Perfect Vegan Chili
I love chili. But not with meat. And not too spicy. But with flavor. And the texture just needs to be right. What can I say, I know what I like?!
Creating the perfect vegan chili was surprisingly hard to do with all of these criteria.
But this is the perfect recipe for me. Hope you like it!
Note: this recipe can be made either with canned beans or with soaked beans, the method varies depending on which you choose.
Ingredients
- 1/2 onion, roughly chopped
- 1 carrot sliced
- 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp. chili powder
- 1 Tbsp. cumin
- 1/4 tsp. chipotle powder (this is for a tame palate; add more if you like it spicy)
- 2 large or 4 small red potatoes, cubed
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- ~ 2 C tomato sauce
- 1 heaping tsp. tomato paste
- 1 tsp. brown sugar
- 1 tsp. oregano
- 3-4 sliced mushrooms
- 1/2 of a large, or 1 small zucchini, chopped
- 1 C dried beans, soaked overnight, or 1 C canned beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 C quinoa, uncooked
- 1/4 – 1/2 C water
- salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Heat a dutch oven to medium.
- Cook the carrot and onion in a couple tablespoons of oil for about 10 minutes, until they soften, but don’t let them brown.
- Add the garlic, chili powders and cumin, stirring constantly as you cook for about one minute.
- Stir in the potatoes, bell pepper, tomato sauce and paste, brown sugar and oregano.
- If using soaked beans, add them now with 1/4-1/2 C of the soaking liquid.
- Simmer, partially covered, for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the zucchini, mushrooms and quinoa.
- If using canned beans, add them now with about a 1/4 C water
- Simmer uncovered about 20 minutes more. (if the chili looks to be drying out or is getting too thick, add a few tablespoons more water while it cooks)
- Season with salt and pepper.
