Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Apple Cider Chili
Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Apple Cider Chili is a hearty sweet and savory vegetarian chili, combining a few simple ingredients into a quick, easy, and filling meal.

This is exactly the kind of meal I want to eat every week. It’s hearty, filling, and packed with good-for-you ingredients. It feeds a crowd and leftovers reheat beautifully for a fantastic lunch the next day. Plus it takes just a few minutes to prepare; just a bit of chopping, stirring, and hitting “start” on the slow cooker. It doesn’t get much better.
The secret ingredient in this chili is fresh pressed apple cider, which lends a slightly sweet and rich flavor to the dish. The chili is great on it’s own and it also lends itself well to all kinds of yummy toppings. Elle likes her with extra cheese, sour cream and chips, Andrew and I like ours with plenty of avocado, green onions, and a hefty dose of hot sauce.
If I’m feeding friends and family I also like to sauté up some chicken sausage as an optional topping for the meat-eaters in the crowd. Chopped apple and fresh limes also add brightness and some crunch to the chili. Add some Apple Cornmeal Muffins on the side and you have a yummy fall meal you’ll want to make again and again.

KID-FRIENDLY ADAPTATIONS
1 | Serve this chili with plenty of toppings and allow your child to customize his or her chili to his or her tastes.
2 | Offer corn chips or One-Bowl Apple Cornmeal Muffins for dipping or crumbling on top.
this recipe is…
Dairy FreeGluten FreeNut FreeVeganVegetarian


Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Apple Cider Chili
Ingredients
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 large or 4 small sweet potatoes, scrubbed, peeled, and chopped into 1-inch pieces (about 5-6 cups)
- 1 teaspoon mild chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1-3 teaspoons salt
- 1 15- oz can tomato sauce
- 1 15- oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 15- oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups vegetable , or chicken stock
- 1 cup apple cider
- Juice of 1 lime
Optional Toppings:
- Chopped green onion, cilantro, apple, sliced avocado, sour cream, grated white cheddar cheese, corn chips, pan sautéed chicken sausage, hot sauce.
Equipment
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a 6-quart slow cooker, stirring to combine. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours until the sweet potatoes are tender.
- Add the lime juice, stirring to combine.
- Serve warm by itself or with the toppings of your choice.
Notes
Nutrition Information:
Nutrition disclaimerThis post contains affiliate links.
Served the Sweet Potato Apple Chili Cider with the Apple Cornmeal Muffins and Arugula/Kale salads tonight. It was a hit! Definitely will make an appearance on the dinner table again sometime soon!
Mollie, yay, I’m so happy this was a hit. Your arugula and kale salad sounds like the perfect addition!
Hi Robyn, I made this chili last night along with your one bowl apple-cornmeal muffins and it was absolutely delicious! Even my boyfriend, who usually doesn’t think a meal is complete without meat, loved it (and went back for seconds)! I don’t have a slow cooker so I just sautéed onions and garlic and simmered the sweet potato in the liquid until tender, adding the beans at the end to heat through. It was just a perfect meal for a cozy, rainy fall evening… complete with homemade pumpkin pie for dessert 🙂 Thanks for sharing your healthy, yummy recipes with us! Looking forward to trying the pumpkin pasta sauce!
Emily, thanks for taking the time to write! I’m thrilled to hear the muffins and chili were a success (particularly with the meat-loving boyfriend!). I hope you continue to enjoy the recipes. xxoo
this was delicious…definitely a keeper! i had some carrots and a red pepper that i needed to use up so i added those into the mix. i was away from home most of the day and when i came home the smell was amazing, i could hardly wait! needless to say, i ate dinner a little earlier than normal just so i could try it. 🙂
Shannon, I’m so glad you liked it. Great idea to add extra veggies–carrots and red peppers sound like yummy additions. 🙂
My husband and I love this recipe!! We’ve made it several times for ourselves and also for company. We like to put hard cider in ours sometimes. I’m making it today for the Super Bowl. Absolutely delicious!!Â
Emily, ohhh, I love the idea of adding hard cider. I’ll have to try it that way next time. Thanks for the tip and for leaving a review!