This Sweet Potato & Black Bean Stew is the perfect comforting dish to make during this cold weather.
It is so simple to make and extremely inexpensive, costing around £4-£5 for the whole dish. That is roughly £1 a portion!!!
It’s gluten free, vegan and is absolutely packed full of colour, flavour and goodness.
You can always adapt this recipe to use what you have, for example swap the sweet potatoes for butternut squash and the black beans for lentils.
If you try this Sweet Potato & Black Bean Stew let me know!
Leave a comment, rate it and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @healthylivingjames using #healthylivingjames . I absolutely love seeing and sharing your recreations!
Trust me this will become one of your weekly staples during the colder months! Warming, allergy free, tasty and family friendly.
Always make extras as this tastes even better the next day! You can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a couple days or freeze it down to enjoy another day.
This recipe has been featured in a new recipe book for Heart Research UK, if you are able to, a small donation to them would be greatly appreciated. You can get their book here
On Pinterest? Why not save this photo below to your boards so you can come back and try it at another time!
Sweet Potato & Black Bean Stew
gluten free, vegan, dairy free, egg free, refined sugar free
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil/coconut oil
- 2 large garlic cloves, crushed
- 1/2 large red onion, diced
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 heaped tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 pinch chilli flakes
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 2 large sweet potatoes(roughly 800g), peeled and chopped into small cubes
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 2x 400g cans tomatoes
- 2x 400g cans black beans, drained and rinsed
- 400 ml veg stock
- 2-3 handfuls fresh spinach or kale
- salt & pepper
Method
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Firstly peel and chop the sweet potatoes into small cubes and dice the red onion
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Heat a large pot on a medium heat with olive oil, garlic, onion with a pinch of salt & pepper and fry for a couple minutes
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Add all the spices and mix together before adding the sweet potato along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Fry together for a couple minutes making sure to stir
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Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, black beans, veg stock and a pinch of pepper and mix together
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Bring to a boil then reduce to a low heat placing the lid on the pan for 20-25 minutes (until your desired consistency, I like mine fairly thick)
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Add the spinach and stir through, allowing it to wilt before taking off the heat
Tips
Try serving it with a side of quinoa or brown rice.
You can refrigerate this in a sealed container for 2-3 days. It is also suitable for freezing so you have a quick and healthy meal another day.
Love Sweet Potato recipes? Try my Sweet Potato & Chickpea Curry
Make sure to follow me on Instagram @healthylivingjames Facebook @healthylivingjames Twitter @healthylivingJW or Pinterest @healthylivingjw for daily allergy free food inspiration.
47 comments
Hi James.
Oh my goodness!!
I have just tried this recipe and it is delicious. It was so simple to make and the aroma’s in the kitchen smelt amazing.
My partner doesnt eat veg at all and im still trying to get him to embrace the thought of a plant based diet. He tried this and couldnt get over how tasty it was. Thankyou so much for sharing this recipe.
Look forward to trying more of your recipes.
many thanks
samantha x
Aww absolutely LOVE this Samantha!!! Really pleased you both enjoyed it and thank you so much for sharing your feedback 🙂
I followed the recipe exactly and it’s soooo good! I forgot to make the rice so I ended up eating it by itself and I’m glad I did because I had room for seconds. Wondering if it freezes well?
Hey Kara,
Really pleased you enjoyed the recipe and thank you for sharing your feedback!
Yes it freezes well, perfect for a healthy meal another day 🙂
James
Hey,
Tried this out tonight. Not sure where I went wrong but I really struggled with the acidity of mine. I suspect that I was probably too generous with the crushed chilli, that or the tomato puree I used is just too concentrated. I used mostly Tesco ingredients (Tinned tomatoes, puree) and Marigold powder to make my own stock. It would be good to cross check with some of the successful people here as to which products they used.
I’ll give this another go and rate accordingly – thanks for the recipe.
Hey James,
Thank you for leaving your feedback.
Sorry you felt it was a little too acid for you. Not had that feedback so far.
I actually use Tesco myself for the tomatoes and puree and also the same stock. I guess its a very tomato heavy base to this dish and some may find that a little strong but the sweetness of the potato should help to counteract that.
You could add a little honey or maple to help sweeten it if you feel it’s necessary for your taste buds.
Let me know how you get on.
James
Hi there!
I had the same issue with a previous meal and you’re right that’s canned tomatoes from Tesco(the cheapest one as far as I remember!;))))I used passata for this one and it worked out well, really delicious!!!
James that’s another recipe of yours …and another success…^^THANK YOU:)
Hey Mari, so pleased you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for leaving some feedback 🙂
Hi James, I think this was my fault. The tomato paste from Tesco is ‘double concentrated’ and I probably went a bit OTT with it. I’ve had another go and it’s come out really well. Thanks!
