Easy Vegan Chili Recipe - From My Bowl (2024)

FAQs

What is vegan chili made of? ›

This Vegan Chili is a moderately-spiced, tomato-y stew loaded with chunks of celery, onion, green bell pepper, and carrot. Spices like ancho chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic, and cayenne pepper add some body to the chili, while kidney beans and pinto beans give a hearty and creamy texture.

Ideally, chili should simmer low and slow. This allows some of the liquid to evaporate and results in a thicker consistency and deeper, more complex flavor as the aromatics and spices release their superpowers.

Chili can be healthy, with qualifiers. The iconic dish—typically made with ground meat, tomatoes, kidney beans, and seasonings—is packed with protein, fiber (thanks, beans!), and iron. This makes chili relatively healthy, provided you don't get too carried away with high-fat toppings like sour cream and cheddar cheese.

It's easy to make, nutritious, and quite tasty. Each two-cup serving is only 330 calories but packs 16 grams of protein and 12 grams of fiber.

If you want more of a smoky flavor, add cumin, Spanish paprika, ancho chili powder, or a combination. If you are looking for more heat, add cayenne, crushed red pepper, or Hungarian paprika. If it's too spicy add a little brown sugar and some sweet paprika.

You can use polenta, arrowroot powder (a gluten-free vegetable root flour), or masa harina as a thickening agent if you don't have cornmeal. In Latin American cooking, chefs use masa harina—a type of cornflour—to make tamales and tortillas.

The good news is there are lots of easy ways to thicken up your chili with ingredients you likely already have in your pantry— flour, cornmeal, pureed beans, cornstarch, or even crushed tortilla chips will help do the job, along with some good old extra simmering time.

Many are quick to point out that if beans were meant to be in chili it would have been called chili con frijoles. It could be easily prepared with local resources like chilis, onions, garlic and fresh locally-grown beef.

Is chili healthier with or without beans? ›

Bring On the Beans

But for health purposes, you don't want to skip them—whether you're using them in place of or in addition to meat. Adding just 1 cup of beans to your recipe adds about 15 grams of protein, up to 15 grams of fiber, plus potassium, folate, and other nutrients.

Stir in Some Beans

Instead, use beans in your healthy chili to add fiber and stretch your dish healthfully and inexpensively. You can use one type of beans, such as kidney beans or black beans, or mix several types for a variety.

Chili without beans, with meat, homemade (1 cup) contains 12.8g total carbs, 8.1g net carbs, 10.6g fat, 16.6g protein, and 206 calories.

Chili Nutrition Facts

While there are so many ways to prepare chili, this is the nutrition information you can expect if you were to order a bowl at a casual restaurant. A 100-gram portion of chili made with meat and beans has 157 calories, 9.8 grams of fat, and 12.6 grams of protein.

Easy No Bean Chili

Ground beef, onions or shallots, and garlic are browned then simmered with tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, fire roasted tomatoes, beef stock, and green chilis, plus herbs, spices, and seasonings for just 20 minutes. If you love classic chili, you will LOVE this easy no bean recipe.

Nalley's Original Vegetarian Chili combines a soy-based protein replacement with plump, pink beans for a delicious, low-fat chili that sacrifices nothing in taste.

Adding up to 2 cups of soy is an excellent alternative and great low carb option – Tofu, edamame, whole soybeans or texturized vegetable protein. Replace beans with up to 1 cup cooked grains for a really good substitute – Quinoa, white rice, brown rice, barley or farro.

This chili is deliciously crafted with black beans, whole grains and plant based meat crumbles for powerful flavor. Each bowl of this vegan chili contains 12 grams of protein, is packed with 30 percent of your daily veggies, and is a good source of fiber.