The Best Vegan Chili
User Reviews
5
1,008 reviews
Excellent
The Best Vegan Chili
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The Best Vegan Chili is a richly spiced stew made with vegetables, beans, and a blend of chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and Mexican oregano. The recipe includes red wine, chipotle peppers in adobo, and cocoa powder for depth of flavor. The chili offers a hearty, smoky, and mildly spicy profile with a thick texture enhanced by optional masa harina.
Description
This vegan chili starts by browning onions to unlock sweetness, then adding garlic, jalapeños, and tomato paste, which caramelizes to add complexity. A mixture of chili spices including chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and oregano contributes warm and aromatic notes. Deglazing with red wine enriches the sauce's flavor while the vegetable broth and beans build the chili’s body and protein content.
Cocoa powder adds a subtle chocolate undertone that deepens the savory components, and chipotle peppers in adobo introduce smokiness and moderate heat. The chili is simmered to develop thickness and meld flavors. Optional masa harina helps thicken the chili further and adds a slight corn flavor.
The chili serves well with toppings like vegan sour cream, diced avocado, shredded vegan cheese, scallions, or quick-pickled red onions for freshness and textural contrast. Controlling the spice level is possible by adjusting the number of jalapeños and chipotle peppers, as well as modifying homemade chili powder ingredients.
Instructions also include tips for quick pickled onions and notes about ingredient substitutions to suit taste or availability.
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Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion diced, large, yellow
- 6 garlic chopped finely, cloves
- 2 jalapeno pepper diced (remove membranes for less heat
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 tablespoons chili powder recipe below), or store-bought ancho chili powder (see Note 1, homemade
- 1 tablespoon cumin ground
- 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano (or 2 teaspoons regular oregano or marjoram) (See Note 2)
- 3/4 cup dry red wine 180 mL; such as Malbec, Syrah or Pinot Noir
- 2 cups vegetable broth 480 mL
- 2 pinto beans drained and rinsed, 15 oz / 425 g can
- 1 Navy beans or other small white beans), drained and rinsed, 15 oz / 425 g can
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (I prefer Dutch process cocoa powder)
- 2 bay leaf
- 1 ½ tablespoons tamari if you have vegan Worcestershire sauce, you can use that, or soy sauce
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo chop the peppers + measure out 1 tablespoon adobo sauce (See Note 3
- 1 (28-ounce/800g) tomatoes crushed by hand (include juices, canned, whole peeled
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt plus more as needed
- black pepper freshly cracked, to taste
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup plus more to finish as needed (See Note 4
- 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice freshly squeezed
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
- 3 tablespoons masa harina optional, Mexican corn flour
- 1 cup cilantro 12 g, leaves and tender stems, chopped
Toppings of choice
- vegan sour cream or diced avocado
- scallion or chopped cilantro
- vegan cheese shredded or vegan queso
- red onion See Note 5, quick pickled
Instructions
- Read all the instructions and notes before getting started, especially about moderating the spiciness level.
- Heat a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, and once it’s shimmering, add the onions and season with a few pinches of salt. Stir frequently and cook the onions until nicely golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. If they start to burn around the edges, stir more frequently and/or add a splash of water.
- Add the garlic, jalapeños, and tomato paste, and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring very frequently, until tomato paste is darker in color. If it starts to dry out, add a splash of water and scrape up any browned bits.
- Stir in the chili powder, cumin, paprika, and oregano and stir vigorously for 30 seconds.
- Pour in the red wine to deglaze the pot, scraping up any browned bits. Simmer rapidly for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the smell of alcohol has cooked off and it's jammy.
- Pour in the vegetable broth, pinto beans, navy beans, cocoa powder, bay leaves, soy sauce, chopped chipotle peppers + adobo sauce, hand-crushed tomatoes + their juices, salt, black pepper to taste, and 1 tablespoon maple syrup. Stir well.
- Bring the chili to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a gentle simmer (this is lowest heat on my small burner). Take care to not boil or too rapidly simmer the chili, as it will break down the beans too much. Cook, stirring every 10 minutes, until thick and velvety and the flavors have melded together, about 1 1/2 hours (or up to 2 hours). Discard the bay leaf.
- Stir in the masa harina, if using. Simmer for 3 minutes, until the texture has further thickened.
- Stir in 1 tablespoon lime juice, the vinegar, and cilantro. Taste and add more lime juice as needed for tanginess and add up to 1 more tablespoon maple syrup for sweetness to balance any bitterness. Season with salt and pepper, as needed.
- Serve with toppings of choice, such as pickled onions, chopped cilantro, sliced scallions, vegan sour cream, avocado, tortilla chips, etc.
Notes
- To reduce spiciness, remove jalapeño seeds and membranes or use only one pepper instead of two.
- Adjust chipotle peppers in adobo to use one pepper and one teaspoon of sauce for milder heat.
- Store-bought chili powder is less spicy; you may want to adjust maple syrup and lime juice for balance accordingly.
- Homemade chili powder recipe uses ancho chili peppers for better flavor and less heat, but can be modified based on heat preference.
- Quick pickled red onions add fresh acidity and can be prepared by soaking thinly sliced onions in hot water with vinegar and sweetener.
Nutrition Information
Show Details
Calories
352kcal
(18%)
Carbohydrates
51g
(17%)
Protein
15g
(30%)
Fat
10g
(15%)
Saturated Fat
2g
(10%)
Polyunsaturated Fat
2g
(12%)
Monounsaturated Fat
6g
(30%)
Sodium
1012mg
(42%)
Potassium
920mg
(20%)
Fiber
15g
(60%)
Sugar
7g
(14%)
Vitamin A
2434IU
(49%)
Vitamin C
14mg
(16%)
Calcium
167mg
(17%)
Iron
6mg
(33%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 6Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 352 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 352kcal | 18% |
| Carbohydrates | 51g | 17% |
| Protein | 15g | 30% |
| Fat | 10g | 15% |
| Saturated Fat | 2g | 10% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 2g | 12% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 6g | 30% |
| Sodium | 1012mg | 42% |
| Potassium | 920mg | 20% |
| Fiber | 15g | 60% |
| Sugar | 7g | 14% |
| Vitamin A | 2434IU | 49% |
| Vitamin C | 14mg | 16% |
| Calcium | 167mg | 17% |
| Iron | 6mg | 33% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
1,008 reviews
Excellent
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