This vegan chili made in a dutch oven, or slow cooker, is loaded with fire-roasted tomatoes, pasta, cubes of butternut squash and beans for a flavorful and hearty meal.
It always makes me happy to see how quickly meat chefs can pick up vegan cooking. So, I have no doubt that all of you will easily make this chili like you were pro chefs you are
Vegan recipes are not at all intimidating and I hope you will love the process of making this chili as much as I do. The meatless chili takes almost no effort and its made with just a few ingredients
What is your favorite part of making this vegan chili
Why this is the Best Vegan Chili
I decided to go with a spicy vegan chili recipe which is very similar to a hearty meat chili. The base is made with onions, celery, garlic and bell peppers
For the tomato, I found that the fire roasted tomatoes from a can are the best tomatoes to use in this chili. They added a slight smokiness to the chili
My favorite ingredient to add to this easy chili was the cork screw pasta (Cellentani Pasta). When cooked in the dutch oven, they plump to double their size and add so much texture to the recipe.
This was the first time I put pasta in my chili and it will forever be a staple in my chili recipes. That's how much I loved it.
Tips for making vegan chili
- Buy pre-cut vegetables like celery and butternut squash in this vegan chili recipe as this will make your life much easier
- Use a large Dutch oven (6.5Qt) to make the chili because you can put it in the oven and it will slowly cook by itself
- My cooking is always low on salt amount. Believe me, I hear that often from family members. So, once the chili is done, make sure you give it a taste test to confirm that you are satisfied with the salt
- I always rinse the canned kidney beans thoroughly before adding to the chili.
- If refrigerating the vegan chili recipe for future use, I cool it to room temperature before transferring to meal-prep containers
Vegan Chili Recipe FAQs
If you ask me, there isn't a bean that can't be added to vegan chili. I have even made vegetarian chili using navy beans. Here are some of the beans I suggest using in chili
Kidney beans
Pinto beans
Black Beans
Red Beans
Lentils (Not a bean, but, part of the legume family)
Chick peas
Black Eyed Peas
Yes, this is the perfect Make-ahead vegan chili recipe. I made on a Tuesday and enjoyed it for the rest of the week. You can make this as far out as a week ahead of when you want to consume it
Yes, absolutely. It can be refrigerated or frozen, depending on your choice. Personally, I like to refrigerate it and use it up in a week
There are 2 very easy ways to freeze this chili.
1) Put it in a big ziploc bag
This is what I would like to call, "the last option". I am not a fan of putting it in the ziploc, mainly because it harder to reheat.
But, its a great space saver in the refrigerator. I always like to put the date on the bag before freezing it
2) Put it in glass containers
This is my all time favorite way to store any food, including vegan chili. The glass container keeps the flavors sealed in and its so easy to re-heat it. I love the 2 cup glass containers because I can save individual portion sizes.
For this chili I used 5 of these 2-cup glass containers
I always recommend using the stove top method because the flavors/textures will remain intact. With microwaving, chances are the chili will become runny. I am sure you don't like a runny chili, am I right?
Don't thaw the chili, just put it directly into a pan and put the heat at low. Let the chili cook slowly and it will thaw itself out
If you are using a ziploc bag, place the bag in boiling water. When its thawed enough to the point where you can dump the ingredients into a pan, put it in the pan and let it cook on medium heat
Thawed chili may need to be re-flavored. I found that a I needed to add a little more chili powder and lemon juice after re-heating it
This has to be my favorite question. I love spicy vegan chili and so, I go nuts with the amount of chili pepper I put in it. My favorite chili pepper to use is Thai Green Chili.
Its mostly found in Indian/Asian Grocery stores, but, I have seen it sometimes in regular grocery store.
But, it comes down to how much spice can you handle. Here are some of the chili peppers I have used in the past
Jalapeno
Habanero
Cubanelle
Poblano
Serrano
Chipotle
What chili pepper do you plan to use in this vegan chili recipe?
