Here’s the best vegan chili recipe that you will find! It’s so easy to make, requires very simple ingredients, cheap, and delicious! Make this on cold winter days to warm yourself up, and serve it with homemade vegan cornbread.
Chili is one of my go-to recipes on cold days when I want a hearty warming meal, but don’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen. It’s also very healthy as it’s packed with plant-based protein since it’s made with 4 types of beans.
I usually make a large pot of this flavorful chili to enjoy for 2 days (I cook for 2, so the amounts that I’m giving for this recipe is enough for 4 portions). It reheats very easily, and it takes just 20 minutes to make!
The Ingredients
To make this vegan chili, you will need:
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Onion, garlic, jalapeno.
- Spices: Cumin, smoked paprika, and hot chili if desired.
- Beans: Use any type of beans that you like/have available. I usually use kidney beans, black beans, cannellini beans, and black-eyed beans.
- A can of chopped tomatoes, or use fresh tomatoes instead. You will also need water (or use vegetable stock for more flavor).
- Oil, salt and pepper.
- Optional: Maple syrup (or agave, or brown sugar), and apple cider vinegar. If you have these on hand, please add them as they add a depth of flavor to the dish.
- And for optional garnish, I like avocado, fresh cilantro leaves, vegan sour cream, and extra jalapeno slices.
How to make a vegan chili
- Heat vegetable oil in a pot, and saute onions until they’re soft and translucent.
- Add diced jalapeno, and garlic and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant.
- Add the spices, followed by the chopped tomatoes then fill half of the empty can (from the chopped tomatoes) with water and add it to the pot.
- Add the beans, maple syrup, and apple cider vinegar (if using).
- Cover the pot with the lid, and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes (simmer and not boil).
- Serve warm! Garnish with sour cream, avocado slices or guacamole, maple cornbread or on its own!
What to serve vegan chili with?
- Homemade maple cornbread (my fav!).
- Quesadillas.
- Sliced avocado or guacamole.
- Nachos!
- Serve it with jacket potatoes as a filling.
- Rice.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Vegan Chili
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1-2 jalapenos deseeded and diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 can black beans
- 1 can cannellini beans
- 1 can kidney beans
- 1 can black-eyed beans
- 1 teaspoon salt add more if desired
- ½ cup vegetable stock or water
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pot, and saute the onions until they're soft and translucent. Add the diced chili, and the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the spices, followed by the rest of the ingredients, and ½ cup of water.
- Simmer the chili for 15 minutes. Have a taste and see if you would like to adjust the seasonings. Garnish with sliced avocado, cilantro leaves, and sliced jalapeno.
Notes:
- You can use any beans that you like. Butter beans also work great in this recipe.
- Use vegetable stock for more flavor, or just water.
- You can add ground hot chili if you like your food really spicy.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Desiree says
This looks unusually watery (and pinker) for some reason… what is it that is making it look so watery, and how would you thicken it up like your other chili recipes? i.e. Your instant pot chili and Wendy’s chili doesn’t look this watery.
Also, couldn’t you cook this vegan recipe in the instant pot too, to save time? Just use the same cooking time as your instant pot chili recipe?
Thanks for posting all the great recipes (especially the ones you did for the instant pot) – there’s a number of vegetarian/vegan ones I saved to try out, and some recipes that have meat in them that I’ll alter by either removing or subbing in faux meat.
I originally came to your site for the orange-ade recipe, and next thing you know, I am looking at the recipes for lemonade, strawberry lemonade, and strawberry daiquiri, and then the slew of instant pot recipes lol. Just like when you go to the store to pick up one or two things quickly, but end up leaving with a cart full of items. Haha. 😉
Little Sunny Kitchen says
Hi Desiree! I’m so glad you had fun browsing recipes here, and I hope you’ll have fun trying them! This chili is a bit more watery than some of my others, somewhere in between a soup and a chili. To make it thicker, just reduce the amount of liquid that you add. You could also try thickening the sauce with a cornstarch slurry. I haven’t made this specific recipe in the pressure cooker, since it’s pretty quick to cook on the stove, but I think it would work. Maybe cook under pressure for a few less minutes since there’s no meat in there, you don’t want the beans to turn to mush!
Chocoviv says
I love chili!