Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Chicken Chili

The Husband is the Chili King in our house.  He makes an amazing spicy venison chili that I probably request on a weekly basis when it's cold outside.  Honestly, it gets to the point where I know he's thinking "Again? Please God no!".  But right now is the Husband's really busy time with work and that means I'm doing almost all of the cooking.  That's fine by me except I haven't been getting my chili fix.

He doesn't follow an exact recipe - a little this and little that kind of cooking.  So that didn't help me.  I decided to go the route of a chicken chili and if it could be a slow cooker recipe - one that I could pop in the crock pot and not have to worry about it until that evening, that would be even better. I ended up adapting a recipe I found on Ari's Menu to come up with this healthy and delicious chili that the Husband and I were both big fans of.

The sweet potato and orange bell pepper add sweetness that is a nice contrast to the smokiness of the chipotles and cumin.  The beans along with the chicken make this a very hardy chili without feeling overly heavy.  I also enjoyed the textural variety that the shredded chicken gives this chili as opposed to the typical ground or cubed beef.

This was super easy to make - everything goes into the crockpot and the only action that is required is shredding the chicken at the end and dumping it right back in for a few more minutes.  Doesn't get much easier than this.  Bonus - this chili totally tastes like it took a bunch of work and prep!

A couple of notes:
- Spray your slow cooker down with cooking spray to prevent the chili from sticking to the pot and becoming hard to scrub off.
- I suggest serving with sour cream/greek yogurt and cilantro.  Pickled jalapeños or habaneros are a nice touch if you like heat.

Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Chicken Chili

1 large sweet potato, peeled & cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 x 15 oz can black beans, not drained
1 x 15 oz can pinto beans, not drained
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 orange or yellow bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1/2 - 1 jalapeño minced (remove seeds if less heat is desired)
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
generous pinch salt, pepper and garlic powder

Season the chicken with salt and pepper.

Arrange the onions evenly in the bottom of the slow cooker.  Lay the chicken over top. 

Top the chicken with the garlic, bell pepper and jalapeño.

Then place the sweet potatoes on top, followed by beans and tomatoes.

Evenly top the tomatoes with the chipotle peppers, chili powder and cumin.  

Season with additional salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Cook for 6 hours on low.

Before serving, remove chicken breasts and use forks or tongs to shred. Chicken should pull apart very easily. Return chicken to crockpot and stir chili to combine. Leave for 15-20 minutes on the Warm setting and then serve!