Recipe: Ultimate Vegan Chili

Dinner Recipes, Slow Cooker + Instant Pot Recipes, Soups + Stew Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes

By: Chris Freytag, CPT


This ultimate vegan chili recipe is a quick, delicious weeknight dinner. We call it ‘ultimate’ because of the significant nutrition that is packed into this delicious vegan chili recipe, and I promise nobody will miss the meat.

Whether you’re a vegetarian or not, including plant-based meal options are essential to your overall health. The lentils used in this vegan chili recipe pack the same protein punch that you get with the typical ground beef found in chili, but it’s so heart-healthy!  I also love to change our routine and get some extra veggies into my family’s bellies! This recipe takes only 30 minutes from start to finish.

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    Seasoning Used In My Ultimate Vegan Chili

    Like any good chili recipe, the seasoning is key to making your dinner a hit. You can play around with the been and vegetables, but I recommend sticking as closely as possible to this for the best flavor!

    Minced garlic chili powder, smoked paprika, ground cumin, cayenne pepper; are some classic chili flavors, but you’ll love the smoked paprika if you haven’t tried that before! Adjust this recipe to your heat preference by adding more or less chili powder. 

    The unexpected ingredients are maple syrup, cocoa powder, and wine. The maple syrup is used instead of white sugar to balance out the acidity of the tomato. The cocoa powder and wine are used to add depth and complexity to the chili. You can skip these two ingredients, and you’ll still have a very edible dish, but I feel that food should be more than palatable! 

    The Healthy Ingredients Found In This Vegan Chili Recipe

    You will love how much nutrition is found in this ultimate vegan chili! These ingredients are delicious and make our chili recipe hardy and filling. Combining these foods will give you all the comfort and coziness a warm bowl of homemade chili can provide you.

    Lentils

    I keep finding new ways to use lentils because they have so many health benefits, and they genuinely have the ability to satisfy a hungry appetite because of the high fiber content while being low in fat and calories. Lentils pick up whatever flavors you add to them, so they’re perfect for this vegan chili recipe. The one cup of cooked lentils in this recipe contains 18 grams of protein, and they are gluten-free.

    Beans

    There’s no wrong bean in chili, but I choose to use kidney beans and cannellini beans in this recipe. Beans are one of the best foods you can eat. According to WebMD, all beans provide similar and powerful health benefits. “The antioxidants found in beans can help reduce cell damage caused by free radicals. This can lower your risk of cancer, sagging skin, and other signs of aging.”

    Vegetables

    Cauliflower, carrot, celery, onion, red peppers are all used in this recipe. I lecture on the importance of incorporating a variety of veggies into your diet. The reasons are vast, but some of my favorite reasons found on Harvard are their ability to lower blood pressure, prevent cancer, fix digestive problems, help blood sugar levels.

    If you’re interested in upping your vegetable intake along with learning all about their health benefits, you should join our 28-day Veggie Challenge!

    Alternative Ingredients

    There’s no end to what you can add to vegan chili- it will only get more ultimate! Sometimes I add different beans and chickpeas. I’ve also added shredded zucchini because I had so much of it from my garden, which turned out delicious! I’ve also added cubed sweet potatoes, corn and of course, you can add ground turkey or ground beef. It just wouldn’t be vegan anymore.

    How To Make Ultimate Vegan Chili

    Use a heavy-bottom pot like a dutch oven. I always use my Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven.

    1. Start with olive oil in the bottom of your pot and add all your chopped veggies. I recommend chopping your veggies smaller than usual for this vegan chili. You want everything to be about the same size as the beans you’re using. Cook the vegetables for about four minutes when you start to smell everything.
    2. Add the garlic, spices, and lentils and cook one more minute, making sure not to let the garlic or lentils burn.
    3. Add a splash of wine and give the veggies, lentils, and garlic a good stir, scraping all the nummy bits off the bottom of the pot.
    4. Then add everything else to your pot. Don’t forget to drain and rinse the beans before adding them. Bring the vegan chili to a low boil and then turn it down to a simmer and cover for about 1/2 hour.
    5. After about ten minutes, check on your chili, give it another stir, and use your immersion blender to thicken up the chili sauce.
    6. Put the top back on and let it cook for another 10 minutes. At this time, please give it a taste test and adjust your salt, pepper, and chili powder.  Make sure everything is cooked all the way through.
    7. Turn off the heat and let it rest for a few minutes before serving.

