Easy Vegan Chili (No Oil!)
This Easy Vegan Chili recipe offers a flavorful and hearty plant-based alternative to traditional chili. It’s WFPB (whole food plant-based) as well, using minimally processed ingredients and no oil! The beans combined with the medley of vegetables creates a robust and well-balanced dish without the need for not only animal-based meat, but meat substitutes, as well! Aromatic spices like cumin, chili powder and paprika enhances the chili’s depth of flavor, and your choice of toppings and garnishes such as vegan cheese, vegan sour cream, fresh vegetables and fresh herbs creates a dish that is hearty, filling, and good for you, too!
Try making this chili for your friends and family, bringing it to a gathering or potluck, and I promise people will be talking about it long after you’ve shared it with them! Typically non-vegan dishes, such as meaty chili recipes, are some of the most fun to make meatless versions of. It’s exciting to experiment with different ingredients and use vegetables and additional spices and flavorings, in order to allow plant-based foods to really shine.
This Vegan Chili is extremely simple to make; by prepping your vegetables, combining everything in a pot on the stove and cooking slowly, you’re able to closely and easily monitor its progress as it’s cooking. This allows you to taste test as it’s coming together and adjust the spices as needed, as well as monitor the textures and consistency and add more water if the chili is too dry or thick.
Onions: Onions are arguably one of the most important components of any chili recipe! In addition to adding their delicious flavor, it’s packed with nutrients and brings to the table its immunity-boosting, antioxidant and cancer-fighting properties.
Garlic Cloves: Garlic brings a pungent, aromatic flavor to this chili. It contains allicin, a compound known for its potential immune-boosting properties, along with manganese, vitamin C, and vitamin B6. If you don’t have fresh garlic on hand, garlic powder can be substituted; ¼ tsp for every clove used, so for this recipe, ¾ tsp of garlic powder!
Zucchini: I chose to incorporate zucchini in this chili recipe, because I’ve tried vegan chilis with zucchini and it’s a wonderful addition! It has a wonderfully soft texture when cooked, and soaks up the flavors that it’s infused with. It’s also a highly nutritious, low calorie vegetable that contains high levels of fiber, vitamins A and C, and potassium.
Carrots: Carrots add to the complex texture of a chili dish such as this one, and provide their own delightful flavor without overpowering the other ingredients. Carrots are rich in beta-carotene, which converts to vitamin A in the body and supports vision, skin health, and immune function.
Black Beans: Black beans are essential for many chili recipes, but can easily be swapped out for another type of bean, or more kidney beans if preferred! They’re rich in nutrients, including protein, fiber, and various vitamins and minerals, including folate, magnesium and iron.
Kidney Beans: Whenever I have vegan chili from a restaurant or already prepared from the grocery store, I’ve noticed they almost always have kidney beans in them; I actually love kidney beans in chili but never added them to my homemade chilis, until now! They’re firmer than black beans and provide a nice texture contrast, as well as being another superfood ingredient.
Tomatoes: Tomatoes are also another necessary ingredient in any traditional chili recipe; for convenience and simplicity, canned tomatoes are called for here. I actually usually have fresh tomatoes on hand more often than canned, and so I can state from experience that fresh tomatoes can easily be replaced in this recipe! I use about 3 tomatoes for one batch of this chili.
Corn: For the corn kernels, I usually use fresh corn that I buy whole ears of at the store. Boiling the ears of corn in water first can soften it to make it easier to cut the kernels off, however, you can skip this step if preferred as the corn kernels will be cooked in the chili. Alternatively, using bagged, frozen corn can be a quicker and simpler option, and allow you to just measure the corn kernels and pour them into the pot with the rest of your chili ingredients.
Tomato Paste: Tomato paste adds a concentrated, more defined tomato flavor, and also helps thicken the broth. Because it is of course tomato-based, it’s rich in lycopene and other antioxidants, offering potential protective effects against oxidative stress and inflammation.
Cumin: In my experience, cumin brings a meaty flavor to plant-based dishes, and I love using it in not only chili recipes, but many of my homemade vegan meat replacement recipes, as well! Cumin is also anti-inflammatory, has antioxidant properties, and promotes healthy digestion, as is the case with many nutritionally potent spices.
Chili Powder: Feel free to pour the chili powder heavily into this recipe! It adds much depth of flavor, and truly transforms this into the hearty, wholesome dish that it is. Chili powder also provides many nutritional benefits as well, such as improving blood circulation, which in turn helps lower cholesterol levels and improves heart health.
Paprika: Paprika lends a subtle smokiness and vibrant color, as well as being rich in vitamin A, vitamin E, and antioxidants such as capsaicin, which supports skin health, immunity, and inflammation reduction.
Salt: When we’re advised to “watch our sodium intake,” the real risk is in processed foods! When the majority of your meals are minimally processed and cooked at home, you rarely need to watch your salt so closely. It is advised to consume no more than about one teaspoon of salt per day, and while the 2 teaspoons of salt that this recipe calls for may seem like a lot to some, it’s actually not at all! This batch makes about 8 servings, which is just ¼ teaspoon of salt per serving! Sometimes I end up adding even more salt, but keep in mind that when this is kept in the refrigerator and reheated later, the ingredients have had even more time to meld together, and the flavor will be even more robust than when this chili is freshly made.
Black Pepper: Black pepper adds a harmonizing element, balancing out the other flavors while providing its own subtle heat and pungent aroma, as well as contributing a deeper smoky flavor, complementing the cumin, chili powder and paprika.
Ingredients
(makes about 8 servings)
2 C water
1 large onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 zucchini, diced
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 carrot, diced
15 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 C corn kernels, fresh or frozen
1 T tomato paste
1 T cumin
1 T chili powder
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
Optional Garnish
Vegan cheese
Vegan sour cream
Tomatoes
Avocado
Fresh cilantro
Instructions
1. In a large pot, add the diced onions and a splash of the 2 cups of water, then sauté over medium heat until translucent. This step helps to release the onions’ natural sweetness and build a flavorful base for the chili.
2. Once the onions are softened, add the minced garlic, diced zucchini, and carrot to the pot. Continue cooking for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are slightly tender. This enhances their flavors and textures while preserving their nutrients.
3. Stir in the drained and rinsed black beans and kidney beans, along with the tomatoes, corn, tomato paste, cumin, chili powder, paprika, salt, and black pepper. Add the rest of the 2 cups of water and stir well to combine.
4. Cover the pot and let the chili simmer for 20-25 minutes, allowing the flavors to meld together and the vegetables to soften further. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking and ensure even cooking.
5. After simmering, taste your chili and adjust the seasoning to your preference if needed. Once the chili reaches your desired consistency and flavor, ladle it into bowls and garnish with your choice of optional toppings, such as vegan cheese, vegan sour cream, fresh tomatoes, avocado or fresh cilantro!
Stefanie is the founder of Life, Veganized, and a passionate vegan and animal advocate. She creates vegan recipes for all palates and resides in Los Angeles with her adorable puggle, Zeus.
