An easy vegan chili ready in under one hour
There are some recipes that are so important to have in your collection. A delicious and easy vegan or vegetarian chili is definitely one of them. Keeping a few off the shelf stable ingredients in the pantry means that you can make this easy vegan chili pretty much anytime. The fact that it is ready in under an hour is an added bonus.
Although many people enjoy chili that is loaded with meat, either ground or cubed, a vegan chili can be just as delicious. Loaded with beans and vegetables, this chili is hearty, flavourful, full of texture. We don’t think that you will miss the meat at all.
Whether you are fasting for lent, just trying to increase the amount of plant-based meals in your diet this easy vegan chili is a great recipe for you. Also, if you are trying to keep food costs down, this easy vegan chili is a wonderful option. The ingredients are inexpensive, and many can be bought ahead on sale, and saved until you are ready to use them.
Helpful hints
Can you freeze this easy vegan chili
Yes, you can! You can make a double, triple or even quadruple batch of this chili and freeze the extra portions. The only limitation is the size of your pot, and the size of your freezer.
Best way to freeze chili
We like to portion our chili out into individual portion sizes. Then, we fill freezer safe bags, remove the air and freeze them laying flat. Once frozen, we stand them up and store them that way in the freezer, like books on a shelf! We finds that this saves on freezer space, and makes them easier to find when you want to defrost a portion.
How to defrost frozen chili
We defrost frozen chili by placing it in the refrigerator overnight. For a quick defrost, remove the chili from the container and either use your microwave, or place it over low heat on your stovetop. For this second way you may need to add a bit of water to your pot as it defrosts to prevent the chili from burning.
Easy vegan chili variations
There are many ways that you can adapt your easy vegan chili. Here are a few options:
- Change up the vegetables. Include mushrooms, zucchini, frozen peas, or chopped up fennel
- Change up the beans. Although kidney beans are typical in vegetarian and vegan chili, you can definitely use chickpeas, navy beans or even lentils.
- If you want more of a meat-feel, you can add some crumbled soy protein to your vegan chili.
How to serve your easy vegetarian or vegan chili
If you are limiting your calories and carbs, then a bowl of easy vegan chili, on its own, is great. Otherwise, you can serve it over cooked rice, cooked quinoa or even in a hollowed out bread bowl. Additionally you can serve it with some corn chips.
Toppings for vegetarian chili
If you are not concerned with keeping this easy chili vegan, but still vegetarian, then you can top your chili with the following:
- Sour cream
- Greek yogourt
- Shredded cheese
Other toppings, which do not include dairy are also great. Consider these:
- Finely diced red onion
- Cilantro
- Diced avocado
- Finely diced fresh tomatoes
A healthy meal can always use dessert! Check out these vegan recipes
Vegan banana bread (Νηστίσιμο κέικ με μπανάνες)
Vegan date cake (Νηστίσιμο γλυκό με χουρμάδες)
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Easy Vegan Chili
Ingredients
- 1 medium red onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely diced
- 2 tbsp oil olive oil or vegetable oil; can even use water in place of oil
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp red pepper (chili )flakes
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 30 ounces canned red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 28 ounces canned diced tomatoes
- 15 ounces canned white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups vegetable broth, or water
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
Instructions
- In a large pot, saute the onion and garlic with the oil until softened, for approximately 3—5 minutes. If you are avoiding oil, you can soften the onion and garlic by "sautéing" them in water.1 medium red onion, diced, 3 cloves garlic, finely diced, 2 tbsp oil
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot and cook over medium heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally for approximately 45 minutes. You may need to add more vegetable broth or water if the chili becomes too dry.1 red bell pepper, diced, 2 carrots, diced, 2 stalks celery, diced, 2 tsp chili powder, 2 tsp dried oregano, 2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp red pepper (chili )flakes, 1/4 tsp pepper, 30 ounces canned red kidney beans, drained and rinsed, 28 ounces canned diced tomatoes, 15 ounces canned white kidney beans, drained and rinsed, 2 cups vegetable broth, or water, 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- Serve over cooked rice or quinoa.
- Enjoy!
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