It’s a sweet and spicy soup with a kick! This Maple Bourbon Sweet Potato Instant Pot Chili is the perfect autumnal vegan and gluten-free family meal.
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For over a year I’ve been seeing the Instant Pot show up on my friend’s blogs and filling up the recipes on Pinterest without knowing exactly what it was. It seemed as though it was some sort of pressure cooker, but I wasn’t sure then why it was getting all the attention.
Now I was incredibly intrigued and having none of those gadgets already in my kitchen (other than a sauté pan) I decided it was worth the investment and I bought myself an Instant Pot.
Since purchasing it several weeks back I have used it nearly daily as a slow cooker, rice cooker, and pressure cooker all with great success. When I started experimenting with chili in the Instant Pot, I knew I had to make something special to share with y’all.
And so, I present this sweet and spicy Maple Bourbon Sweet Potato Instant Pot Chili
How to Make Instant Pot Chili {Video}
Recommended Ingredients & Equipment
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Oil – Any high heat cooking oil will do. I recommend avocado oil.
- Yellow Onion
- Garlic
- Sweet Potatoes – You could also use yams, butternut squash or pumpkin.
- Vegetable Broth
- Spices – You will need chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper.
- Kidney Beans – This recipe calls for two 15 ounce cans of beans. You could also use 1 1/2 cup dried beans.
- Diced Tomatoes – This recipe calls for one 15 ounces can of diced tomatoes. You could substitute with 5-6 fresh tomatoes – about 1 pound.
- Bourbon
- Maple Syrup
- Toppings (optional) – I like to top my chili with fresh cilantro, green onions, and corn tortillas.
Recommended Equipment
While it is not necessary, I do recommend making this recipe with an Instant Pot. My Instant Pot is one of my favorite kitchen gadgets. It is a tool that does the work of a slow cooker, pressure cooker, rice cooker, sautéer, yogurt maker, steamer, and warmer. AND it makes dinner so easy. If you don’t have an instant pot, you can make this recipe over the stovetop.
In addition, you will need a good chef’s knife, cutting board, and basic kitchen utensils. (<<affiliate links)
Check out the full list of my recommended kitchen tools and gadgets.
How to Make Instant Pot Chili
Step One – Sauté the Vegetables
Turn your Instant Pot to sauté, add oil, and let it heat up for 30 seconds. Once the oil is hot, add onions and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent and fragrant. Add garlic and sweet potato, stirring to coat.
Mix the spices together and then added to the vegetables, stirring until they are well coated.
Step Two – Remaining Ingredients
That’s your vegetable broth, beans, tomatoes, maple syrup, and bourbon. Add the ingredients to the soup pot and stir together. Secure the lid on the Instant Pot and set the mode to “soup”.
Set a timer for 15 minutes and you’re done!
Serving and Storing
Serve this chili immediately. Top with fresh cilantro, lime, avocado, and tortilla strips.
Store leftover chili in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen for 2 months. To thaw, place it in the refrigerator the night before. The following day, gently reheat the chili over the stovetop.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can this chili be made without an Instant Pot?
Of course! If you don’t have an instant pot, this chili can be made over the stove in a large soup pot. Once all the ingredients are added, cook for about 20 minutes, until the sweet potato has cooked all the way through.
Can this chili be made in advance?
Sure, this chili can be made in advance and stored. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Or you can freeze the chili for up to 2 months.
More Vegan Chili Recipes
- Pumpkin Chili with Smokey Tempeh
- Best-Ever Classic Vegan Chili
- 3-Bean Vegan Chili
- Chipotle Butternut Squash Chili
Maple Bourbon Instant Pot Chili
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed into 1/2″ pieces
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 (15) ounce cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15) ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1/4 cup bourbon
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- salt and pepper, to taste
- a few fresh springs of cilantro
- 2 green onions, diced
- 3 small corn tortillas, toasted and sliced (optional)
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot to sauté, add oil, and let it heat up for 30 seconds. Once the oil is hot, add onions and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent and fragrant.
- Add garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds.
- Add cubed sweet potatoes, chili powder, cumin, paprika, and cayenne pepper, stirring until vegetables are well coated.
