Packed with veggies, spices, and beans, this hearty vegan chili will knock your socks off! Easy to make in the stove or Instant Pot, and perfect for feeding a crowd.
Everyone needs a go-to chili recipe! Personally, I love experimenting with chili recipes by including all kinds of fun veggies, spices, veggie proteins, and maybe beer...but there's definitely something to be said for good old classic vegetarian chili.
This is my basic, easy vegan chili recipe. But don't be fooled: this chili is absolute DELICIOUS. It's seriously loaded with scrumptious Tex-Mex flavor and perfect for pretty much all tastes.
Feeding a group of skeptical meat-eaters? Give them this chili! Need something delicious for meal prep that won't bore you to death by the end of the week? This chili is what you need!
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What You'll Need
Here's what you'll need to whip up a pot of this vegetarian chili!
- Olive oil. You can substitute another high-heat oil if you'd like, such as corn, canola, or avocado oil.
- Onion. We're using a plain old yellow onion, although a red or white onion would also work just fine!
- Bell peppers. The recipe calls for one red pepper and one green, but feel free to switch things up and use any combination of pepper colors.
- Carrots.
- Garlic.
- Spices. You'll need mild chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper. Feel free to omit the cayenne pepper for a milder meatless chili!
- Diced tomatoes. The recipes calls for fire roasted tomatoes, which will really pack some flavor into your chili, but regular diced tomatoes will work in a pinch.
- Beans. We're using canned beans. The recipe calls for one can of black, one can of kidney, and one can of pinto beans. You're totally welcome to switch things up and use other varieties like lentils and chickpeas though!
- Frozen corn.
- Salt & pepper.
- Tomato paste. You'll only need this ingredient if you decide to make Instant Pot vegan chili. It helps to thicken the stew!
How to Make Vegan Chili
The following 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!
Stovetop Chili
- Start by heating up some olive oil in a large pot. Once the oil is hot, add your veggies: onion, peppers, and carrots. Sweat the veggies until they start to soften up.
- Add your garlic and spices: chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper. Cook everything until the garlic and spices become very fragrant. Be careful not to overcook the mixture at this point, which can burn the spices and make your veggie chili taste bitter!
- Add your beans and tomatoes to the pot. Bring the chili up to a simmer and let it cook for at least a half hour. Feel free to let it simmer on low all day though! A longer simmer time will give you a thicker chili with milder flavors. Add water or vegetable broth it if becomes too thick while it cooks
- Stir in some thawed frozen corn during the last minute or so.
- Easy, right?! Season your chili with salt and pepper to taste when it's finished, then dig in!
Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili
- Use the "sauté" function on your Instant Pot to sweat the onion, peppers, and carrots in some olive oil. Add the garlic and spices during the last minute or so, then press "cancel."
- Now stir in a cup of water, then add your tomatoes, followed by the beans. Don't stir! The water and tomatoes need to be on the bottom to prevent the burn warning from going off. Close the pot, set the valve to "sealing" and use the "manual" or "pressure cook" function. Set the cook time to 10 minutes.
- Carefully move the valve to the "venting" position when the timer goes off. Let the pressure release completely, remove the lid, and stir in the corn.
- Stir in some tomato paste to thicken your vegetarian chili. This step is important because chili cooked in the Instant Pot doesn't come out as thick as stove top chili. You also can press the "bean/chili" button and let it simmer for a bit to get ever thicker.
- Season the chili with salt and pepper, ladle it into bowls and enjoy!
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover chili keeps great! Store it in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Tip: If you find yourself getting bored with your chili leftovers, try repurposing it! Instead of serving it as a stew, try topping a baked potato (or sweet potato), piling it on a veggie dog (plant-based chili is great on carrot dogs), or making veggie chili fries.
Frequently Asked Questions
It sure is!
The cayenne pepper gives it a little heat. If you're nervous about that, just leave it out. For extra heat, use extra cayenne, or season the chili with some hot sauce before serving.
Try fresh scallions, cilantro, avocado, shredded vegan cheese, crushed tortilla chips, vegan sour cream or cashew cream.
I love my chili with a side of homemade vegan cornbread, vegan corn muffins, or beer bread.
You can, but you'll need to soak and cook them first. Try this bean prep-method.
