Vegetarian Chili Recipe
You’ll Never Miss the Meat with My Recipe
Never be disappointed in this awesome chili just because it’s vegetarian. This dish may not have meat, but it certainly doesn’t lack in flavor and heartiness. A bowl of vegetarian chili is just as filling and comforting as a bowl of my classic beef chili.
The amazing flavor and texture of this chili lies in the perfect combination of several different vegetables, three types of beans and seasoning. It’s a perfect ratio of vegetables and and beans because neither one overpowers the other. The spices can also be customized if you want it more or less spicy, a little more smoky, and of course, more or less salty.
In my vegetable chili, I like using a combination of canned tomatoes and fresh tomatoes. Both ingredients add something special to the overall taste and I love the slight sweetness and freshness from the fresh tomatoes.
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
Vegetables – This is your opportunity to pack in the vegetables. I like to double up on the classics but you can also add vegetables like corn, zucchini, yellow squash, and winter squash (think pumpkin, acorn, or butternut).
Beans – I increase the amount of beans in this recipe for more fiber content and I like to use softer beans. Kidney beans have a tougher exterior so the stand out in the chili more. Make sure to drain the beans but there is no need to rinse them!
Seasoning – I pack in the chili seasoning for the vegetarian version to improve the overall flavor. Be generous with chili powder, cumin, oregano, and paprika. Since there are a lot of acidic ingredients here, sugar balances it well. You can test out different the chili powders like chipotle or ancho. As far as paprika, you can use classic, sweet, or smoked.
Adjust spice – If you want spicier chili, use older jalapeños with more visible veins on the skin. You can also choose to leave the seeds in (that’s where a lot of the heat is). Of course, you can always swap the jalapeños with something spicier like serrano peppers. To make the chili less spicy, choose younger jalapeños with smooth skin and get rid of the seeds. You can add less chili powder too.
How to Make Vegetarian Chili
- Preheat a Dutch oven and add some oil. Sauté the onions, carrots, and celery first until they start to soften. Add peppers, jalapeños, and fresh tomatoes to the pot and cook for a few minutes. You are looking for the veggies to be completely softened before adding other ingredients.
- Make a little well in the middle and add the minced garlic. Let it sauté until fragrant and mix it all together.
- Sprinkle seasonings all over the veggies, mix it well, and sauté for a couple of minutes. Pour in stock, tomato sauce, beans, and canned tomatoes. Add bay leaves and mix everything very well. Taste the chili to make sure you are satisfied with seasoning and adjust if needed!
- Bring the mixture to simmer and lower the heat to low. Cover the pot with a lid but leave a small crack for the steam to escape. Cook for about 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Use a immersion blender and pulse the chili a few times. Don’t blend it completely! You are creating a combination of smooth and chunky textures here for a nice and thick chili in the end.
- Take out the bay leaves and mix in fresh minced cilantro and juice from 1 lime.
More Cooking Variations
Slow Cooker: I like to take the extra step and sauté the vegetables first. So follow the steps to sauté the vegetables in a large pan, on the stove-top, and transfer it all into the slow cooker. Add all remaining ingredients, mix well, and close the lid. Cook chili on LOW setting for about 6 hours or on HIGH setting for about 3 hours.
Instant Pot: Sauté veggies per recipe in the Instant Pot on “sauté” setting until they soften. Mix in stock, beans, and seasoning. Stir everything well. Close the lid and make sure it’s latched, turn the valve to “seal,” and set the pressure cooker to cook on high for 10 minutes. It will take about 10 minutes to build up the pressure before it starts to cook. When it’s done, let it naturally release for 10 minutes and then carefully do a quick release. Make sure to consult your pressure cooker manual for the exact controls. Finish the recipe per recipe card instructions.
How To Freeze Vegetarian Chili?
Chili is a great meal prep and freezer meal recipe:
- Cool chili as quickly as possible. The best way to cool food quickly is to place the pot of chili into a larger container filled with ice and make sure to stir it from time to time as it cools.
- Once it’s cooled, portion it into zip-lock freezer bags, let all the air out, and close it tight. Remember to label and date.
- Lay the bags flat on the cutting board and freeze. Once frozen, it will be easy to stack bags of chili. Freeze for up to 2 months.
- To thaw, take the bag out of the freezer and into the refrigerator to slow-thaw it overnight. Note, place the bag into a large plate to catch condensation liquids.
