Fire-roasted tomato, black bean, sweet potato and chicken stew

The smokey flavor of the paprika and the heat from the cayenne pepper and green chilies makes this meal a perfect balance to the sweetness of the sweet potatoes. I highly recommend you use the deep orange sweet potatoes as they are much sweeter. I think you could leave the skins on the potatoes if you use organic ones. This meal comes together so quickly and is great for those times when you need to make something early in the day and reheat it for dinner. This is comfort food at its best!

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 heaping Tbsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
16-24 oz low-sodium or homemade chicken broth
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz can fire-roasted tomatoes with green chiles (Trader Joe's brand is great)
4 cups peeled and diced sweet potatoes, about 1/2 inch dice - about 2 medium (use Garnet if available as they are sweeter)
3 cups shredded chicken (I used a rotisserie chicken) or about 2 cooked chicken breasts shredded
1 large handful of chopped parsley
2 cups of cooked rice or quinoa

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven and brown onion until soft and caramelized. Add paprika, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper and stir well allowing the scent of the spice to come out. It's important to use smoked paprika for this recipe as it gives the entire dish a smokey flavor.

Add the broth, beans, and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Then add your sweet potatoes and simmer until tender, but not mushy. If stew is too thin, mash a few of the sweet potatoes and simmer longer. If it's too thick, add more chicken broth. Add the shredded chicken and parsley and heat until chicken is hot and stew is boiling.

Meanwhile cook quinoa or rice. You can serve stew without the grain, but it tastes great over quinoa. You can add the cooked rice to the stew if you'd like, but don't cook the grains in the stew as it will become too thick.

This stew takes about 30 minutes to make from start to finish. It's an excellent meal to make for the entire family and can be reheated later or a day later. It's a quick and easy meal for those colder nights when you want something hearty and tasty. This recipe is 100% gluten-free and tastes amazing.