No, if you buy the traditional refried beans from a can, they have lard which is pig fat. Many companies do make vegetarian friendly refried beans and mark it clearly on the can.
However, vegan refried beans are almost impossible to buy, so, I make my own. Luckily its so easy to make vegan refried beans at home. Its as simple as cooking pinto beans and then, blending them when they are soft
Also, if you have questions on what Vegans don't eat, I have a comprehensive guide on our diet restrictions. Check it out and let me know what you think.
Yes, you can absolutely cook this vegan chili in the slow cooker or crock pot
Start the process in the same way. Cook the celery, onions, bell pepper and garlic on "high" settings. When they are done, add all the other ingredients in it and let it cook on high for about 4-5 hours. You may have to play around with the time.
The slow cooker size I would recommend is at least a 6 quart or more
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Place dutch oven on stove and heat on medium heat
- Add the oil and onions
- Cook the onions for about 4 minutes on medium until they were translucent
- Next, Add the celery, Bell Pepper and Butternut Squash
- Add one can of Fire-roasted tomatoes and the dry spices (except Lemon Pepper)
- Add the pasta and water, mix well
- Add the Bay Leaves at the top which will be discarded in the end
- Place the Dutch Oven in the preheated oven and cook for 90 minutes
- After 90 minutes, turn off the oven and carefully remove the Dutch oven
- Remove the 2 Bay leaves before adding the remaining ingredients (Beans and lemon pepper)
- Mix every thing gently
- Close the lid of the Dutch oven and put it back into the oven. No need to turn the oven on again as it will still be hot
- Remove from the oven after 10 minutes and mix gently before serving
More Chili Recipes
Ways to Use Leftover Chili
Here are some great ways to use leftover chili:
- create a whole new meal using cornbread mix to make this incredibly easy chili pot pie
- for game day, movie night, or just because, chili potato skins and chili corn muffin cups are really fun snacks
Vegan Chili
Not ready to make this easy vegan chili yet? Don’t forget to pin the recipe for later.
When you do make it, please comment and leave me a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below; it totally makes my day!
Vegan Chili Recipe
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- ¼ Onion finely diced
- 5 cloves Garlic minced
- 4 celery stalks I used the small celery stalks
- 16 oz Butternut Squash Cubes 1 LB, got them pre-cut
- 15 oz Fire roasted tomatoes 1 can
- 1 Bell Pepper Julienne
- 3 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Thyme
- 1 teaspoon Dill
- 1 teaspoon Marjoram
- 2 teaspoon Cumin-Coriander Powder
- 2 teaspoon Chili Powder Adjust to taste
- 1 Thai Chili Optional, add if you like the heat
- 2 cup Corkscrew Pasta
- 8 cup Water
- ½ cup Vegetable Stock Optional
- 2 Bayleaf
- ½ cup refried beans
- ½ tsp Lemon Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Place dutch oven on stove and heat on medium heat
- Add the oil and onions
- Cook the onions for about 4 minutes on medium until they were translucent
- Next, Add the celery, Bell Pepper and Butternut Squash
- Add one can of Fire-roasted tomatoes and the dry spices (except Lemon Pepper)
- Add the pasta and water, mix well
- Add the Bay Leaves at the top which will be discarded in the end
- Place the Dutch Oven in the preheated oven and cook for 90 minutes
- After 90 minutes, turn off the oven and carefully remove the Dutch oven
- Remove the 2 Bay leaves before adding the remaining ingredients (Beans and lemon pepper)
- Mix every thing gently
- Close the lid of the Dutch oven and put it back into the oven. No need to turn the oven on again as it will still be hot
- Remove from the oven after 10 minutes and mix gently before serving
For best results, be sure to check our Tips and FAQs above with important tips and questions that can help your delicious recipe come out perfectly.
Nutrition
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Gina says
I am 6 months pregnant and have been looking for freezer meals. I made this yesterday and put some into the freezer and we had some for dinner. It was really yummy!
Gina
Ang Paris says
Congratulations Gina! That's so exciting! You might also like our Potato Sausage Casserole which freezes really well!