- Add vegetable broth, beans, tomatoes, maple syrup, and bourbon. Secure the lid on the Instant Pot and set the mode to "soup". Set a timer for 15 minutes. Once the timer goes off, lid should release itself. If it doesn't, turn the air valve to "venting" until the pressure has been released. Remove lid and check to make sure the sweet potatoes are tender.
- If using tortillas, lightly oil a cast iron skillet and pan-fry the tortillas on each side for 2-3 minutes until crispy. Remove from heat and let cool before cutting into thin strips.
- Serve with cilantro, green onions, and toasted tortillas.
Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 14-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, founder of My Darling Vegan, and author of the
Sunnie says
Sooo delish – we have tried a lot of vegan chili recipes – my whole family says this is the best!
Shelby says
Sarah!! Made this last night for my vegan fam and it was a win!! It was so easy and quick but the flavor profile was so deep and smoky and amazing!! The best part was being able to increase the ingredient list with servings before I printed it out! Love your style!
alice toth says
Fantastic FLAVOR! Good mix of sweet and spicy. I added a can of black beans and one diced red pepper too, also increased garlic to 5 cloves (because you always measure garlic with your heart!). I decreased the sweet potatoes to 3 cups because I was scared that a “new” ingredient in chili would freak out my family, it’s not what they are use to but my husband and 14 year old son both said this recipe is a KEEPER! Look forward to making it again soon! BRAVO!
Liz says
Absolutely delicious!
Used only one can of beans to add some yellow pepper
Will make again
Janet Dickhout says
Can you recommend a substitution for the bourbon?
Sarah McMinn says
You can just omit it.
Kelly says
I love this recipe. We don’t have bourbon so I use 2 tsp of vanilla. It’s a hit at our house!
Lori says
This recipe looks delicious and I’m planning to try it out this weekend but I would prefer more veggies and was thinking of adding in some yellow pepper and mushrooms. In that case, what recommendations would you make in terms of adjusting the other ingredients (i.e. add more diced tomato, or more liquids, or reduce the beans to one can, etc.)?
Thanks!
Karen says
This recipe was so good!! I did not have bourbon, so I used some apple cinnamon infused vodka… My husband loves sweet potatoes and they are usually just so0so for me, but this chili was so good I wish I would have made a double batch! good thing it’s so easy to make… throw together another pot today! Thanks for the great recipe!
Nicki says
Delicious recipe!!! I added Xanthan gum to make it a bit thicker because mine turned out kind of thin and clear liquid. I also added 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke and one extra can of beans. I didn’t have all kidney beans so I use one can each a kidney, black, black eyed pea‘s. It was amazing!!
Lacey says
Oh, and just to clarify for anyone else who was also a little confused about the timing, you should use the quick release method. Letting it naturally release by itself will cook the sweet potatoes for another 10 minutes-ish and I already thought they were a bit overcooked, just two minutes too much maybe. Personal preference though! Again, this was super tasty and such a great combination of flavors!
Lacey says
Other than it being too spicy for my taste (and I like spicy food! maybe I’m just not used to the cayenne kind of spice), I thought this was great and very nutritious! Any ideas for cooling off the spice would be most appreciated! Thanks for the recipe, Sarah! I’ll make it again, just with less cayenne 😉
Sarah says
Glad you liked it! You could just omit the cayenne if it’s too much for you.
Teri says
Made this tonight! Amazingly delicious! Used aquafaba to sauté – and had to add a bit of broth to keep it firm burning. Totally a keeper recipe!!!
Teri says
This recipe is truly amazing!!! Will be a fav for sure!
George Floyd says
Can this be made without the bourbon? I think the recipe sounds great nut cannot tolerate alcohol.
Sarah says
Yes, it definitely can be made without bourbon.
Nancy says
Wow! Now this is food 🙂
After a bad medical report I decided to jump from veggie hater to vegan. I thought I’ll just hold my nose and live to see the grands grow up. WELL. This was my first vegan meal and IT IS FABULOUS. Many many thanks for this gift.
Katara says
So I got a Mealthy Instant pot and decided to do this recipe for my first try with it. I pretty much stuck with the recipe. I had fresh cilantro to put on top along with some onions and on mine a couple slices of avocado. It was so good. My daughter kept saying it has so much flavor. My granddaughter loved the yams even though she doesn’t like chili. We enjoyed this recipe and I will make it again. Thank you! Katara
Katara says
Forgot to mention we didn’t have bourbon but did have whiskey. I think it really added a lot of flavor.