Sweet Potato Bison Chili

Sweet Potato Bison Chili is a delicious spin on traditional chili, made with just the right amount of spice from harissa and sumac.

Here at Dish ‘n’ the Kitchen, we’ve got you covered in the comfort food department! Looking for a great slow roasted short rib recipe? These tasty Blueberry Balsamic Braised Beef Ribs are true comfort food.

Or, how about a big plateful of Buttermilk Brined Crispy Oven Fried Chicken? True comfort food at it’s finest.

Seasonal Abundance on the Farm

I haven’t been ‘home’ in a good long while. I’m thinking of the place I grew up, a mixed farm in central Saskatchewan. Right now I can feel (and smell) the nip in the air and watch the leaves that are falling almost as if I were there.

The tomatoes have been harvested (while still green) in anticipation of first frost and now lay in boxes beneath my mom’s bed. They ripen while she sleeps. Root veggies are always the last to be harvested because they can withstand a bit of frost.

I talked to my brother the other day. He was excited to tell me that he and his wife harvested their first crop of potatoes. The potato bin is filled and overflowing with more than enough to share around the community.

The farmers are working night and day, except during the hours of dew fall, to get their crops off before snow fall.  The earth has given up its seasonal abundance and we are thankful.

Home is Where the Bison Roam

Our mixed family farm used to include cattle with grain farming. There was a time when my Uncle Glenn took a leap of faith and decided to make the switch to bison.

Bison are much easier for aging farmers to take care of, in addition to being low in fat and high in protein. Bison meat is just plain delicious. I count my blessings which include access to good quality farm raised bison, it’s so important to know where your food comes from!

The last time I was home it was cold enough to transport frozen Bison in a cooler for 10 hours. It was still frozen when I placed it in my freezer, where it stayed until the day I remembered to take it out to thaw.

Cold Weather Chili Cravings

When the weather turns cool I get a huge craving for chili. While the pound of ground bison was thawing I made a trip to our local Co-Op. There I found some wonderful sweet potatoes and thought they would be super in the chili. 

My usual chili recipe contains a lot of chili powder and cumin but I had some ‘more interesting’ spices that I wanted to use for this version. Back at home, I searched for chili recipes including sweet potatoes and got quite a few results.

Then I tried to throw harissa and sumac into the search mix and got fewer results. The search eventually revealed a recipe for a North African soup and I thought it would be fun to add those flavours to my Sweet Potato Chili.

How to Make Bison Chili

Begin by sauteing the onions with the spices until they become soft. Then add the minced garlic, red peppers, and the ground bison.

After the bison becomes browned add the tomato paste, peanut butter and chunks of sweet potato.

After about ten minutes on low, dump in the tin of diced tomatoes, sriracha, and lemon juice.

The key is to cook the sweet potatoes until they are just soft, then add the chickpeas at the end. For extra heat, serve with cilantro and some more harissa.

If you make this Bison Chili recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest for my latest recipes. Also, if you do make this recipe, please tag me on Instagram, I’d love to see what you guys are making! Thank you so much for reading my blog.