Easy Vegan Chili

EASY VEGAN CHILI 

(Caitlin Shoemaker, From My Bowl) (6-8 servings)

1 small yellow onion, diced

2 green bell peppers, diced

3 ribs celery, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 small carrots, thinly sliced

4 tablespoons ancho chili powder* 

1 tablespoon ground cumin 

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (Optional or less to taste)* 

1/2 teaspoon salt

Two 15-ounce cans kidney beans, drained

Two 15-ounce cans pinto beans, drained 

Two 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes

1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth (or water)

Optional Toppings: green onions, nutritional yeast, vegan sour cream, etc.

Instructions:

• Base Flavor: Warm a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1/3 cup of water and add the onion, celery, and green pepper. Cook until all the water evaporates, stirring occasionally. Once the pot is “dry” and the vegetables start to turn golden brown, deglaze the pot with an additional 1/4 cup of water. This should take around 10 minutes total.

• Spices: Reduce to medium heat and add the garlic, and carrots to the pot along with the chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and optional cayenne pepper. Sauté for an additional 2-3 minutes, adding a small splash of water if things start to stick.

• Simmer: Finally, add the kidney beans, pinto beans, crushed tomatoes, and the vegetable broth to the pot. Bring everything to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to create a simmer. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the lid from the pot and cook uncovered for 5 to 7 additional minutes, until the carrots are tender and the chili reaches your desired thickness. Stir this mixture occasionally, to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.

• Serve: Serve warm, and top as desired. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days and reheated on the stovetop or in the microwave. You can also store this vegan chili in the freezer for up to one month.

Chili Powder: Your chili powder should be pure ancho chili powder for better flavor, not a “blend” of various spices and salt. If you use a spice blend with salt, reduce the salt to 1/4 tsp, adding more as necessary. 

Beans: You can swap out the pinto beans or kidney beans for black beans.

*Ed. Note: Use cayenne and chili powder with caution if you don’t like heat. Start with a small amount.

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This was a Recipe Challenge recipe. Here was my report.

Yesterday I made the Easy Vegan Chili from the website From My Bowl.

This chili is delicious! Here is how I adapted the recipe somewhat, my tips and takeaways.

This makes a LOT of chili, calling for 60 oz of canned beans and 2 large cans of crushed tomatoes. I knew I didn’t want to use two cans of crushed tomatoes, I just used one; and I used one large 40 oz can of light kidney beans which you can find in the Wegmans store brand. I kept the rest of the recipe the same, e.g., amounts of vegetables.

I have never put carrots in chili before but these were great! I would add them at the beginning with the first round of vegetables, because as it was, they were a bit crisper than the other veggies. Of course you can add any vegetable you want to a chili recipe.

Finally, this recipe taught me not to skimp on herbs and spices! It called for more spices than I would ordinarily use but I followed the instruction and the result was delicious. (It also didn’t hurt that this had a lot of time to stew before dinner.) BTW I used regular chili powder, not ancho chili powder. I looked it up and it sounds like ancho chili powder might be quite delicious, slightly smoky, so use it if you can find it—but I always caution people to add gradually and taste. It might be hotter than regular chili powder, especially if it is freshly purchased.

Thumbs up on this one, proving you can never go wrong with chili.

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Caitlin Shoemaker is the photographer, videographer, and recipe developer behind From My Bowl. She says: “I make wholesome, easy-to-follow, and budget-friendly vegan recipes.”

Caitlin went vegan in college after being raised vegetarian. She found too many recipes to be complicated, expensive to make, and impractical. Her goal: to create “Simply Delicious Vegan Food.”

Many of the recipes on this site use oil and other ingredients not on a WFPB diet, but you can get good ideas from them even if you have to adapt somewhat. I reduced the amount of the salt in the recipe by half—as with “heat,” it’s always possible to add more, but not to remove what you’ve added to the recipe.

I know I’ve posted a lot of chili recipes but you can’t have too many, right? I included my standard proviso about cayenne, chilis, and any ingredients containing “heat”—know your tastes, and if you don’t know your tastes, proceed with caution! NOTE: To make this recipe Jumpstart-compliant, just don’t use the vegan sour cream as a garnish.