The Most Delicious Vegan Chili Ever
IT’S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR! AKA chili season! As soon as Florida weather begins to cool down, I immediately make a batch of my delicious vegan chili. It’s packed FULL of flavor and nutrition, making it the perfect, cozy meal for a colder day. This vegan chili is also easy to make AND quick to make when adequately prepped.
Have you ever heard of the phrase ‘MISE EN PLACE’?
This is a well known French phrase, meaning “putting in place” or “everything in its place.” I had this phrase drilled in my head in culinary school, and I’m very fortunate for that now. This vegan chili will be the easiest and quickest chili you ever make, as long as you follow the phrase ‘mice en place.’
In general, but specifically for this recipe (since it contains many ingredients), I like to have all of my prep work done and measured out before I begin cooking whatsoever. I will also combine any elements in the same bowl if they are thrown into the cooking pot simultaneously.
Allow me to repeat it. MISE. EN. PLACE.
For example, my vegan chili requires the diced onions, celery, and peppers to get thrown into the pot simultaneously. Therefore, before I place the pot on the stove, I will have these veggies chopped accordingly and put in a bowl together. That way, when I am ready to cook, I can grab the bowl and dump everything together into the pot, versus me scrambling all over the place.
The same rule applies for any other ingredients getting dumped together, such as all of the spices. This always saves me a HECK of a lot of stress and time. I cannot emphasize how important it is to ‘mise en place’ this entire recipe before beginning to cook!
Flavor, flavor, and MORE FLAVOR!
If you take a quick peek down at the spice measurements for this vegan chili, you may be brought back for a second. I am NOT scared of seasoning food, and if you are, you shouldn’t be! I come full force with spices when necessary. In my opinion, chili is one of those dishes that requires full force. Please don’t let the spices’ measurements intimidate you, especially when you see them all mixed in a bowl. It looks like a lot, but I promise you everything marries together so beautifully in the end, and nothing is overbearing.
This vegan chili is the perfect meal prep dish.
In my opinion, this is a very healthy chili. It’s packed full of beans, mushrooms, and veggies, giving all sorts of ample nutrition. Technically it’s packed full of fruit, too, since tomatoes are, oddly enough, considered a fruit. This recipe also yields around eight to ten servings, so it is a fantastic meal prep dish since you’re getting several servings out of it. What’s even better is that each day, the chili tastes more and more delicious as the flavors “marinate” together, so your meal prep keeps getting tastier.
It is a nutritious meal, BUT, depending on how you garnish the chili, it can quickly downward spiral from healthy to not healthy, haha. I LOVE topping mine with shredded vegan cheddar cheese, sour cream, and Fritos… Yes, I said FRITOS. Try it if you haven’t already because it is insanely delicious!
BUT, if I’m not going crazy with the toppings, it’s because I have a fresh batch of The Best and Easiest Vegan Cornbread next to me. That recipe is ridiculously good and super quick and easy to make, too. I love dipping the cornbread into the chili or even putting chunks of it straight into the chili!
If you make this vegan chili, don’t forget to post a picture to Instagram, tag me @chefsummerstorm, and #gardengrub so I can see your recreation!
The Most Delicious Vegan Chili Ever
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups yellow onion, small diced (roughly 1 large onion)
- 1 cup celery, small diced (roughly 3 celery stalks)
- 1 cup green bell pepper, small diced (roughly 1 pepper)
- 3 cups portobello mushrooms, medium diced (roughly one 8 ounce package)
- 2 cups frozen yellow corn, thawed
- 1 jalapeno pepper (seeds and veins removed and discarded), minced
- 3 tbsp garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tbsp cumin
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp black peppper
- One 15.5 ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed off very well
- One 15.5 ounce can light red kidney beans, drained and rinsed off very well
- One 15.5 ounce can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed off very well
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
- One 28 ounce can tomato sauce/puree
- One 28 ounce can chopped tomatoes in sauce
Instructions
- Into a large, deep pot, over medium-high heat, add in the olive oil.
- Once hot, toss in the diced onion, celery, and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the mushrooms in and cook for another 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add in the corn, jalapeno pepper, and garlic, and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Combine all of the seasonings and spices into a small bowl. Dump this blend into the pot and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Finally, add all of the beans, vegetable stock, and the entire cans of the tomato sauce and chopped tomatoes. Stir well.
- Now turn the burner down to medium heat and bring the chili up to a simmer.
- Once it begins to consistently simmer, turn the heat down to low, cover, and cook for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, making sure to scrape the pot's bottom and edges to ensure nothing is sticking.
- Allow the chili to cool down to room temperature before storing in containers.
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The Best and Easiest Vegan Cornbread
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