This easy vegetarian chili recipe is full of rich flavors that even your carnivore friends will appreciate. It’s also a high protein packed meal, healthy, gluten free, dairy free, nutrient rich plant-based chili. What’s not to love?!? It’s also vegan (be careful with the toppings, no cheese or sour cream), vegetarian, low fat and low calorie chili.
This picture doesn’t have the spinach stirred in. Some people choose to leave it out. Personally I love the spinach in there.
I was tasked with providing vegetarian chili for our office Chili Cookoff. I eat a lot of plant-based meals, but when it comes to chili I think of juicy chunks of sirloin or flavorful chicken mixed with beans. Meatless chili? That was a challenge.
My first attempt was to convert our family’s favorite chicken chili recipe into a vegetarian version. It ended up with too much spice and not enough deep, rich flavor.
My next attempt at a vegetarian chili recipe was a combination of several recipes and techniques. It ended up a real winner! With amazing flavor that has complexity that tastes like it’s been cooking for hours (but hasn’t) and made with cabinet staples like canned beans and tomatoes.
How To Make Our Vegetarian Chili Recipe
If using a vegetable broth concentrate like Better Than Boullion, you’ll want to make the broth first. You just need to boil some water and then off the heat stir in the vegetable concentrate.
To give our vegetarian chili recipe depth of flavor we caramelized the tomatoes as a first step, it brings the rich flavor of the tomatoes out.
Warm olive oil or canola oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Drain the juice from the can of tomatoes and reserve for later use. To keep the tomatoes from squirting red juice (think impossible stain) at you, you’ll want to hold the tomato over the pan. With impeccably clean hands (Sara Moulton used to always say that) slowly insert your thumb into the tomato and tear it apart into about 5 pieces.
If the stem end has a hard core attached, remove and discard. Not many of them do, but it’s a nice extra step to remove the ones you see. The tomatoes will break up further as you cook.
Once the tomatoes are added, increase heat to medium-high and add salt and red pepper flakes (optional). Don’t stir the tomatoes. The point of caramelizing the tomatoes is to give your easy vegetarian chili recipe a depth of flavor. So to caramelize you need to let the tomatoes get brown in spots.
Check the bottom of the tomatoes after 5 minutes, if you don’t start seeing browning or light black spots then turn up the heat a bit.
At this point you can stir the tomatoes every couple of minutes to caramelize them on all sides, this will take about another 10 minutes. This will be plenty of time to have developed the tomato flavors.
Then push the tomatoes to the side of the pan. Now you will bloom the spices for 30 seconds.
Turn down the heat to medium. Add more oil to the pan along with spices and minced garlic, stir. This enhances the spice flavors.
If you decide to use chili peppers, the darker green pepper on the left is a poblano and the lighter green on the right are cubanelles which are milder in flavor.
After 30 seconds add the onion, chili peppers if using them, salt, pepper flakes and ¼ cup water. It’s important to keep salting throughout the cooking process. The water is to keep the vegetables from burning.
Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add vegetable broth, reserved tomato juice and salt if needed and simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes to bring out more flavor.
Just before serving, stir in the spinach.
Leave out bowls with your favorite toppings.
The Best Toppings For Our Easy Vegetarian Chili Recipe
Sliced almonds are great and will get people talking. It’s a little unorthodox, the almonds add a crunch and different flavor element that people aren’t used to, they make a surprisingly great addition.
And of course the cast of usual chili toppings like cheddar cheese or pepper jack cheese, sour cream, avocados (cut just before serving, or see our guacamole recipe for tricks to keep the avocados from browning), fresh sliced jalapenos or jarred pickled jalapenos, sliced green onions, chips and freshly cut lime wedges.
Choose as few or as many toppings as you like. Putting them in individual bowls makes it easy to pass the toppings.
What To Serve With Our Easy Vegetarian Chili Recipe
Corn bread is my favorite. You can cut the corn bread in wedges and serve with butter and honey. Or some people will choose to crumble it on top of their vegetarian chili.
Of course a fresh green salad always goes well with chili or soup.
Time Savers For Vegetarian Chili
This is a make ahead recipe that tastes better a day or two after you’ve made it. A great dinner to make on Sunday and serve for Monday or Tuesday dinner.
Meal prep by dicing the onions, mincing the garlic and chopping the poblano peppers if using them.
Making Vegetarian Chili In The Crockpot or Slow Cooker
No problem. You can skip the step of caramelizing the tomatoes but you will lose some depth of flavor. So either caramelize the tomatoes like the recipe says, place in the crockpot or slow cooker crock and add the other ingredients, minus the spinach and the toppings.
Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
When ready to eat, stir in the spinach and serve.
Substitutions For Our Easy Vegetarian Chili Recipe
Cannellini Beans – Great Northern beans are an easy substitute, I can’t tell the difference between them.
Whole Canned Tomatoes – You can used diced tomatoes if you like. I really like the texture and the look of the torn whole tomatoes.
Hot Pepper Flakes – these are optional and add just the right amount of heat, but leave them out if you have people that really don’t like any spiciness to their chili.