Pleased it worked better for you this time James 🙂
Wow cooked this dish tonight, it was absolutely delicious! All three of us loved it, I served it with quinoa, really filling and plenty left over for another day. This is the third recipe of yours we’ve tried and really impressed so far, looking forward to trying more.
Hey Lois,
Oh I am so pleased you all enjoyed it and thank you so much for leaving feedback 🙂
Keep enjoying those recipes!
James
Hey! I’m looking forward to trying this. Have you tried it in a crockpot by chance?
Hey Jacquelyn,
I haven’t actually, I had thought about trying it though as it might work. I just worry about the sweet potato going too soft if cooked for too long. Give it a try though and let me know how you get on 🙂
James
Hi James! I tried this recipe last night and it was so good and fulfilling! My apartment smelled amazing and I could still smell the aroma when I woke up this morning! I am adding this recipe to my list of go to’s!
Hey Amrine,
Yay, so happy you enjoyed it and thank you for sharing your review.
James
Hello there! I was wondering if this could be done in a slow cooker and if so if anybody had suggestions on the cook time?
Hey Melody,
I personally haven’t tried it in a slow cooker. I had been meaning to give it a go at some point though. I wonder if the sweet potato would get overcooked and go mushy. I would start with say low setting for say 7 hours, would love to know how you get on if you try it.
Interested to hear if anyone else has tried it though?
James
SO SO SO good. Thank you James!!
Aww thank you so much Allison 🙂 so pleased you enjoyed it!
I’m just preparing this now, ready for this evening’s meal. Smells divine!
Thank you Sharon, I hope you enjoyed it? 🙂
Hello – Do you use whole canned tomatoes? Thank you.
Hey Kate,
I use 2 cans of tinned chopped tomatoes 🙂 hope that helps.
James
Such a great dish! I’ve made this twice in the last month – once just for my boyfriend and I and another time when cooking for a large crowd (I tripled the recipe and added corn and the flavor still came through very nicely!). I got tons of compliments on this and will definitely be adding it to my regular recipes list 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
LOVE this Sarah!!! Thank you so much for sharing your great review and I am really pleased everyone enjoyed it 🙂
Thank you! I’m going to make right now. Can’t wait!
We are not vegetarian but enjoy eating vegetarian meals twice a week or more. Just made this lovely tasty stew, recommend by my sister, who loves it. My husband and I thought it was great. One for my recipe file thank you , no going to check out some of your other recipes to try.
This is so easy to make and is delicious. I have to admit, I was sceptical as during the simmering the taste of turmeric seemed to overpower the dish a little, however ‘fully cooked’ the flavours are absolutely perfect and I’m so glad I’ve made it! I love this type of dish as I can freeze portions for the days when putting a healthy and nutritious meal together is just not going to happen! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe! P.s. I’m a hungry Horace and I got 6 portions out of this recipe.
Yay so pleased you enjoyed it PeeBee! Thank you so much for sharing your feedback.
James
Aww thank you so much Rosalind! So happy you both enjoyed it 🙂 enjoy all the other recipes.
I put all of the ingredients in a slow cooker and it turned out great! Very tasty and healthy.
Hey Joss, so pleased it worked well for you in your slow cooker! Thanks for sharing 🙂
What a beautiful dish! My 9 month old could not get enough! My picky 3 year old wouldn’t eat the beans and lentils I put in but did love the sauce which is a big thumbs up! I had run out of tomato paste so did not add any, or any chilli and only added a small dash of cayenne pepper so that it was suitable for my little girls. A really lovely tasting dish.
So glad I’ve found your site, will be trying alot more recipes. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Aww thank you for the lovely feedback Patricia, so pleased everyone enjoyed it! Enjoy the rest of my recipes 🙂
Really enjoyed this!
Yay so pleased, thank you for leaving feedback Joi!
I loved the recipe. For my leftovers I plan to freeze for an easy dinner. What would you suggest on the best way to reheat the leftovers?
Hey Maria, so pleased you enjoyed it and thanks for leaving a review! You can either reheat in a pan on a simmer (you may need to add a little bit of water) or use a microwave if you prefer.
I have now made this twice and it’s a fabulous recipe! Thank you! Easily enough for four, so I halved the recipe the second time. First time, as I had so much, I ended up adding the spinach to one half, as per the recipe, then I added mushrooms and red pepper to the other half and topped with mashed potatoes, leeks and vegan cheese to make a sort of vegan cottage pie.
Hey Caroline, love that you enjoyed it and that’s such a great idea with the leftovers, never thought of doing that. I might try it next time so thank you for sharing 🙂
I liked this recipe, but next time i’ll use more vegetables and less potatoes. Thanks!
Just made this today and it turned out great. Very pleased with it and it tastes so good, will definitely be making again.
Yay! So pleased you enjoyed it Cheryl 🙂 thanks for sharing your feedback!