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!
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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)
My husband and I work through a batch of this stuff in an embarrassingly short amount of time. This is an amazing substitute. Thanks so much! =)
Thanks so much for this recipe. I made it over the weekend (although I tamed the spices right down!!) I think it has to be the BEST chilli I have ever made and, to top it off (excuse the pun), the sour cream recipe is absolutely wonderful! Unfortunately I couldn’t get the sour cream mixture smooth, but next time I will double the recipe and see if that helps … if it doesn’t well, what the heck, I still have a wonderful mixture to freeze for next time.
My friend and I made this tonight and we LOVED it! We left out the jalapeno & cayenne since we’re wimps and can’t handle heat, but it was delicious none the less! Such a quick & easy meal to throw together :)
Oh yum! Made this for dinner tonight and it was so good! Two out of three kids (the third one is the pickiest kid ever) enjoyed it too. My husby and I both felt the “sour cream” was much tastier than the real thing. Definitely will be making again!
I am LOVING your blog!! Thank you!! your recipes are amazing and delicious! I am grateful for you and for my sister in law for telling me about your website :) My husband is allergic to cashews, so all these amazing vegan recipes that use cashews to make a creamy base are out for us. Is there anything I can substitute?
Hi, I love this recipe for sour cream. I’ve been trying making vegan non-soy yoghurt, but apart from the yoghurt taste, I can’t get the texture right. My little boy loves yoghurt but he’s having a dairy problem, and I don’t think soy yoghurt is a good alternative. Do you think this sour cream will be a good replacement for the yoghurt? I know it’s not fermented, but I’m talking taste and texture…
Hi, Since I had all ingredients at hand, I just decided to give it a try. The result: the taste is far away from yoghurt (or sour cream, for that matter), but my little boy loved it, ate two large portions of it combined with granola, didn’t complain that it tasted different than his oh so beloved yoghurt… So I have found myself an easy vegan non-soy yoghurt replacement, thanks!
Made this last night. I admit I was a bit sceptical about the cashew cream but it was fab with the chilli. I replaced some of the chilli powder with smoked paprika to give a smoky taste and it was delish. A great winter warmer dish, thank you :)
About how many cups does one recipe yield?
I made this today. Very Good. It’s my lunch for the week.
Thanks.
Hey,
I know this is an old recipe. I just wanted to say I made this recipe with sour cream and all for myself and my dad. It went down a treat with both of us. Thank you so much. Not only did it do us for dinner for 3 days but my dad who is a self proclaimed nut hater loved the sour cream. Admittedly, I didn’t tell him it was made from nuts.
I am a virgin vegan ahving been veggie for17 years and your recipes are a godsend. can I ask how long can you keep vegan sour cream?
Hi Angela.
I’m not technically vegan, but I have gradually reduced the amount of dairy and meat intake I consume on a weekly basis. I prefer to not cook with either most of the time. But, I love comfort foods, of course! I plan to cook this tonight and have my cashews soaking now. I was wondering if this could be done in the crockpot? If so, would I still saute the onions and garlic?
I absolutely love your recipes…I’ve made your Vegan Lunch Bowl and Feel Good Lunch Bowl many, many times! I hope Santa brings me your cookbook this year. :)
Caitlin
this recipe is just delicious! I have never made one of your recipes that i did not enjoy! You can even add some organic ground beef for those not true vegans and this recipe is just great! Easy and delicious! thanks!
We had our first coldish day yesterday after months and months (and months) of heat so I celebrated by making your chili! First I need to say: OH MY!!!! This is THE best chili I’ve ever tasted! My husband, who used to make the chili (with meat) was shocked it was so good and had a second serving! That, my dear, is a real compliment because he is hard to please when it comes to plant-based meals! Thank you so much!
I made your sour cream recipe also (this is the 2nd time) but all I could taste was cashews. I added more apple cider vinegar and lots more lemon juice, but it never got tangy like I was hoping for (and the cashew flavor remained strong). When I tasted it, I remembered having the same problem the 1st time. Do you or any of your many followers have any suggestions?
I also made your lentil & walnut meat wraps last week. Once again, they didn’t disappoint! I had to make it with toasted sunflower seeds as you suggested, because what little bit of walnuts I had weren’t good anymore ;-(. But your suggestion of sunflower seeds was magic and it gave the “meat” an excellent flavor when combined with the lentils, thanks for rescuing our dinner!
I LOVE that your recipes are full of spices / herbs / flavor! So many people are afraid to use them and I find that very sad. My Mother didn’t use very many, but she did use them. Since becoming plant-based, they have become more important. Thank you for all your luscious recipes!
i know im late but could anyone that has tried this recipe let me know how spicy it is? i have a very low spice tolerance so i’m curious…
Leave out jalajalapeño and hot sauce. It is spicy (but I love spicy)
Can you make a this by adding all the ingredients in a slow cooker?
Holy Mother! This was AMAZING. Also, this is the first cream recipe my hubby liked, that I have made. We paired this with cornbread muffins. Thanks for a great recipe!
I’ve got this on my radar to make tonight! I’m still searching for a vegan sour cream that my parents will enjoy, so I’m hoping this will be it. :) And of course we love chili in the QV household! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Does this dish freeze well? Would like to add it to the menu for an upcoming party.
Thanks.
Angela,
I just wanted to say that I made this last weekend and it pleased 2 self proclaimed “Meat-a-tarians” (my hubs and my brother in law). My sister also said “you almost can’t tell there’s no meat”.
It was deeeeclicious!! Thanks for the great recipe!
Jo