This Mushroom Chili Recipe is the ultimate vegan chili you'll ever need! Hearty mushrooms make a wonderful substitution for ground beef. With an easy secret step to give this chili the perfect texture, it's extremely flavorful and great for cozy fall and winter dinners.
Perfectly seasoned and loaded with veggies, this mushroom chili recipe is absolutely delicious.
This ultimate vegan chili is tomato-y and full of spices like warm cayenne and chili peppers, earthy oregano, and cumin, smoked paprika, and a dash of maple syrup for sweetness.
Made with healthy plant-based ingredients, this ultimate vegan soup is high in fiber, low in fat, and naturally gluten-free.
It's one of the best vegan mushroom recipes and you'll see why.
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💭 Here's Why Тhis Recipe Works
- This is the ultimate vegan chili! It's loaded with flavor and texture, even meat-eaters will rave about it!
- Simple ingredients. Beans, mushrooms, veggies, and spices are all you need to make this recipe. No crazy ingredients or anything you won't usually buy.
- Perfect for meal prep. This mushroom chili recipe makes a total of 4 servings and tastes even better the next day!
📋 Ingredient notes
- Mushrooms. In this ultimate vegan chili, use portobello or button mushrooms. If you can't find either, cremini will work.
- Olive oil. You can also use vegetable broth if you want to keep this recipe oil-free.
- Red and green bell pepper. They both have something to offer here.
- Spices. Chili powder, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, oregano, ground cumin. These are our go-to spices when making this ultimate vegan chili.
- Sweetener. Maple syrup or another sweetener of choice, like coconut sugar or Agave.
🔪 Instructions
- Prepare the mushrooms
Using a damp paper towel, wipe the caps of mushrooms. Cut a thin slice off the bottom of each stem. Slice mushrooms in half and add them to a food processor. Working in batches, pulse mushrooms 7-10 times until they resemble ground "meat".
- Cook the veggies
Heat some olive oil in a large dutch oven or pot. Add the ground mushrooms and cook while stirring occasionally until all the liquid evaporates. Transfer the sautéed mushrooms to a bowl.
Add the rest of the olive oil, onion, garlic, and both peppers to the same pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Pour the diced tomatoes and beans into the pot with an onion and pepper mixture.
- Simmer & serve
Dilute the tomato paste with a cup of vegetable broth and add to the pot. Add the spices, maple syrup, the rest of the broth, and salt to the pot, as well as the cooked mushrooms.
Give everything a good stir, then cover with a lid and reduce the heat. If the mushrooms chili soup becomes too thick, add a little more broth. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Serve this ultimate mushroom chili with sliced avocado, vegan sour cream, and/or vegan mozzarella.
👩🏻🍳 Chef's Tip
Here're some important tips to make this vegan mushrooms chili simply the best:
- If you don't have a food processor, make sure to use a sharp knife and dice the mushrooms very well. This is a key part of making this mushroom chili recipe.
- Cook the mushrooms until all of the water evaporates. This is what gives the chili its meaty texture and flavor, so don't skip it!
- Use different kinds of beans if you want to change things up. White beans, pinto beans, and cannellini beans all work here.
- Make this ultimate vegan chili extra spicy by using more cayenne pepper to taste. You can also add a bit more maple syrup if it tastes too acidic.
💬 Frequently Asked Questions
You can thicken the chili by either simmering it for longer or adding 2-3 tablespoons of cornflour.
Yes! However, don't skip cooking down the mushrooms and browning the vegetables in oil. This gives a depth of flavor to the chili and is worth the extra steps.
After that, you can add everything into the slow cooker and cook on high for 2 hours or on low for 4 hours.
Yes, this ultimate mushroom chili recipe is great for freezing. Store in a freezer-safe container and it will keep for up to 3 months.
🥄 Serving Suggestions
Chili is all about the toppings, right? Serve this ultimate vegan chili with:
- With vegan cornbread on the side. It's a match made in heaven, especially if you take the time to make your own cornbread!
- With a dollop of vegan sour cream. To balance out the rest of the flavors and the heat.
- Topped with shredded vegan cheese, like vegan cheddar or mozzarella.
- With sliced or chopped avocado added right on top.
- With tortilla chips on the side for crunch.
- Finished with chopped cilantro for freshness.
🌡️ Storing
This Ultimate Vegan Chili is best stored in an air-tight container, in the fridge. It will last for 4-5 days.
Keep in mind that Chili thickens as it cools so you may need to reheat it with a splash of vegetable broth.
If you make this recipe, please leave me a comment below and rate it. I always appreciate the feedback. Also, you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.
🍲 Similar Recipes
For a quick overview of the recipe, please check out my ultimate Mushroom Chili Recipe web story.
