There are so many different kinds of vegan chili out there, but sometimes all you want is bowl of classic chili with no frills. This variation is made with three kinds of beans and no meaty substitute like tofu or pre-packaged vegan ground beef.
One of the best parts about chili is that it’s one of the easiest recipes you could imagine. Once you’re done prepping the (minimal) fresh ingredients, the hardest part is just letting it simmer long enough for all of the flavors to really develop.
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What Makes this Vegan Chili so Delicious
It has actually taken me years of recipe testing to perfect this chili!
- Balanced flavors. It’s got the perfect blend of spice, acidity, sweetness, and umami. I’ve added a few special ingredients to truly round out the flavor profile and make every component shine.
- Super wholesome. This chili is not only delicious but also packed with wholesome (and budget-friendly!) ingredients.
- Great for meal prep. Chili tastes even better the next day! Even if you’re not meal prepping, the leftovers make a great lunch later that week.
- A one-pot recipe. It does need to cook for awhile, but everything comes together in one big pot and most of the cook time is hands-off. You can totally make it in the crockpot too.
Ingredients for the Ultimate Vegan Chili
- Olive oil.
- Onion, bell pepper, jalapeños & garlic. Swap out jalapeños for green bell pepper if your spice tolerance is low.
- Tomato paste. Adds a concentrated tomato flavor and also helps to thicken the chili.
- Vegetable broth. Use a beef-style veggie bouillon (like the one from Edward & Sons or Better Than Bouillon) if you want to make this taste extra-savory.
- Beans. Feel free to use any kind you like. I enjoy a blend of pinto, black, and kidney beans.
- Crushed tomatoes. I highly recommend buying a brand that doesn’t add citric acid to the tomatoes, which can make your chili taste sour. Cento and Mutti are two options.
- Cumin, chili powder & paprika. Classic chili spices.
- Oregano & bay leaves.
- Cocoa powder. If you’ve never tried it, you may be skeptical, but don’t worry! It won’t taste like chocolate; it just adds an incredible depth of flavor and extra richness.
- Brown sugar. Just a touch of sweetness balances out the spice. Can use maple syrup too.
- Soy sauce. For a little extra umami without an overwhelming soy sauce flavor. You can sub liquid aminos or even some beef-style veggie bouillon paste.
- Canned chipotle peppers in adobo. These are spicy and smoky! Add as much or as little as you like to suit your spice tolerance. You might want to skip them altogether if you don’t like spicy food at all.
- Salt & pepper.
How to Make The Ultimate Vegan Chili
- In a large, heavy pot, sauté onion, bell pepper, jalapeño, and garlic in olive oil until onions start to brown.
- Add in tomato paste and break up with spoon. Cook until tomato paste turns a deep, rusty red.
- Add in all remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
- Bring chili to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and let cook for at least 30 minutes. We like letting it slow cook for up to 2 hours to really let the flavors develop.
- Taste for salt and adjust to preference.
- Serve and garnish with vegan sour cream, vegan cheddar shreds, avocado, or sliced scallions.
Serving Suggestions
The chili is incredible as-is, but here are a few garnish ideas to elevate the experience! A squeeze of lime juice, some cilantro, and sliced red onion will brighten up the chili and add a freshness factor. Try a dollop of your favorite vegan sour cream to cool and balance the spice. And a sprinkle of vegan cheddar shreds will make this taste even more decadent.
A side of fluffy cornbread is always a crowd-pleaser! The sweetness is a nice counterpoint to all the rich savory flavor of the chili. On busy nights I just warm up some flour tortillas for dipping, or sometimes I’ll crush up a handful of tortilla chips if I’m craving some extra crunch.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can skip this ingredient if you want to; the chili will still be very tasty. But I definitely recommend adding it if you can! It will not make your chili taste like chocolate; it’s there to add depth of flavor and complexity, and it emphasizes the flavor of the chilis in the recipe.
If you want to make a beefy vegan chili, you can definitely add a 12 or 16 oz package of vegan beef to the recipe. If it’s something like Beyond or Impossible, I recommend adding it after browning the onions. Break it up into crumbles with your spoon and brown it before proceeding with the rest of the recipe.
Yes, feel free to mix-and-match the beans, as long as you use 3 cans. You can make an all black bean or all pinto bean chili if you like. You can even get creative and use canned lentils, chickpeas, navy beans, etc.
For a milder spice, remove the seeds and ribs from the jalapeños before dicing. Skip the canned chipotle peppers and the sauce, or add only 1 chipotle pepper to start.
For no spice at all, swap out the jalapeños for half of a green bell pepper. Don’t add any canned chipotle peppers or sauce because they pack quite a bit of heat. You can increase the smoked paprika by an extra 1/2 teaspoon if you like, to replace the smokiness of the chipotle peppers.
