068 / 75 · Make Once, Eat Again

Chicken Black Bean Sweet Potato Stew

4 stew meals, each with one-quarter of the chicken, beans, sweet potato and broth · Active 35 min · Total 1 hr 35 min

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Chicken thighs, black beans and sweet potato make a pot with several textures and one clear cooking sequence. The sweet potato gets a short head start, then the chicken simmers gently in the tomato broth. Cooked black beans join near the end so they do not spend the entire time breaking apart. Each portion includes all three main ingredients; this is a complete stew rather than a chicken broth waiting for an unlisted side.

Jump to ingredients

Original hand-drawn illustration of chicken black bean sweet potato stew.

Make the root pieces similar

A large wedge of sweet potato can stay hard while a small dice collapses. Cut the peeled roots into roughly three-quarter-inch cubes and keep unusually large pieces out of the pot. Small differences are normal, but a mixture of tiny scraps and big chunks complicates the timing. Start the roots in the tomato broth before adding chicken, then check them with a fork near the end. The dish should have tender pieces that remain recognizable, not a thick sweet-potato puree.

Raw chicken has a separate handling stage

Prepare the vegetables first, then use a separate board for raw chicken or wash and sanitize the board and utensils before using them again. Do not wash raw poultry. Cut the boneless thighs into even pieces so the thickest ones can be checked with a thermometer. A simmering surface does not prove that every piece has reached 165°F/74°C, particularly if the pot was crowded with cold ingredients. Check more than one of the largest pieces.

Know the beans’ starting date

This recipe uses fully cooked unsalted black beans, not dry beans that can soften during a brief stew. Drain and weigh them before adding. If they were cooked on an earlier day, their original storage window still applies; putting them in a new pot does not start a fresh three days. Make freshly cooked beans for planned freezing if the old batch is already near its limit. Stir the pot before dividing it, giving each of four containers a fair share of chicken, beans and roots.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb 5 oz boneless skinless chicken thigh meat, visible excess fat trimmed, cut in 1-inch/2.5 cm pieces (600 g raw)
  • About 2 3/4 cups fully cooked unsalted black beans, drained (480 g)
  • About 2 medium-large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 3/4-inch/2 cm cubes (600 g prepared)
  • 1 can crushed tomatoes with juice (400 g)
  • 1 large onion, chopped (150 g)
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced (6 g)
  • About 3 cups water (700 ml)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil (15 ml/about 13.5 g)
  • 2 teaspoons paprika (4 g)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin (2 g)
  • 3/4 teaspoon fine salt (4.5 g)
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (0.5 g)

Set out

5-liter/about 5-quart saucepan with lid, Knife and separate raw-poultry board or cleaned board, Spoon and ladle, Sieve, Kitchen scale, Measuring jug, Food thermometer, 4 shallow storage containers

Allergens

No major allergen is deliberately included in the stated base; check canned products and spice labels for added allergens. Check labels and substitutions.

Make it

  1. Prepare onion, garlic and sweet potato before handling raw chicken. Heat oil in the saucepan over medium heat and cook onion for 8–10 minutes until softened. Stir in garlic, paprika and cumin for 30 seconds.
  2. Add sweet potato, tomatoes, water, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce to a gentle simmer, partly cover and cook for 10 minutes.
  3. Using clean raw-poultry equipment, cut the chicken evenly and add it carefully to the simmering pot. Stir, return to a gentle simmer and partly cover. Cook for 20–25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sweet potato is tender and several thick chicken pieces reach 165°F/74°C. Continue if necessary; wash and sanitize raw-poultry equipment.
  4. Add the fully cooked drained black beans. Simmer for 5–8 minutes, stirring, until the stew including the beans reaches 165°F/74°C throughout. Add a small amount of water only if the base is catching; it should remain a stew.
  5. Stir well and divide the entire pot into 4 equal meals, sharing chicken pieces and beans fairly. Serve immediately or cool planned later portions promptly as directed.

A useful kitchen skill

Build a stew in stages: roots first, raw chicken with a measured endpoint, then already-cooked beans without resetting their storage clock.

A useful detail

The 95-minute total allows vegetable and chicken preparation, the roots’ head start, full chicken simmer and final bean-heating stage. If beans were cooked earlier, the finished stew inherits their remaining safe storage time.

Another way

  • Use 600 g raw skinless chicken breast instead of thigh, checking the same 165°F/74°C endpoint and revising the estimate; avoid unnecessary extra simmering once tender.
  • Use 480 g freshly cooked unsalted pinto beans instead of black beans, with the same starting-date rule and a revised estimate.

Keep it well

Transfer planned leftovers promptly to shallow containers and refrigerate at 40°F/4°C or below within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F/32°C. Use within 3 days, or sooner if the cooked beans have an earlier use-by limit. Freeze promptly chilled portions at 0°F/−18°C for up to 2 months for quality only if all ingredients still have a safe storage window. Thaw in the refrigerator and reheat the needed portion to 165°F/74°C throughout.