Recipe
Vegan Mushroom Chili - Ultimate Vegan Chili
Video
Ingredients
- 18 ounces portobello or button mushrooms
- 3 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable broth
- ½ large onion finely minced
- ½ green bell pepper finely chopped
- ½ red bell pepper finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1 (14-oz) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (15-oz) can kidney beans rinsed and drained
- ½ (3-oz) can tomato paste
- 3 ½ cups vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper or more to taste
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon salt
For serving
- avocado
- vegan sour cream
- vegan mozzarella
Instructions
Prepare the mushrooms.
- Using a damp paper towel, wipe the caps of mushrooms. Cut a thin slice off the bottom of each stem. Slice mushrooms in half and add them to a food processor. Working in batches, pulse mushrooms 7-10 times until they resemble ground "meat".
- In a large dutch oven or pot, heat 2 tablespoon of olive oil. Add ground mushrooms and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally until all liquid evaporates. Transfer sautéed mushrooms to a bowl.
Cook the veggies.
- To the same pot, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, onion, garlic and both peppers. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Pour in diced tomatoes and beans into the pot with an onion and pepper mixture.
Simmer & serve.
- Dilute tomato paste with 1 cup of vegetable broth and add to pot.
- Add chili powder, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, oregano, cumin, maple syrup, the remaining 2 ½ c of broth and ½ teaspoon of salt to pot. Return cooked mushrooms to pot.
- Give everything a good stir, cover with a lid and reduce the heat to low. If the soup becomes too thick, add ½ cup of broth. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Serve the ultimate mushroom chili with sliced avocado, vegan sour cream and/or vegan mozzarella.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Iryna Bychkiv is the founder and writer of the culinary website Lavender & Macarons, where she shares clean, European-inspired recipes that are delicious, easy to prepare, and made with wholesome ingredients. Iryna loves creating meals that are simple yet healthy and unique, including vegan and vegetarian recipes.
Iryna is also a freelance writer for MSN and Associated Press Wire.
M Billings says
This recipe was a hit with 3 generations at a family gathering. I used a ring pull chopper to cut up portobello mushrooms. Worked great. I had no tomato paste, so used tomato sauce. Maple syrup and smoked paprika gave it interesting flavor as did other spices. I used black and navy beans. It was what I had. Kept well. This is one to save. Thanks so much.
Iryna says
M, thank you so much for your comment and a 5-star rating! I'm so happy you loved this recipe!
O W says
Hello. I want to make this chili recipe for a diabetic. In your NUTRITION info, it says 1 serving has 21 grams of carbohydrates. What amount is 1 serving (please answer in units such as cups)? I'm very thankful for a precise measurement.
Iryna says
Hello! I recalculated the nutrition card for this recipe so the carbs come down to 75.2 grams per serving. The serving is about 1 1/2 cups of Chili. Please also keep in mind that nutritional information should be considered an estimate. Hope this helps:)
Jo says
This looks amazing can it be frozen???
Iryna says
Hi Jo, I've never froze this chili before so I'm not sure. If you try freezing it, please let me know how did it work.
Jo says
Okay, sure will.
Charmayne says
Perfectly great recipe for fall and winter. Before making the best life change to Mediterranean woe I never liked soup. So this is a great recipe as the ingredients can be added to for any refrigerator goods that need to be used up! Thank you!
Iryna says
Charmayne, thank you so much for your comment! I'm happy you liked this Mushroom Chili:)
Debbie R. says
Hi, we didn't have all the ingredients to make this, so used what we did have...it's AMAZING !! Have made it 2 times now. Thank you greatly ☺
Debbie R. says
We have made this 2 times in the last 2 weeks. Not even having all the ingredients, we used what we had. Was WONDERFUL!! Definitely one to keep!
Iryna says
Debbie, thank you so much for your comment and a 5-star rating! I'm very happy you enjoyed this Chili!
Tala says
I bookmarked this for future reference when im ready to take the journey of becoming a vegan. Thank you
Iryna says
Thank you for your comment Tala! Absolutely. It's all about small steps. I hope you'll have a chance to try this Chili. It's loved by vegans and non-vegans alike.
Julie Kuehnle says
Made this for a New Year’s Eve party! Huge hit for both meat and non meat lovers. Added a Serrano
chili to the mix.
Iryna says
Julie, thank you so much for your comment and a 5-star rating! I'm very happy that your guests loved this recipe!
Jessica says
Can this be done in a slow cooker?
Iryna says
Hi Jessica! I haven't made this chili in a slow cooker, but I don't see why you can't make it there. If you decide to make it a slow cooker, follow the first 3 recipe steps but then combine everything in a slow cooker and cook it on high for 2-2 1/2 hours or on low for 4-4 1/2 hours.
Courtney says
This is the best chili recipe hands down! Love this! My husband eats meat and we cooked ground hamburger on the side and he poured the chili on top of the meat in his bowl and loved it. It’s a great recipe because I don’t eat meat and we can have the meat stirred in individually and it still tastes just as great! Definitely will make again! Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Iryna says
Courtney, thank you so much for your wonderful comment and a 5 star rating! I'm so happy you and your husband enjoyed this Chili!