Try adding crumbled tofu, tempeh, or a crumbled meat substitute like Beyond Beef Crumbles.
Absolutely! Add all of the ingredients (except salt and pepper) to your Crockpot and cook the chili for 2 to 3 hours on high, or 5 to 6 hours on low. Be sure to keep an eye on it since slow cookers can vary in their heat levels and cooking speed! Season it with salt and pepper before serving.
More Hearty Vegan Soups & Stews
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Incredibly Delicious Vegan Chili
Packed with veggies, spices, and beans, this hearty vegan chili will knock your socks off! Easy to make in the stove or Instant Pot, and perfect for feeding a crowd.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
- 1 medium green bell pepper, diced
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons mild chili powder
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 1 cup water (Instant Pot only)
- 3 (14 ounce or 400 gram) cans fire roasted tomatoes (regular canned tomatoes work too!)
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 ½ cups frozen corn, thawed
- ¼ cup tomato paste (Instant Pot only, optional)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Stovetop Instructions
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Coat the bottom of a large pot with the oil and place it over medium heat.
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Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the onion, peppers, and carrots. Sweat the veggies until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
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Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika, and cayenne. Continue cooking and stirring until the mixture becomes very fragrant, about 1 minute.
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Stir in the beans and tomatoes along with their juices. Bring the chili to a boil, lower the heat and let it simmer for about 30 minutes, until the veggies are soft and the chili has thickened, stirring occasionally.
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Stir in the corn and cook the chili for another minute, just to heat the corn.
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Remove the pot from heat and season the chili with salt and pepper to taste.
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Ladle into bowls and serve.
Instant Pot Method
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Press the "sauté" button on your Instant Pot then add the oil.
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Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the onion, bell peppers and carrots.
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Sweat the vegetables for about 5 minutes, until they begin to soften up.
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Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Continue cooking until the mixture becomes very fragrant, about 1 minute. Hit the "cancel" button.
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Stir in the water. Add the tomatoes, then and add the beans on top of the tomatoes. Do not stir.
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Place the lid on your Instant Pot and set the valve to the "sealing" position. Press the "pressure cook" or "manual" button and set the pressure to high. Set the chili to cook for 10 minutes.
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When the chili has finished cooking, carefully move the valve to the "venting" position. Let the pressure release completely.
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Remove the lid from the Instant Pot and stir in the corn and tomato paste, if using. Let the chili sit for a bit to thicken up, if desired.
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Season the chili with salt and pepper to taste.
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Ladle into bowls and serve.
I really love the combo of taste! You even give an instant pot version. Fantastic!
The recipe is user friendly and easy and best of all I am thrilled to see you doing recipes using the Instant Pot.
Why is the tomato paste added after cooking in the IP version?
It's for thickening. You need to use extra water in the Instant Pot version, in order to avoid getting a burn warning. You also don't have the liquid reducing like you would on the stove, so it comes out more liquidy.
I made the Instant Pot version tonight and it came out great! I reduced the cumin because I'm not a big fan of cumin, and I didn't have cayenne on hand so I used a Moroccan spice blend and it came out very spicy, but I loved it. It did come out with a little more liquid than I usually put in my chili, but I'm sure by tomorrow it will be very thick (and of course I could have simmered it more to thicken it if I wanted to). I'll definitely make it again!
The recipe doesn't specify if beans are added with or without liquid, so I'm assuming it's with. To reduce sodium I like to drain and rinse canned beans. Do you recommend adding water or veg broth as a substitute for stovetop cooking?
It's without - I just updated the recipe to clarify!
I loved the recipe! I made it in the Instant Pot which I love but it was too liquify even with the added tomato paste. I have two questions:
1). Can I add a little grain to thicken it a little more when made in the Instant Pot?
2). How would I make this using dried beans instead of canned?
Thank you,
5 stars!! It does fit in the small 3 c. Instant Pot. No improvements except too spicy. ¼ t. cayenne was double what we thought it needed. Will reduce that next time. I waited to salt it until it was ready to be plated. Freezes beautifully. Suggested toppings: Dollop of sour cream, sliced avocado (salt & peppered), and fresh chopped cilantro. Husband is vegan, I am not. Just prior to plating, we put a portion of beef crumbles/vegan beef crumbles.