What Is The Best Ways to Top and Serve Vegetarian Chili?
Toppings: sliced avocado, shredded cheese (substitute vegan if needed), extra squeeze of lime juice, sour cream (substitute vegan if needed), tortilla strips, diced fresh vegetables like: onions, tomatoes, jalapenos, or green onions.
Bread: potato dinner rolls, buttermilk cornbread or jalapeño cornbread. It’s also great with buttermilk biscuits and jalapeño cheddar buttermilk biscuits.
As a Dip: Turn this chili into a dip by serving it with tortilla chips, crackers or veggies!
As a Topping: Serve turkey chili as a topping for nachos, tacos, eggs, baked potatoes and/or fries. Serve it over macaroni or other pasta.
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Vegetarian Chili Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp canola oil
- 1 red onion
- 2 large carrots
- 3 celery ribs
- 2 tomatoes on a vine
- 2 bell peppers
- 1-2 jalapenos
- 6 garlic cloves
- 14.5 oz canned fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 15 oz can pinto beans
- 15 oz can black beans
- 15 oz can northern white beans or cannelini beans
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp chipotle chili powder (more or less according to personal taste)
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 1/2 tsp white granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt more or less to taste
- 2 tbsp fresh minced cilantro
- 1 lime – juice
Instructions
- Prepare ingredients ahead of time: dice the vegetables, measure stock and seasoning, and open all the cans, and drain the juices off the beans.
- Preheat a Dutch oven over medium heat and saute onions, carrots, and celery first until it starts to soften.
- Add peppers, jalapenos, and fresh tomatoes to the pot and cook for a few minutes.
- Make a little well in the middle and add pressed (or minced) garlic. Let it saute until fragrant and mix it all together.
- Sprinkle seasoning over the veggies, mix it well, and saute for a couple of minutes.
- Pour in stock, tomato sauce, beans, and canned tomatoes. Add bay leaves and mix everything very well.
- Bring the mixture to simmer and lower the heat to low. Cover the pot with a lid but leave a small crack for the steam to escape.
- Cook for about 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Take out the bay leaves and mix in fresh minced cilantro and juice from 1 lime.
- Use a immersion blender and pulse the chili a few times. This will blend some of the beans and vegetables for a better, thicker texture. (If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can take out about half the chili, pulse it in a food processor, and return blended chili into the pot with the rest of it.)
Video
Notes
- Storing: store cooled cooked chili in the refrigerator, in the pot with an air-tight lid or in an air-tight food storage container for 4-5 days.
- Freezing: Cool chili to room temperature and portion it into zip-lock freezer bags, let all the air out, and close it tight. Lay the bags flat on the cutting board and freeze. Once frozen, it will be easy to stack bags of chili. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight or for up to 24 hours.
- Spiciness: make it more spicy with older jalapenos or spicier chili peppers. Make it less spicy with younger jalapenos and discarding the seeds.
Nutrition
More of the Best Easy Chili Recipes
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in January, 2020.
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Categories:
Chili Recipes, Dinner Recipes, Fall Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Slow Cooker Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Hi there, just confirming the nutritional outline is per serving correct?
Yes, per serving so 8 equal servings would be 262 calories so if you make them larger or smaller it would change.
I’ve made this recipe in the past and it was very good! I just can’t remember how big a portion size was. The recipe says eight servings but is that one cup serving or is that more?
Hi Clare, you’ll need to divide it into equal portions to get the 8 servings. Unfortunately, my nutriential calculator doesn’t provide exact serving sizes.
Loved this! Made it for a party it was a hit.
I love hearing that! So glad everyone liked it!
Will this work in a slow cooker?
Yes, if you scroll up to the Recipe FAQs I go over how to cook it in the slow cooker. 🙂
5/5 – Great flavor and I loved the added step of blending it to thicken. I’ve tried meatless chili recipes and the past and was hesitant about this, but it’s amazing. Thanks for sharing!
I am so glad you liked it!
I made this today and it was absolutely delicious! The best chili I have ever made.
Wow! Thank you, Julie! 🙂
I’m always looking for solid vegetarian recipes for meatless meals and this one really delivers! So good!
So glad you liked it, Katie!
Made this for dinner tonight, so yummy !! Thank you.
So glad you liked it!