Vegetarian Chili Recipes

Meatless Chili

I make a meatless chili full of veggies and spices and thick tomato base and serve it over brown rice or in a homemade bread bowl. My family never misses the meat!

By Holly Dawson

Quick and Delicious Black Bean Chili

A tasty black bean chili that doesn't take long to cook.

Ingredients:

• 2 -15 ounce cans black beans
• 2 medium sized yellow onions
• 2 jalapeno chiles, seeded and chopped, added to taste
• 4 medium sized tomatoes, skinned and chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2/3 cups dry sherry
• 2/3 Tbsp. coriander (or cilantro)
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• Top with Monterrey jack cheese

Directions:

Drain and wash black beans and place in pot with a tight fitting lid.

Add the onions, chiles, tomatoes, garlic, sherry, coriander (or cilantro), chili powder, salt, cumin and black pepper to the beans in the pot. Mix well, cover with lid and bring to a gentle boil.

Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Before serving, add the remaining coriander or other seasoning to taste if necessary. Serve with some Monterrey jack cheese on top.

This recipe was adapted from a similar recipe in The Garden of Earthly Delights Cookbook by Shea MacKenzie.

Low-Fat Vegetarian Chili With Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 15-1/2 oz. can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 15 oz. can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 14-1/2 oz. low-sodium tomatoes, undrained and cut up
• 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup chopped green (sweet-optional) pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. snipped fresh basil or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• Dash ground red pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups hot cooked rice

Directions:

In a large saucepan combine kidney beans, great northern beans, undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, green pepper, onion, chili powder, sugar, basil, cumin, salt, ground red pepper, and garlic. Bring to boiling, reduce heat, simmer, covered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Top each serving or chili with 1/2 cup cooked rice. Makes 4 servings

Make-Ahead Tip: Prepare chili. Transfer to refrigerator container, cover, and chill up to 2 days. Reheat and top with rice.

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Amazing Vegetarian Chili

This was a prizewinning entry for a recent Chili Cook-off at my husband's work. As I had to make two separate batches, I had to keep track of the amounts of ingredients I used. Here it is!

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 head of garlic, minced (6-8 cloves or about 1/4 cup)
• 2 medium yellow onions, chopped (3 cups)
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 2 Tbsp. chili powder (I used Hot New Mexico)
• 1 tsp. cayenne
• 1 Tbsp. cumin
• 1 Tbsp. oregano
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. beer (we used a Pale Ale, an amber or wheat would also work)
• 2 habenero peppers, seeds and veins removed and finely minced
• 2 serrano peppers, seeds and veins removed and finely minced
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeds and veins removed and finely minced
• 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and quartered (appx. 2 cups)
• 2 cans crushed tomatoes (appx. 4 cups)
• 3 cans black beans (appx. 6 cups)
• 2 cans kidney beans (appx. 4 cups)
2 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped

Directions

Heat oil in large 5 qt. Dutch Oven or stockpot, add garlic and onions. Saute until translucent over medium heat, do not brown or caramelize. Mix together flour, spices and beer (use enough beer to make a thick paste). Add to pot. Add in minced chili peppers, cans of tomatoes and beans and 1/2 cup of beer (chicken broth or water could be substituted here). Heat mixture to bubbling and then turn down to low, stirring every 15 minutes or so. Be careful to not let the mixture burn. Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (If you use dried beans instead of canned, increase cooking time by at least an hour). Taste and adjust spices, if you like, about halfway through. Do not salt until the end as this will make the beans harden. Just before serving, stir in chopped cilantro.

I would serve it with shredded cheddar, sour cream, more chopped cilantro and tortilla chips.

Notes: This chili isn't too spicy but decreasing or eliminating some of the chili peppers would make it milder.

When working with fresh chili peppers, I wore rubber gloves and scraped the seeds and veins out in a bowl of water using a teaspoon. I have flicked the pepper juice in my eye before and it is very unpleasant.

Meat could be easily added for carnivores but isn't really necessary. If you want meat, I would brown cubes of beef as if you were making beef stew as the first step and add them back in with the beans. Leftover turkey would also be excellent in this chili.

Jess in Portland, OR