Fresh Baby Spinach – you can substitute shredded kale. Personally I like spinach better and it’s not as tough as kale, but there are kale lovers out there that would say the opposite.
Sour cream – Plain Greek yogurt is a perfectly suitable substitution for the sour cream if using.
How To Store, Freeze and Reheat Our Easy Vegetarian Chili Recipe
Since there’s no meat in this vegetarian chili I keep it up to 4 days in the refrigerator. At that point I’d freeze it.
This vegetarian chili freezes better than some others because I don’t have watery vegetables in it like zucchini which can become mushy.
Once the vegetarian chili has completely cooled, use a ladle to scoop it into freezer bags. Depending on the size of your household you’ll want to store in gallon size bags for large portions or quart size bags for individual ones. I always make a couple of smaller individual portions for lunch options or for times when you are the only one home for dinner.
Lay the bags flat in the freezer for optimal storage space. I usually lay the bags flat on a baking tray in the freezer. Once the bags of chili have frozen, then I remove the baking tray. Remember to use a permanent marker to label the bags with contents and date frozen.
See our post on How To Freeze Chilis and Soups for more detailed steps.
Defrost frozen bags of chili in the refrigerator overnight and then reheat in a saucepan or microwave. If you don’t have time to defrost, then pull the bag directly from the freezer. Put it in the microwave for about a minute on high to get the chili to break up.
Then transfer to a pot over low heat.
How To Use Leftover Chili
OK, a hotdog won’t be eaten by a vegetarian, BUT, if you have carnivores in the household they will gobble up chili covered hotdogs! Or buy the vegetarian type hotdog, I’ve never had one so I can’t speak to the flavor.
I also like quinoa burgers and will top them with leftover chili.
On The Go Vegetarian Chili
There is of course always the plastic or glass containers that we use for storage and can be microwaved once we get to our destination. Or heat the chili and transport in a thermos.
Or make a sandwich, yes I said sandwich. If you use an enclosed bread vessel like pita bread, drain most of the liquid from the chili, you can make a pita chili pocket. Yum!
Easy Vegetarian Chili Recipe
Our easy vegetarian chili recipe has a rich amazing flavor, packed with protein and fast enough for a weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
- 28 ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes drained
- 4 Tablespoons olive oil, divided or canola oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes plus a pinch, divided optional
- 1 1/4 Tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 medium poblano chilis, optional diced
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup vegetable broth if you like a soupier chili add 2 cups
- 30 ounces cannellini beans usually two cans
- 10 ounces fresh baby spinach, optional
Toppings
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds
- 1 medium green onion sliced
- 1/4 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 1/4 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
Instructions
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If using a vegetable broth concentrate then make the broth now following jar directions. Typically it’s just boiling the right amount of water and stirring the concentrate in until it dissolves.
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Over medium heat add 2 Tablespoons EVOO or canola oil. While the oil heats add the hot pepper flakes and squeeze the whole tomatoes into the pan, breaking them up as much as possible and discarding any tough ends. Reserve the tomato juice for later use in recipe.
Once the tomatoes are in the pan turn up the heat to medium-high. Then don’t stir them, you are trying to caramelize the tomatoes. If after 5 minutes the bottoms aren’t getting brown then turn up the heat. Either way start stirring occasionally and continue to cook for another 10 minutes to bring out more flavor.
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Push the tomatoes to the side of the pan, add 2 more Tablespoons oil, heat for 30 seconds and reduce heat to medium. Add the chili powder, cumin and garlic, stir for about 30 seconds. Immediately add the onion (poblano peppers if using them), teaspoon kosher salt, pinch of red pepper flakes and ¼ cup water to keep them from burning. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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Add vegetable broth, reserved tomato juice, beans and salt if needed, cook for another 15 minutes.
Just before serving add baby spinach.
Top individual bowls with almonds, sour cream, a little olive oil and green onions.
Recipe Notes
See post for ingredient substitutions, time savers, storage, freezer tips and more detailed instructions.
If you only use one cup broth for a thicker chili, then when you reheat leftovers you may need to thin down with additional broth or water.
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I made this for my family of carnivores and they loved it, even without meat
It has a meaty quality to it, so it appeals to vegetarians and carnivores alike. Glad you liked it!
It’s true, quick, easy yet with deep flavors. I love, love, love the helpful hints on the prep as I am known to be a messy cook. Thanks. Great recipe!!
So happy you liked the chili. Even my carnivore family loves this recipe!
I really want to make this chili.. It looks GOOD! But, the list of ingredients does not include broth so I have no idea how much to put in, in spite of the description including pretty exact instructions. Also, in the instructions I see no mention of when to add the 2 cans of beans. How have other people successfully made this without mentioning the lack of key ingredients?
Thanks for the heads up Deborah and sorry for the misinformation. You can use 1-2 cups broth depending on how thick you like your chili. I use one cup. The beans go in a few minutes before the chili is ready. Ugh, I hate when I forget key information like that! I’ve updated the recipe.