I grew up helping my dad make his “famous” chili for special occasions like Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. If there was a holiday party going down you can be sure his chili was the main event (often paired with his “famous” Caesar salad and garlic bread – his 3 staple recipes that we ate time and time again). A love of chili is definitely in my blood and rarely does a winter go by when I don’t make a couple batches of it. Of course, my versions are free of animal products, but I can promise you they are just as tasty as the originals (you can also find my version of Caesar salad in my cookbook, by the way).
I have a couple chili recipes on the blog already, but this one is my favourite by far. I see recipes as works in progress; I’m always tweaking and improving the flavour and the method each time I make them. A recipe is never the final word even if it feels that way at the time. Isn’t that what makes cooking fun? I think so. Plus, it gives me a chance to try and improve upon the last batch of photos!
This time I served the chili with a homemade vegan sour cream and now I can’t believe that I’ve been eating my chili without it for all this time. It’s like a creamy ribbon of heaven dispersed throughout the bowl, taking a bit of edge off the spices. Where have you been all my life?
I’m always asked about recipes that freeze well and chili is definitely one of them to prepare in bulk and freeze. It’s also packed with protein and fibre so you really don’t need to serve it with much else if you don’t have time. Sometimes just a crusty roll or crackers will do. It’s a meal that leaves you feeling satisfied for hours and hours.
If you are like us and caught in winter’s wrath yet again this week (nooooooo!), I hope this dish brings you the comfort it’s brought us during this snow storm. Stay warm!
My Favourite Vegan Chili
Yield
8 small servings
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Hearty, satisfying, and veggie-packed, this vegan chili will leave you feeling full for hours. I recommend pairing it with a big scoop of my Cashew Sour Cream for the ultimate chili experience.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cups (280 g) diced sweet onion (about 1 medium/large)
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 4 large cloves)
- 2 medium jalapeños (80 g), seeded (if desired) and finely chopped
- 1 cup (115 g) finely chopped celery (about 2 large stalks)*
- 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and diced**
- 1 (28-ounce/796 mL) can diced tomatoes, with juices
- 1 cup (250 mL) low-sodium vegetable broth
- 6 tablespoons (90 mL) tomato paste
- 1 (14-ounce/398 mL) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (14-ounce/398 mL) can pinto or navy beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce (optional)
Toppings:
- Cashew Sour Cream
- Chopped green onions
- Fresh cilantro, chopped
Directions
- In a large pot, sauté the onion and the garlic in the oil over medium heat until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt and stir.
- Add the jalapeños, celery, and bell pepper and sauté for another 5 to 7 minutes or so, until softened.
- Now add the can of diced tomatoes (with the juice), broth, and tomato paste. Stir to combine. Increase heat to medium-high.
- Add the drained and rinsed beans, along with the chili powder, cumin, oregano, and salt. Simmer the mixture, uncovered, until thickened, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add the cayenne and hot sauce to taste, if using. Taste and season with additional salt if desired.
- Serve with Cashew Sour Cream, chopped green onion, and cilantro leaves, if desired.
Tip:
- * I recommend finely chopping the celery so it cooks faster.
- ** Try swapping the raw red pepper for jarred roasted red pepper. It makes the flavour simply out of this world!
- A few of my go-to jarred or canned bean and tomato products are as follows: For canned beans I buy Eden Organics, for canned diced tomatoes I buy Ontario Natural Food Co-op, and for tomato paste I try to buy it in a glass jar whenever possible (Bioitalia is one brand I use). I try to buy glass jars for tomato sauces and pureés too.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
I don’t ever comment on blogs like this but this is SO GOOD i had to say something!! IT WAS AMAZING i am so happy i made it I couldn’t be happier with my first attempt at chili :) thank you!!! I added a few extra sweet colored peppers too, was delicious!
Hey Andrea, I’m thrilled to hear how much you loved it! Thanks for the feedback :)
I loved the way this chili turned out! Thank you for another great recipe, Angela!! Can’t wait to get your cookbook that I pre-ordered :) I put in one jalapeno and chili sauce instead of hot sauce since I didn’t have any. It was the perfect amount of heat for me. Your recipes never disappoint!
Hi there!
I am looking forward to trying this recipe and enjoying it, as I have loved everything else!
I couldn’t find a place to comment so I thought I would add to this thread….I enjoy all of your recipes! They are easy to follow, nourishing (for the mind and body), and extremely tasty! But I was wondering if you had a recipe for a Matzo Ball Soup (with a gluten free option) that you could share with us. I have found variations on other websites, but also turn to this site for any cooking project I take on! Being from the East Coast, and in the midst of all of this snowy weather, I find myself craving a comforting, classic, like that. :0)
Hey Katie! Thanks for your kind words…so happy to hear you are enjoying the blog + recipes!
I don’t have a Matzo ball soup recipe, but I will have to check them out online sometime and see what I can do. :) Take care!
did you ever come up with a recipe?
I made your chill this week and it is soooo amazing with the sour cream!!! Yum!! :)
Made the chili for dinner tonight and my god was it good! Here in Kentucky the weather has been morbid so a vegan lifestyle has been hard to acquire to and I was running out of ideas for warm hearty meals that weren’t already pre-made! Love and light to you and your blog. It is a godsend to vegans with no clue where to start when the unpredictable happens!
You are appreciated.
I just made this wonderful chili I had to substitute jalapenos with chipotle chiles. It was delicious – what a great blend of flavors. with the cold day today, this was the perfect ending – thanks so much for sharing!!
Best chili I ever had and soooo easy. Thanks for making me look like I could cook!
Hi Angela – LOVE your blog/site – I’ve ordered your book :). Question- I made the sour cream but didn’t measure the lemon/vinegar and must have put too much vinegar (never again) how can I mellow out the flavour? I’m out of cashews. Thanks!
