Cook just once, and this easy sweet potato prep recipe will give you a delicious, healthy lunch or dinner all week long. Leftovers freeze well too!
Looking for an easy, inexpensive and healthy sweet potato recipe to make a Sunday meal and enjoy all week long?
This high protein vegetarian sweet potato chili has been one of my favorite weeknight lunch or dinner recipes for over a decade. Even non-vegans love it!
The recipe can be dairy-free, vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, Whole 30, Paleo, and oil-free.
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Ingredients for preparing sweet potatoes
What you need for the recipe: black beans, tomatoes, onions, chili powder, orange zest, zucchini or carrots, salt, ground cumin, and one large sweet potato.
If you like hot chilli, you can add hot sauce or crushed red pepper to taste.
I use canned diced tomatoes for quick and easy preparation. Roasted tomatoes are another great option. If you’re using diced tomatoes with no added salt, add a little more salt.
The orange zest adds incredible flavor to the vegetarian meal prep recipe and should not be left out. A small orange yields about a teaspoon of orange zest.
To make orange peel, first wash your orange. Use either a zester or grater to shred the orange peel. Or peel the fruit with a vegetable peeler, then finely dice the peel with a sharp knife.
The sweet potato recipe already has nearly seven grams of protein per cup, and you can make it even higher in protein by adding the optional protein of your choice. While many people add grilled chicken, ground beef, or salmon to chili, I like to keep it vegan by adding a can of chickpeas, pinto beans, or baked tofu.
Leftover black beans? Make black bean brownies
Watch the sweet potato recipe video above
How to Make the Healthy Sweet Potato Recipe
It’s not required, but I like to roast the sweet potato first to increase the sweetness and best flavor. How to cook sweet potatoes.
Peel to taste, then chop or dice the raw or roasted sweet potato. Place all ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low and cook uncovered for about fifteen minutes. The sweet potato and zucchini or carrot should be tender.
Add salt and optionally pepper to taste. Serve the sweet potato recipe immediately or allow to cool before dividing into meal prep containers.
This is a great recipe if you are new to the concept of meal prep or bulk cooking. And it’s a healthy, low-calorie option that everyone can enjoy, whether you’re on a bodybuilding, meatless, plant-based, or weight-loss diet or not.
Tips for storing sweet potato meal prep
After cooking, be sure to let the chili cool before evenly dividing it into Pyrex glass or leak-proof BPA-free plastic containers. I like these containers for meal prep.
You can also store the sweet potato stew on its own. Or choose larger containers and fill halfway with mashed avocado, cooked brown rice, quinoa, low-carb cauliflower rice, stuffed peppers, pasta, lettuce, or roasted broccoli. For extra variety, fill the containers with different sides for each day of the week.
Stored in airtight bowls or meal prep containers, the recipe should keep for up to five days. Keep extra containers in the freezer for an almost instant meal when you don’t have time to cook.
The recipe was inspired by Pinterest and adapted from my Sweet Potato Chili.
- 1 big sweet potato (10 ounces)
- 1 Cup diced onion
- 1 can black beans or beans of your choice
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 Cup water
- 3/4 Cup chopped zucchini or carrots
- 2 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp Orange peel
- 1/2 tsp each: salt and ground cumin
- optional 1 can of chickpeas or cup of cooked protein of your choice
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I love roasting the sweet potato first, although it’s not required. Peel the roasted or raw sweet potato, or skip this step if you like the skin. Chop or dice to desired size. Bring all ingredients to a boil. Then turn the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, until the sweet potato and zucchini or carrots are tender. It should take around 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately. Or let cool, then divide evenly into airtight containers. (I love these meal prep containers.) Store in the fridge for up to five days or freeze for up to two months.View nutritional information
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