Vegan Chili Recipe – sure to become a mainstay in your household with its spicy and hearty flavor. Pour it over some baked potatoes, top it with vegan cheese and sour cream, and it will transform itself into a cozy bowl of deliciousness.
There's nothing better than cozying up on a cold winter or autumn day to a bowl of hot chili.
A vegan Chili recipe is worth trying if you're searching for a filling and nutritious meal that's simple to prepare.
The best part? It's made in one pot and ready in just 30 minutes.
My gluten-free, best vegan Chili is a hearty and delectable choice for lunch, weeknight dinner, or meal prep, thanks to its abundance of plant-based protein and diversity of aromatic ingredients.
Whether you're an experienced vegan or just trying to increase your intake of plant-based foods, this easy stovetop Chili recipe will not disappoint.
Even meat-eaters will love it.
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👆 Here's Why This Recipe Works
- One-pot wonder. No need to use multiple pots and pans; this healthy vegetarian chili soup is made entirely in one pot. This means fewer dishes to make.
- Healthy. This best vegan chili is packed with good-for-you ingredients. For protein - you get Red Kidney beans and Cannellini Beans. They're an excellent source of plant-based protein and Iron, Magnesium, and Potassium. Yam (or Sweet Potato), bell pepper, onion, and carrot are responsible for Fiber. And let me tell you, they're loaded with it. Sweet potatoes alone have 3.9 g of Fiber, Vitamin A, and Vitamin C. This makes my vegan Chili the ultimate healthy soup.
- Hearty and cozy. This simple vegan sweet potato Chili is especially delicious during cold winter nights. However, it's so easy and healthy; including it in your menu year-round is a great idea.
Ingredients
Here's an overview of the specific ingredients for this recipe. For the exact ingredients and measurements, please scroll to the recipe card below.
Ingredient Notes
- Avocado oil. I love using this oil for high-heat cooking since it has a high smoke point. You can cook with olive oil instead.
- Sugar. Since this easy vegan Chili recipe uses tomatoes, adding a tiny amount of sugar is important to cut through the acidity. I love using unrefined coconut sugar. I buy it from Amazon. It's also sold in all groceries in the baking aisle. If you don't have coconut sugar, any sugar will do; however, if you're vegan, make sure cane sugar is organic because regular sugar is usually processed with bone char. In addition, you can use Maple Syrup or Agave.
- Yam. In this best vegan Chili, I used Garnet Yam; however, you can also use a regular sweet potato.
- Cacao powder. It might sound unusual; however, I use this ingredient in all of my chili recipes. It dates back to my original Award-Winning Chili recipe, which won a cook-off. (This recipe might be perfect for your carnivore friends). Cacao powder boosts the flavor of Chili and adds richness. Ensure not to use cacao powder versus cocoa powder since the latter is more processed and less healthy.
- Beans. In this healthy vegan Chili recipe, use any combination of beans that you like/have in your pantry. Possible combos are Black beans + Pinto Beans, White Beans + Black Beans, and Chickpeas + Pinto Beans. You can also use other legumes, like lentils. You can use canned beans or dried beans. If you go with dried beans, you must soak them overnight and cook them the next morning.
🔪 How to Make the Best Vegan Chili Recipe
Making simple and flavorful vegan chili with sweet potato and beans is a breeze when you follow my easy steps below.
- Heat oil in a large pot or Dutch Oven. Add onion, carrots, and sauté on medium-high heat, occasionally stirring, for 5-7 minutes until veggies have softened.
- Stir in chopped bell pepper, garlic, jalapeño, and sweet potato, and cook for five more minutes.
- Stir in all spices, coconut sugar, and cacao powder.
- In a small bowl, dilute tomato paste with 1 cup of water or broth.
- Add Kidney beans, Cannellini beans, tomato paste, and water to the sauteed veggies. Stir to combine and cook on medium-low heat for 20 minutes.
- Remove easy vegan Chili from the heat and serve with your favorite toppings.
👩🏼🍳 Chef's Tips
For this meatless Chili recipe, you can use any beans you have. White beans, pinto beans, black beans, and Navy beans will all work here.
If you're making this simple chili with sweet potato for the little ones, you can cut the amount of Cayenne pepper and jalapeño.
Alternatively, to make this hearty vegan Chili extra spicy, use one full jalapeño and increase the amount of Cayenne pepper.
Perfectly balanced Chili has a subtle level of acidity; however, it should not be overpowering. That's why we add sugar.