Aside from adding more cashews, maybe try thinning it with a bit of unsweetened/unflavoured almond milk?
I made this last night for dinner for the rest of the week, so I haven’t tried it yet (though I have no doubt that it will be delicious), I wanted to mention that cutting the jalapeno peppers burned by hands for hours and hours – as if I had stuck my entire hand on a hot stove. Maybe I’m the last person in the world to not know of this phenomenon, but I definitely won’t forget for the future. No direct skin when dealing with jalapenos – EV.ER.
Mmmmmm… I love chili. I never thought to put celery in it but I bet it’s great. I always add a few teaspoons of cocoa powder and 1/2 a beer to give it depth… don’t know why but it totally works!
Hi Angela! I’ve come across your blog several times (usually following links from Pinterest) while researching alternatives to common dairy products for my daughter who has a dairy allergy. I’m always so excited to find recipes for things like vegan sour cream… and it’s always such a disappointment when they’re made with cashews, because I’m allergic to them! Given my history, and that my daughter already has a food allergy, I’m not going to try her with cashews until she’s older. I understand that cashews are a common base for many dairy-alternative recipes, so I’m wondering – is there another nut that I could soak that might yield similar results? Almonds? Macadamia nuts? Or does this really only work with cashews? I’d really appreciate your input, as cashew-based “dairy” recipes are all over the Internet, not just your blog!
Oh, and as someone who has been steadily moving towards a more plant-based diet over the past few years, I really appreciate all the great recipes on your blog as well! This chili looks delicious!
Hey Carrie,
Yes you certainly can! I made a macadamia cream in this post: http://ohsheglows.com/2012/06/12/layered-raw-taco-salad-for-two/
Thanks for your kind words! I hope you enjoy it :)
That’s wonderful! Thanks for letting me know! I will be embarking on making my own dairy-free creams, etc. in short order!
If macadamias can be used just as easily, I wonder why more cashew-based recipes don’t specify that other nuts can be used… maybe a taste or price difference? In any event, this is very helpful information to have – thank you again!
I would love to make this too, except with have a complete nut allergy in our house. Can this be made with sunflower seeds?
I made this last night for dinner & it was wonderful! My husband adored it & kept saying, “Wife. Seriously. This is so good!” And he is a meat eater! I served it with homemade whole grain corn bread. Thanks for making healthy so yummy!
I’m slowly going to go vegan and, thus, need to start somewhere. I made this chili tonight and it was delicious. Tastes just like the meat chili I grew up on. All the right spices/seasoning. I cut up avocado as a topping, instead of, the sour cream.
So happy to hear this Shelly!
I finally made this last night and it is the most amazing vegan chili I’ve had to date! Thank you Angela for being so awesome at what you do!
Thanks for the feedback Nicole! SO happy to hear you enjoyed it so much!
Is it even possible that someone could eat this as is ? I realized, while putting the first tablespoon of chili powder, that it would be spicy, so I didn’t put the second one. Even then, I was not able to eat it !!! So I made another recipe without any spices, and it’s still pretty hot… By chance I can eat bread and sour cream with it ! Please add a warning in big letters that this one is SPICY ! Thanks :)
Help please! My vegan sour cream sucks! I have made it twice now and both times were a complete failure. It never gets smooth for me. My poor blendtec has developed a hernia on account of my insistent pulsing..all to no avail! (High drama!) I soaked the cashews min 6 hours. I make cashew cream variations all the time and have never had this problem. Is there a trick to this one I’m missing? It’s the darnedest thing ;)
Thank you,
Chunky cashew in Vancouver :)
oh dear!! lol. I would suggest adding more liquid…it sounds like your blender isn’t digging the thick consistency!
I made this chilli this evening and it was absolutely amazing! Thank you so much!
First of all, I have to say how ecstatic I am that I found your wonderful blog. Its amazing and I am raving all about it since I made the No-bake Double Chocolate Torte for my mothers birthday a few days ago. Out-of-this-world FANTASTIC!!! I used hazelnuts and added 1 tablespoon of ground coffee in the Torte, and the Avocado moose was just as great with the natural sweetness from pure maple syrup. Raw and low glycemic, you cant beat that! I love that you are so creative and innovative, and best of all VEGAN :D You totally rock!!!
The one suggestion I want to make about this beautiful chili recipe is that I would like to see you encourage readers to go to the bulk bins and buy dried beans to soak and cook to help others feel more confident in making their own beans from scratch. I recently started doing this a few months ago, and I have to tell you it was a great decision. I can make almost 4 cups of cooked black beans from one cup of dry! It saves me time and money and I never have to worry about what cans are BPA free, which was my main reason for switching to making my own from scratch. The time and $ savings were just bonuses :) It is so simple to soak anyone can do it, and since the cashews are soaked over night it would be just as easy to soak dry beans at the same time as well. Also, if anyone is making this during tomato season it would be so lovely with some fresh heirloom organic tomatoes!(knocks the socks off canned tomatoes!) I cant wait to make a huge batch of this and freeze some! :) And I will be using this sour cream recipe religiously from now on! Cheers :)
Wow, great recipe! Delicious, fast, easy to prepare and I know I will have leftovers for lunch for several days. I am enjoying your blog very much- thank you for all the delicious recipes and the lovely photos!
Made this tonight. Very pleased wih the results. I was pressed for time so I let the cashews soak only for 2 hours. This resulted in a very fine grain in the sour cream, but equally as delicious. I am not a vegan but I wanted to add something vegan to my diet. This will remain a favorite of mine for years. It’s everything that I love in a chili. I am also a sour cream monster, so this was a nicer, healthier alternative to my severe-amounts-of-sour-cream ways.