Sweet Potato Chicken Chili

By: Nicole 7 Comments
Posted: 11/06/18 Updated: 10/05/20

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This Sweet Potato Chicken Chili is full of veggies, tender chicken and a super flavorful broth. Healthy and delicious. Comes together in 30 minutes!

For other easy comforting soups, check out this Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup, this Spicy Thai-Style Pumpkin and Butternut Ramen, and this Easy Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Soup.

Sweet Potato Chicken Chili

Confession!

I don’t love chili.

I know it’s basically engraved in our brains and bellies that chili is the be-all and end-all when it comes to inaugural fall foods and game day, but I would much prefer a hot bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup, some hearty Thai ramen or even just a simple bowl of five ingredient butternut squash bisque.

White versions of chili are much more my style since they’re typically packed with beans and veggies, some sort of poultry and are generally lighter. The flavors aren’t as pronounced and heavy as a typical chili, which leaves me plenty of room for seconds. And cornbread. Because chili can’t be consumed without cornbread. With honey butter.

Soo maybe it’s not that I don’t like chili, per se, it’s just beef-based soups aren’t my number one choice when it comes to soups, and why today’s Creamy Corn & Sweet Potato Chicken Chili is so up my alley.

Inspiration for Sweet Potato Chicken Chili

Here, the heavy hand of corn is inspired by my trip with the Kansas Corn Tour (you can read my first post here), where we were fed an obscene amount of corn (In a good way!), both figuratively and physically. While we learned that only 1% of corn harvested in the US is meant for human consumption, we still ate corn in some way, shape or form in almost every meal we shared.

I think these days sweet corn kind of gets a bad rap when it comes to nutrition, but I found out it has the same amount of calories as an apple, and less than a quarter of the sugar. Also, it’s loaded with lutein and zeaxanthin which aid in healthy vision – who knew?!

The last night after we wrapped up our tour, we ate a wonderful meal at a farm-to-table restaurant, where the starter was a show stopping corn chowder. It was super creamy, surprisingly light, and almost didn’t leave me enough room for my perfectly cooked filet that arrived shortly after. Almost.

The soup was the perfect starter, which obviously left me wanting to recreate it at home. Because my intentions were to serve this as a main course as opposed to an appetizer, I wanted my version to be a little bit more filling. I also wanted it feel light at the same time, so a variation on white chicken chili was the perfect compromise.

Ingredients in Sweet Potato Chicken Chili

diced onion and garlic. as most soups do.
sweet potatoes
spices: Cumin, dried oregano and plenty of salt. Crushed red pepper flakes if you don’t have picky kiddos. Cayenne pepper works also!
canned white beans
canned diced green chiles
shredded chicken – from a rotisserie, leftovers, whatever!
chicken stock (low sodium!)
corn

How to make Creamy Corn & Sweet Potato Chicken Chili

Add olive oil to the bottom of a large dutch oven or stock pot. Heat over a medium flame. Throw in onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Sweat for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add garlic, sweet potato, another 1/4 teaspoon salt, cumin and oregano. Sweat another 2-3 minutes until the sweet potatoes begin to soften.
Mix in white beans, green chiles, shredded chicken, remaining salt and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until beans start to soften and butternut squash is fork-tender.
Stir in cream cheese, stir until melted. I like to use a wooden spoon to break it up and help it melt faster.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Don’t forget the toppings!

Each bowl is served with a dollop of sour cream, plenty of shredded pepper jack cheese and chopped cilantro. You could also use shredded cheddar, or even mozzarella if you want to keep the fat low, but still have that cheesy factor. I also love to serve this with a side of cornbread! And obviously, corn chips or saltine crackers are perfect as well.

Totally my kind of chili. And hopefully yours as well.

Substitutions and Tips and Tricks for Recipe Success

Whenever I use white beans in a soup, I like to use a potato masher or fork to break them up a little bit before adding them in. Not only does it add an element of texture that I love, but it helps to thicken up the soup. Totally up to you though.
Swap out your favorite beans for the white beans – black peans, red beans or pintos will work great.
Use butternut squash in place of sweet potatoes, or just regular potatoes.
The recipe calls for cooked chicken, but I also like to add raw chicken directly to the broth as it simmers. Cooking it this way helps to keep the chicken super tender while also adding flavor to the broth. Basically, I’d just use whatever is easiest or on sale. If you have leftover chicken, awesome. If chicken tenders are on sale, great. Want to grab a rotisserie chicken? Perfect.

Other fall soups and stews

This is a little spicy, a little sweet and irresistibly delicious. Coconut Curry Wonton Soup.
This Creamy Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup is a favorite of ours and perfect when you want something classic and comforting. This Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup is packed with chicken, veggies and a creamy broth. Spicy and addictive!

Pretty things/Tools Used in Today’s Post

Staub Cast Iron French Oven
Similar Soup Bowl
Ikate Napkins

Thank you so much to Kansas Corn for sponsoring this post!

Meet Nicole

Welcome! My lifelong passion for delicious food and cooking has evolved over time into an equal love of showing you an elevated meal can be easy, approachable and most importantly, tasty. Dive in and find something perfect for you and your family!