If you think 1 teaspoon of sugar is insufficient, add one more teaspoon.
💭 Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely. You can saute the veggies in some vegetable broth or water. Don't add too much, though. One tablespoon at a time.
Yes. For this Chili recipe, you'll need ½ c of Kidney beans and ½ c of Cannellini beans. Make sure to soak them in water overnight. In the morning, drain all water, add new fresh water and bay leaf, and cook over medium heat for about one hour or until the beans are fully tender. Drain and use in a recipe.
Yes, you can add Beyond-Meat or Impossible crumbles. Make sure to brown them first in a bit of avocado oil. Additionally, you can even add vegan sausage.
🌶 Serving Suggestions
A part of what makes healthy vegan Chili Soup especially delicious is a variety of toppings and garnishes. Do you agree?
Here are some of my favorite options:
- Avocado - simply dice it and sprinkle it on top of Chili;
- Tortilla Chips (these are great)
- Vegan Sour Cream;
- Diced Tomatoes;
- Green Olives (like Castelvetrano Olives);
- Capers;
- Chopped fresh cilantro;
- Chopped green onion;
- Red pepper flakes;
- Garlic croutons;
- Vegan Mozzarella or Parmesan cheese
And, of course, no plant-based Chili is complete without homemade vegan Cornbread.
In addition, if your easy vegan chili recipe with sweet potato and beans is very thick (usually on the next day), you can serve it on top of anything. Think polenta, steamed rice, or even mashed potatoes.
📖 Variations
- Want to make this vegan Chili recipe "meatier"? There are many options for that. You can use finely ground mushrooms. Saute them first until they're nice and brown, and then add to cooked onion and carrot. You can also use extra firm tofu. Make sure to brown it first. Using soy curls is a fantastic option if you want this vegan Chili to taste as meatier as possible.
- Want more veggies? Absolutely. You can add chopped celery or celery root. Saute it along with the onion and carrot. In the last 3 minutes of cooking, stir in some chopped kale or spinach and cook until it wilts.
- How about a complete protein? Pair this vegan chili with some quinoa to get complete plant-based protein.
💡 Making Chili Ahead Of Time
This easy vegan Chili recipe takes only 30 minutes from start to finish. However, you can still make certain steps ahead of time. This will cut down on cooking time even more.
If you're doing Sunday meal prep, saute the onion and carrots and store them in the airtight container until ready to cook Chili. You can also measure out the spices in advance and chop the bell pepper, jalapeño, and garlic.
I don't recommend chopping sweet potato (yam) ahead of time as it will darken.
♨️ Storage Tips
You should store leftovers of this easy Vegan Chili in the refrigerator in an airtight container. That way, it will keep for 3 to 4 days. When ready to serve, reheat healthy Chili in a microwave or in a saucepan.
This simple vegan Chili can also be frozen. To maintain the flavor, I recommend doing so within 2 hours of cooking. Reserve the portion of a chili soup that you're planning to freeze and let it cool.
Distribute vegan Chili among freezer-friendly zipper bags and lay them flat in the freezer in one layer.
For fast thawing, place a bag of frozen vegetarian chili in cold water. Make sure the bag doesn't have holes. Wait until Chili has thawed completely. Then, add it to a small pot and simmer for about 5 minutes. Serve with your favorite toppings.
🍲 More Vegetarian Chili Recipes
Recipe
The Best Vegan Chili You'll Ever Taste
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon avocado oil replace with olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion finely minced
- 2 medium carrots peeled and chopped
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and chopped
- 1 large garnet yam or sweet potato peeled and chopped
- 1 14-oz can red Kidney beans rinsed and drained
- 1 14-oz can Cannellini beans rinsed and drained
- 3 oz tomato paste
- 3 c water
- ½ Jalapeño seeded, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 ½ tablespoon chili powder
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon cacao powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot or Dutch Oven. Add onion and carrots and sauté on medium-high heat stirring occasionally for 5-7 minutes until veggies have softened.
- Stir in chopped bell pepper, garlic, jalapeño, and sweet potato, and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Stir in all spices, coconut sugar, and cacao powder.
- In a small bowl dilute tomato paste with 1 cup of water or broth.
- Add Kidney beans, Cannellini beans, tomato paste, and water to the sauteed veggies. Stir to combine and cook on medium-low heat for 15 minutes.
- Remove easy vegan Chili from the heat and serve with your favorite toppings.
Notes
Nutrition
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.
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.
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