    Tip For How To Thicken the Vegan Chili

    Use an immersion blender a few times after all the ingredients have been added. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can put a few scoops of soup into a food processor or smoothy blender. Doing this will thicken up the soup nicely, making it a bit more creamy in texture.

    Blending some of your soup is a good hack if you are feeding any picky eaters who eat around ‘chunks’ (like my three-year-old!).  Now the sauce has the same goodness and nutrition as a regular spoonful of chili.

    Can I Make Vegan Chili In A Crockpot or Instant Pot?

    Yes, you can. These aren’t my preferred method of cooking the chili, but it can certainly be done if it’s yours!

    For An Instant Pot

    Add all ingredients at the same time, and cook on high pressure for eight minutes. Release the pressure promptly at eight minutes and serve.

    For a Crockpot

    Place all ingredients into the crockpot and cook on low for 4 hours.

    How to Serve UltimateVegan Chili

    A healthy and tasty garnish for your delicious, warm ultimate vegan chili is sliced avocados and chopped green onions or cilantro.

    Although not so healthy, other garnish options are sour cream, shredded cheese, and Fritos.

    Serve with Honey Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins and one of our favorite salads- Pear, Walnut & Gorgonzola Salad.

    More Healthy Soup Recipes

    If you enjoy this chili recipe, you’ll love trying these other healthy soup recipes:

    Healthy White Chicken Chili

    Detox Vegetable Soup

    Hamburger Soup

    Roasted Sweet Potato Soup (vegetarian) 

    Chunky Vegetarian White Bean Soup



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      Total Time: 30 minutes

      Yield: 6 serving(s)

      Ingredients

      • 1 tablespoon olive oil
      • 1 medium sweet onion, diced
      • 1 red pepper, diced
      • 1/3 cup celery, thinly sliced
      • 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
      • 4 teaspoons chili powder
      • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
      • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
      • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
      • 1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
      • 1 can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
      • 1 can fire roasted tomatoes
      • 2 can crushed tomatoes
      • 1 tablespoons tomato paste
      • 1 teaspoon sea salt
      • 1 teaspoon pepper
      • 1 bay leaves
      • 1/4 cup wine
      • 1 cup dry red lentils
      • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
      • 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
      • 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
      • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
      • 2 cups of cauliflower
      • 1 can Cannellini beans, rinsed

      Directions

      1. Start with olive oil in the bottom of your pot and add all your chopped veggies. Cook the vegetables for about four minutes when you start to smell everything.
      2. Add the garlic, spices, and lentils and cook one more minute, making sure not to let the garlic or lentils burn.
      3. Add a splash of wine and give the veggies, lentils, and garlic a good stir, scraping all the nummy bits off the bottom of the pot.
      4. Then add everything else to your pot. Bring the vegan chili to a low boil and then turn it down to a simmer and cover for about 1/2 hour.
      5. After about ten minutes, check on your chili, give it another stir, and use your immersion blender to thicken up the chili sauce.
      6. Put the top back on and let it cook for another 10 minutes. At this time, please give it a taste test and adjust your salt, pepper, and chili powder. Make sure everything is cooked all the way through.
      7. Turn off the heat and let it rest for a few minutes before serving.

      Nutrition Information Per Serving

      Calories: 260

      Protein: 18 gram(s)

      Fat: 9 gram(s)

      Carbohydrates: 20 gram(s)

      This is vegan and gluten-free

      Recipe Cuisine: American

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