a fantastic meal-prep recipe for a week of delicious and healthy lunches or dinners.
- Make-Ahead: You can prepare the entire chili filling up to 3 days in advance. Let it cool completely and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. When you are ready to eat, simply cook your sweet potatoes, reheat the chili on the stovetop, and assemble as directed.
- Storage: Store any leftover stuffed sweet potatoes (without the fresh toppings) in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Reheating: You can reheat the stuffed sweet potatoes in the microwave until they are hot, or for a crispier result, you can place them on a baking sheet and reheat them in a 350°F oven for about 15-20 minutes.
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Creative Recipe Variations
- Use a Different Ground Meat: If you’re not a fan of ground beef, this recipe is also absolutely fantastic with an equal amount of lean ground turkey, ground chicken, or even a spicy ground chorizo.
- Add Some Beans: For an even heartier and more classic chili filling, you can stir in one 15-ounce can of drained and rinsed black beans or kidney beans along with the ground beef.
- Make it a Vegetarian Version: For a delicious, hearty vegetarian meal, you can simply omit the ground beef and add one can of your favorite beans (like black beans or pinto beans), along with about 8 ounces of chopped mushrooms, which you can sauté with the other vegetables.
Enjoy The Ultimate All-in-One Dinner!
You’ve just created a truly special dish that is a perfect harmony of wholesome, fresh ingredients and delicious, satisfying flavors. These Chili Stuffed Sweet Potatoes are a testament to the power of a simple, from-scratch meal to bring comfort and joy. It’s a rewarding and deeply satisfying recipe that is sure to become a new family favorite for busy weeknights.
We hope you enjoy every last, perfect, and delicious bite!
If you enjoyed making this recipe, please leave a comment below or share it with a friend who loves a good, easy, and healthy meal!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1: What is the best way to cook sweet potatoes for stuffing?
The microwave, as the recipe suggests, is the absolute fastest method and is perfect for a busy weeknight. However, if you have a little more time, baking the sweet potatoes in the oven will result in a slightly sweeter, more caramelized flavor and a crispier, more delicious skin.
Q2: Can I make the chili filling ahead of time?
Yes, this is a perfect meal-prep recipe! You can prepare the entire chili filling and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This turns the final meal into a very quick, 10-minute assembly job of just cooking the potatoes.
Q3: Can I freeze the chili filling or the finished stuffed sweet potatoes?
The chili filling freezes beautifully on its own! Let it cool completely and store it in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. It is generally not recommended to freeze the finished, stuffed sweet potatoes, as the texture of the cooked potato can sometimes become a bit watery upon thawing.
Q4: What are some other good toppings for a stuffed sweet potato?
A stuffed sweet potato is a fantastic canvas for all sorts of delicious toppings! Besides the classic sour cream, cheddar, and scallions, you could also add some diced avocado, fresh chopped cilantro, some thinly sliced jalapeños for a spicy kick, or even a dollop of guacamole.
Q5: Can I use a regular Russet potato instead of a sweet potato?
Of course! A classic, fluffy Russet potato is a fantastic substitute if you prefer a more traditional, savory flavor. Simply prepare and stuff it in the exact same way.