Black bean stew with sweet potatoes is the perfect winter comfort food. Made in one-pot, filling, nutritious and most of all delicious. Irresistible nourish bowl for body and soul.
It doesn't get any better than this gorgeous sweet potato and black bean stew as far as comfort food is concerned.
If you love healthy but exciting food, that is quick and easy to make with only one pot to wash up afterwards this black bean stew recipe is for you!
It's full of bean and veggies goodness that will keep you nourished but most of all is very tasty and comes with kids seal of approval!
If you like the sound of this gorgeous stew, you might want to check out my Ultimate Vegan Chilli recipe too!
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✔️ Why you'll love this recipe
- Quick and easy to make, perfect as a midweek dinner.
- Full of flavour and nutritious.
- Loved by all including kids.
- Super easy to adapt.
- Great for batch cooking and freezing.
- Comfort food at its best.
- Naturally vegan and gluten-free.
- Inexpensive to make.
📝 Ingredients and substitutes
Here is what you need to make my Sweet Potato and Black Bean Stew recipe:
Black Beans - Tinned or jarred black beans together with their liquid. Great source of plant protein that add lots of substance to this simple veggie stew.
You could swap these for any other beans or lentils if you wanted to.
Sweet Potatoes - They go so well with black beans and provide that little bit of sweetness. Most kids I know love sweet potatoes which makes this stew quite a hit!
You could swap it for butternut squash.
Kale - Green goodness is always welcome! You can use any type of kale you want, you could also use chard or spinach.
***Quick Tip*** The finer you chop the kale the less time it will take to cook, so you can add it during the last five minutes of cooking the stew. If using chard or spinach, these can be added at the very last minute as all they need is to wilt down, no lengthy cooking required.
Red Pepper (missing from the ingredients pic above) - Completely optional but I like to add it if I have it. Extra veg is always good!
You can use yellow or even green pepper here instead.
Onion and Garlic - Great flavour base for any stew.
Canned Chopped Tomatoes - Create gorgeous base for the stew.
You could use tomato passata here instead if you prefer smoother sauce.
Tomato Puree - Just some more concentrated tomato flavour.
Herbs & Spices - I used mixture of ground cumin, smoked paprika, ground coriander, bay leaves, dried oregano and pul biber (Aleppo pepper) chilli flakes (or you can use any chilli flakes you've got).
Lime/Lemon Juice to add touch of acidity (optional).
Fresh Coriander (Cilantro) to serve if you want.
🔪 Instructions
Ingredient quantities & detailed instructions to be found in recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Start by preparing all the veg as per recipe card below so that it's ready to go.
Heat up 2 tablespoons of oil in a large lidded pan and fry chopped onions and garlic gently until they start to soften but don't allow them to colour too much (approx. 3 minutes).
Add pieces of pepper and fry for another couple of minutes, just so that pepper loses its rawness.
Next, add tomato puree, bay leaves and all the herbs and spices and mix them in with the veg.
Cook them for a couple of minutes until you can smell the aroma.
Add cubed sweet potatoes, black beans (with their liquid) and chopped tomatoes, give everything a good mix.
Next, fill both tomato tins with water and add it too.
***Quick Tip*** Feel free to crumble a veggie stock cube into the mix if you want to but make sure to be careful when adding extra salt, definitely taste first.
Give it all another good mix, cover (leaving a slight vent) and let it simmer until sweet potatoes are tender (approx. 15-25min), keeping an eye on the stew and giving it an occasional stir.
***Quick Tip*** If you find that your stew is getting a bit dry but potatoes are still not tender enough, feel free to add a splash more of water or stock.
When you stew is almost ready, add chopped up kale, mix it in and let it cook for another few minutes until just tender (if using spinach or chard, you can just let them wilt for a minute and that's it).
Taste your black bean stew and adjust seasoning if needed, perhaps add a squeeze of lime juice or few more chilli flakes. Sprinkle over some fresh coriander (cilantro) if you want and serve.
💭 Pro Tips
Prepping all the veg and getting herbs and spices handy before you start cooking really helps in the process.
Taste and adjust flavours as per your personal preference, you don't have to stick to the amounts provided. They should be more of a guideline rather than a rule.
Feel free to make swaps if you want to. I've provided some ideas in the ingredients section above.
This stew gets even better the following day once all the flavours had a chance to mingle so make it ahead if you can. However, if you can't it is delicious straight away as well.
🥡 Storing
Store: Keep leftover stew in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Reheat: Reheat gently on the hob or in the microwave.