There are so many ways to boost the spice! Swap the jalapeños out for a spicier pepper variety (such as serranos), or increase the amount of chipotle peppers and their sauce. You can also add cayenne pepper to easily manipulate the spice level.
I haven’t personally tested this, but you should have no issue combining all ingredients in your crockpot and cooking 4-5 hours on high or 6-7 hours on low. I do think the stovetop version would be a little tastier because of the extra step of browning the onions and toasting the spices and tomato paste, but I think the slow cooker version would be a great option if you need something super hands-off.
Ultimate Vegan Chili
Video
Equipment
- large pot or Dutch oven
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and diced
- 1-2 jalapeños diced, see notes to adjust spice level
- 4-6 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 (15 oz) can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 (15 oz) can pinto beans drained and rinsed
- 1 (15 oz) can kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes ideally with no citric acid added, such as Cento or Mutti — see notes
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar or maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or liquid aminos
- 2 canned chipotle peppers chopped; omit to reduce spice
- 1-2 tablespoons adobo sauce from canned chipotle peppers omit to reduce spice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt more to preference
To Garnish (as many as you like)
- fresh cilantro
- fresh lime wedges
- minced red onion or sliced scallions
- sliced avocado
- vegan cheddar-style shreds I like Violife or Follow Your Heart
- vegan sour cream I like Simple Truth or Forager brand
Instructions
- Sauté aromatics: In a heavy pot or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. When oil shimmers, add diced onion, diced bell pepper, diced jalapeño, and minced garlic. Sauté 5-8 minutes, until onions start to brown.
- Cook tomato paste: Add in the tomato paste. Break it up with your spoon and stir to coat the aromatics. Keep cooking for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the tomato paste changes from a bright red to a deeper rusty color.
- Add remaining ingredients: Add in the vegetable broth, all of the beans (pinto, black, and kidney), crushed tomatoes, chili powder, ground cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, bay leaves, cocoa powder, brown sugar, and soy sauce. Lastly, if you are making a spicy chili, add in the chopped chipotle peppers and 1-2 tablespoons of the adobo sauce from the can. You can add more of these if you like it extra spicy.
- Simmer: Bring the chili up to a boil, then reduce heat to establish a simmer. Simmer for at least 30 minutes, but preferably for a full 1 hour (or even longer) for the best flavor development. Stir occasionally to keep the chili from sticking to the pot.
- Adjust: Taste and adjust salt to preference. If you want to thicken the chili slightly, you can blitz it a few times with an immersion blender.
- Serve: Serve the chili with any of your favorite garnishes. Fresh cilantro, lime and red/green onion add a lovely freshness/brightness. Vegan sour cream will cool/balance the spice. I love to serve this chili with homemade cornbread or warm flour tortillas.
Notes
- Less spicy: Remove the seeds and ribs from the jalapeños to reduce to the spice. Skip the canned chipotle peppers and the sauce, or add only 1 chipotle pepper to start.
- Zero spice: Swap out the jalapeños for half of a green bell pepper. Don’t add any canned chipotle peppers or sauce. You can increase the smoked paprika by an extra 1/2 teaspoon if you like, to replace the smokiness of the chipotle peppers.
- Extra spicy: Swap the jalapeños for a spicier pepper, such as serranos. Increase the amount of canned chipotle peppers and sauce to preference. You can also add in cayenne pepper to easily increase the spice level.
- Crushed tomatoes: I highly recommend buying canned tomatoes with no added citric acid — this can make your chili taste sour and unpleasant. Cento and Mutti are two good options that contain only tomatoes. If you have to use a brand with citric acid, you may wish to add a pinch or two of baking soda at the end of the cook time to neutralize the sourness.
- Beans: You can mix-and-match the beans as you like, as long as you use 3 cans. Chickpeas and white beans can be used too.
- Extra umami: Swap out the soy sauce for 1 cube of beef-style veggie bouillon, or 1 tablespoon of beef-style veggie bouillon paste. You can also try adding in 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast, and/or about 1/8 teaspoon MSG.
I made this and it was absolutely delicious. The recipe is perfect and the suggestions that Sarah gives for modifying spice are perfect! I love all of Sarah’s recipes.
I made this and I accidentally made it spicier than I wanted and it was still so freaking delicious!
Ha, gotta be careful when making chili! Glad you enjoyed it though.
THE best vegan chili I have ever had – so flavourful and rich it is incredible! I made it as written and it is hot but in a flavourful way, not a spicy for the sake of being spicy way.
Finally, a vegan chili that tastes like the real thing! We swapped Serrano for Habanero and used double the Adobo chili measurements, it was perfect! I can’t wait to make this over a campfire in a Dutch oven!
This was great! It had the full-on chili flavor I’ve been looking for in vegan chili. I also added Abbot’s plant-based chorizo and made a few edits to accommodate my diet requirements, then served over pasta. Loved it!!