Easy vegan chili

An easy vegan chili ready in under one hour.

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.

An easy vegan chili ready in under one hour.

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.

An easy vegan chili ready in under one hour.

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.

An easy vegan chili ready in under one hour.

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, frozen peas, or chopped up fennel. Zucchini is nice too. If you have made our zucchini and cucumber ribbon salad with feta you can use the center of the zucchini in your chili.
  • 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

An easy vegan chili ready in under one hour.

A healthy meal can always use dessert! Check out these vegan recipes

Vegan banana bread (Νηστίσιμο κέικ με μπανάνες)

Chocolate and orange cake

Vegan date cake (Νηστίσιμο γλυκό με χουρμάδες)

We love hearing from you!  If you have made our recipes, or if you have a question or comment, or simply want to say Hi!,  please leave a comment and star rating below! Also be sure to follow along with us, on FacebookInstagram and Pinterest.  We have lots of fun over there.

This post may contain some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.

An easy vegan chili ready in under one hour.
An easy vegan chili ready in under one hour.

Easy Vegan Chili

An easy vegan chili ready in under one hour.
5 from 5 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 407kcal
Author: Mia Kouppa

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!

Notes

Serve your vegan chili over rice or quinoa.  You can also serve it in a hollowed out bread bowl.
If you are not concerned with keeping this chili vegan, you can serve it topped with shredded cheese or sour cream.  You can also choose to use vegan cheese or sour cream if you would like to keep the recipe plant-based.

Nutrition

Calories: 407kcal | Carbohydrates: 67g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Sodium: 1949mg | Potassium: 1519mg | Fiber: 22g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 7000IU | Vitamin C: 67mg | Calcium: 195mg | Iron: 7mg

Thanks for sharing!

2 Comments

  1. Dorothy's New Vintage Kitchen says:

    This looks quite hearty!

    1. miakouppa says:

      Thanks Dorothy! It is a great filling meal. xoxo Helen & Billie

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating