This chickpea chili is packed with bold, spicy flavor! It's easy to make, so it's perfect for busy weeknights, and the recipe makes a nice big batch, so you'll have plenty of leftovers.
Chili is one of my go-to meals to make when I have a busy week ahead. I cook up a big batch on Sunday or Monday, and then have leftovers for days. And it doesn't get boring because with chili it's so easy to switch things up. Eat it out of a bowl one night, stuffed in a potato the next, over a carrot dog on the third night...you get the idea.
There are a ton of ways to make vegan chili, but this chickpea chili is especially easy, and I tend to have most of the ingredients on hand pretty often, so it's been a dinner staple lately.
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Olive oil. You can really use any neutral high-heat oil here. I happen to like olive, but corn oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, and the like are all totally fine options.
- Onion.
- Red bell pepper. Prefer green bell peppers? Or yellow or orange? Use them!
- Carrots.
- Garlic.
- Chickpeas. The recipe calls for canned chickpeas. This makes life easy! But you can cook them from scratch if that's how you do things. You'll need about 5 ½ cups.
- Fire roasted tomatoes. These are super flavorful and smoky. Regular diced tomatoes will do just fine if you can't find fire roasted ones.
- Vegetable broth.
- Spices. We're using chili powder, ground cumin, cocoa powder, oregano, ancho chile powder, and paprika. Yes, cocoa powder is in there. Is it really a spice? I'm not sure, but it adds a ton of flavor so we're using it as one in this particular recipe.
- Frozen corn. You can use fresh corn if you'd like. Add it about five minutes earlier than you would the frozen corn, since it will take longer to cook.
- Salt & pepper.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Heat the oil in a large pot, then add diced carrot, onion and bell pepper. Sweat the vegetables for a few minutes, just until they begin to soften. Add the garlic and cook it for about a minute.
Stir in the spices, chickpeas, tomatoes and vegetable broth.
Bring the chili to a boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer for at least 30 minutes. You can add some water if it becomes too thick.
When the chili is just about done, stir in thawed frozen corn. Let the chili simmer just about a minute longer, in order to heat up the corn.
Tip: You can absolutely let your chili simmer longer than 30 minutes if you'd like, up to a full hour. The flavors will continue to meld with a longer cook time. Be sure to add water, as it will reduce more and more as the chili continues to simmer.
Take the pot off of heat when your chickpea chili is done simmering. Season it with some salt and black pepper to taste. You can also add some hot sauce at this point if you'd like!
Ladle the chickpea chili into bowls and pile on your favorite chili toppings, like fresh cilantro, shredded vegan cheese, sliced avocado, or cashew cream. Dig in!
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover vegan chickpea chili will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
It sure is!
It's very mild. If you'd like some heat, feel free to add some cayenne pepper along with the rest of the spices, or some how sauce when the chili is done cooking.
You can reduce the amount of salt you use (obviously!) and also use low sodium canned chickpeas, tomatoes, and broth.
More Vegan Chili Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Easy Chickpea Chili
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 (15 ounce/425 g) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 (15 ounce/425 g) cans fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 ½ tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Coat the bottom of a large pot with the oil and place it over medium heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add the onion, bell pepper, and carrots. Sweat the vegetables for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until they begin to soften.
- Stir in the garlic and cook it with the vegetables for about 1 minute, until it becomes very fragrant.
- Stir in the chickpeas, tomatoes, broth, chili powder, cumin, cocoa powder, oregano, ancho chile powder, and paprika.
- Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil.
- Lower the heat and allow the chili to simmer for at least 30 minutes, or up to 60 minutes if desired. Stir the chili occasionally and add water to the pot if the chili becomes too thick.
- Stir in the corn and simmer the chili a minute or two longer, just to heat up the corn.
- Remove the pot from heat. Season the chili with salt and pepper.
- Serve.
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This was good and so easy! I will be making it for the 2nd time. Thank you!
Chickpeas are a go to for me since colorectal cancer surgery. There are few vegetables that I can digest. This recipe is readily adapted to what is on hand. I used ground beef and leftover pork to suit my carnivore lifestyle. Carrots, beans and corn are a big NO.
Carnivores don't cook their meat so I'll assume you ate this raw.
Good chili!!
I made this chili today and it is great! It has just the right amount of spice and heat. Thank you for posting it!