This spicy vegan Buffalo chili is made with a trio of hearty beans, tender veggies, and fire-roasted tomatoes, simmered up in spicy cayenne pepper Buffalo sauce.
I've got soup on the brain lately. Can you blame me? It's been freezing out!
Anyhow, chili is not soup, so I'm okay with posting this right after another soup recipe. Also, I've got Buffalo sauce and chili on the brain. More on that next week.
Despite the fact that I've got more Buffalo sauce and chili forthcoming, I had to make this one. I woke up the other morning and the idea of chili with Buffalo sauce popped into my head. How could I not explore that concept? And how could I not do so in advance of the Superbowl, when everyone is all about Buffalo everything and all kinds of chili.
Turns out I wasn't the first to come up with this idea, but all the other Buffalo chili recipes I came across on the interwebs involved chicken. Also, they didn't involve chili powder.
I get that Buffalo sauce is made from cayenne peppers, which are a type of chili pepper, but I thought chili powder was a specific requirement of chili. Maybe I'm mistaken. In any event, my vegan Buffalo chili involves some chili powder, albeit a bit less than the half a jar or so that I normally heap into my homemade chili recipes.
Other than that, it's just lots of beans, veggies, and spicy Buffalo sauce. Nice and spicy, so good, and definitely worth trying even if you're not planning on watching the bit game this year.
📖 Recipe
Three Bean Vegan Buffalo Chili with Cashew Ranch
Ingredients
For the Buffalo Chili
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter (can sub vegetable oil)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 14 ounce cans fire-roasted tomatoes
- 1 14 ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 14 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 14 ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 to 2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- ¼ cup to ½ cup cayenne pepper hot sauce (Frank's brand is best for this recipe)
- salt and pepper to taste
For Serving
- Diced avocado
- Chopped scallions
- Cashew ranch dressing
Instructions
- Place the butter into a large pot and set over medium heat. Melt the butter, then add onion, celery, carrots, and garlic. Sauté until the veggies begin to soften, about 10 minutes.
- Add tomatoes, cannellini beans, chickpeas, pinto beans, 1 cup of broth, cumin, chili powder, and ¼ cup of hot sauce to the pot. Stir a few times to incorporate the ingredients. Raise heat and bring to a simmer. Lower heat and allow to simmer, uncovered, for 30 to 60 minutes. I like to go the full 60 minutes, until the beans begin to break down, but it's up to you. Add up to an additional cup of broth during cooking if the chili becomes too thick.
- Taste test and add up to an additional ¼ cup of hot sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Ladle into bowls and top with cashew ranch, avocado, and scallions. Serve.
Notes
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This recipe looks great! I can't wait to try it this weekend!
I had a question - is there another way to soak the cashews? Could you soak them in hot water? I thought I've seen that done in other recipes before but I wasn't sure if that would work here. Any insight would be appreciated!
Sometimes you can get away with boiling them for 20 minutes. This really only works if you're using a high-powered blending device, and I still find that they don't blend up quite as smooth as if they'd been soaked. I usually save this technique for times when I forget to start soaking them early!
This is a staple in our house, we make this about once a month. Thanks for another amazing recipe!
I'm so happy to hear that! Thanks Cori!
Is there a ranch sauce I can use in place of this one? My husband is allergic to cashews.
Try using avocados instead of the cashews! I think two or three should be enough, but you might need to adjust the amount of milk - just blend everything and then drizzle in the milk until you reach the right consistency.
LOVE this chili! The flavors are phenomenal. I always make it with a big pan of cornbread.
Yay!! Sounds like a delicious meal! Glad you enjoyed it!
Sounds lovely! Could anything else be used in place of the cayanne pepper sauce? I haven't seen it in Ireland. Thanks!
The cayenne pepper sauce is what gives it the Buffalo flavor, but you could certainly sub another type of hot sauce. Just add a bit at a time and taste test, since hot sauces vary so much in flavor and heat!
I plan to make this tonight & take it camping... if it lasts that long! mmm. Can't wait!
I hope you enjoyed it!!
This was so good! I recently stumbled upon your blog and have been working my way through the recipes!.
Thanks Heather! I'm glad you're enjoying the recipes. :)
This looks great and I will be making it sometime this week as I arlready have all the ingredients on hand. Do you think for the ranch cashew cream I could use dried herbs? if so do you have a guess on the amounts?
I'm not sure how dried herbs would work out, but if you do give them a try I'd only use about 1/3 of the amount the recipe calls for. I'd love to hear how it works out if you give it a try!
I have a question, where is the receipt from the Cashew Ranch dressing?
Hi Dania! The recipe is here: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/vegan-ranch-dressing/ It's also linked in the ingredinents list. Enjoy!!