Freeze: Sweet potato and black bean stew can be frozen for up to 3 months and defrosted overnight in the fridge.
I really like and rate these reusable and leakproof freezer bags which are great for soups, stews and sauces.
🍴 Serving Suggestions
I like to serve this black bean stew alongside quinoa and with a dollop of vegan yogurt with a drizzle of harissa. It's heaven.
Oh and let's not forget a touch of greenery, fresh coriander (cilantro) in particular but fresh parsley leaves will be nice as well.
You can also enjoy it with a side of brown rice or even pasta.
Some delicious bread like my no-knead wholemeal bread or soda bread would work lovely too as would fluffy naan bread and chapati.
My kids will never say no to homemade garlic bread with whatever they're eating so that's always a winner too!
❓ FAQ
Ye of course, this recipe is very easy to double you might just need a bigger pot.
You can reheat it easily either in a pan on the hob or in the microwave. You will notice it would have thickened quite a lot so you might need to add a splash of stock or water to get consistency the way you like it.
Yes, this stew is naturally gluten free.
Have you tried my Sweet Potato and Black Bean Stew?
Please consider giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in recipe card below and share your views or tips in the comments.
😋 More One-Pot Comfort Food Recipes
One Pot Bean and Sausage Pasta (Vegan)
Vegan Sausage Casserole with Lentils and Cavolo Nero
Celeriac and Chard Vegetable Curry
📋 Recipe
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Stew
Ingredients
- 2 400g tins black beans (with liquid) or 1 x 700g jar of black beans (I love Bold Bean Co.)
- 600 g sweet potatoes peeled and cut into cubes
- 200 g kale leaves only, roughly chopped
- 1 red pepper deseeded and cut into chunks
- 1 large onion peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 large garlic cloves peeled and minced or finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon cold pressed rapeseed oil or olive oil
- 2 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
- 800 ml water or vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 heaped tsp Pul Biber (Aleppo Pepper) chilli flakes or any other chilli flakes
- 1 heaped tablespoon tomato puree
- salt and peppe to taste
- lime/lemon juice to taste
- fresh coriander(cilantro) to serve
Instructions
- Start by preparing all the veg as per above so that it's ready to go.
- Heat up 2 tablespoons of oil in a large lidded pan and fry chopped onions and garlic gently until they start to soften but don't allow them to colour too much (approx. 3 minutes).1 large onion, 3 large garlic cloves, 2 tablespoon cold pressed rapeseed oil or olive oil
- Add pieces of pepper and fry for another couple of minutes, just so that pepper loses its rawness.1 red pepper
- Next, add tomato puree, bay leaves and all the herbs and spices and mix them in with the veg. Cook them for a couple of minutes until you can smell the aroma.1 tablespoon ground cumin, 1 tablespoon ground coriander, 1 tablespoon smoked paprika, 2 bay leaves, 2 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 heaped tablespoon tomato puree, 1 heaped teaspoon Pul Biber (Aleppo Pepper) chilli flakes
- Add cubed sweet potatoes, black beans (with their liquid) and chopped tomatoes, give everything a good mix. Next, fill both tomato tins with water and add it too. ***Quick Tip*** Feel free to crumble a veggie stock cube into the mix if you want to but make sure to be careful when adding extra salt, definitely taste first.Give it all another good mix, cover (leaving a slight vent) and let it simmer until sweet potatoes are tender (approx. 15-25min), keeping an eye on the stew and giving it an occasional stir. ***Quick Tip*** If you find that your stew is getting a bit dry but potatoes are still not tender enough, feel free to add a splash more of water or stock.2 400g tins black beans (with liquid), 600 g sweet potatoes, 2 400g tins of chopped tomatoes, 800 ml water or vegetable stock
- When you stew is almost ready, add chopped up kale, mix it in and let it cook for another few minutes until just tender (if using spinach or chard, you can just let them wilt for a minute and that's it).200 g kale
- Taste your black bean stew and adjust seasoning if needed, perhaps add a squeeze of lime juice or few more chilli flakes. Sprinkle over some fresh coriander (cilantro) if you want and serve.salt and peppe, lime/lemon juice, fresh coriander(cilantro)
Notes
- Nutritional information is approximate, per serving (based on 4 servings) and should be treated as a rough guideline only.
- See Ingredients & Substitutes above for more info.
- Stew can be kept in the fridge for 3-4 days and reheated as needed. It is also freezer friendly.
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