There is nothing better on a cold day than some warm chili. And boy has it been cold lately! Dreary and rainy and cold. It was time to make a yummy 3 bean vegan chili!
I decided to see if I could come up with a simple vegan chili recipe from the ingredients that I had on hand. It turned out really good and didn’t take long!
To be considered nutritarian, you have to look at oil, salt, and sugar content of recipes. So make sure you are using low-sodium or no-salt added beans & vegetable broth and not sautéing in oil. It is very simple just to use a few tablespoons of water or vegetable broth to saute instead of oil. Don’t add sugar or salt while cooking.
Related reading – What have I been eating as a Nutritarian??? Check it out from the beginning of my journey – WEEK 1
Frozen chopped vegetables save time
I also like to use frozen chopped vegetables to save time chopping, but you can definitely use fresh onion & peppers and chop them yourself if that’s what you have on hand.
I didn’t have any mushrooms this time, but if I did I would have added them. Great way to make it even more immunity protecting and delicious!
I prefer to also add chopped greens like kale & spinach to my soups & chilis, but I left it out this time. My oldest son is very picky and sometimes won’t eat it when he can see the greens…. I wasn’t in the mood for the battle this time….
Set your slow cooker or crockpot before work and have dinner waiting for you!
You can also put this in a slow cooker on low before work and then have dinner waiting for you when you get home. No need to saute the garlic and onions if you do the slow cooker version – just throw all the ingredients together in the cooker and set on low for 6-8 hours. Smells great when you get home!
You really can use whatever beans you have on hand – black beans, chili beans, red beans, garbanzo beans (I really like chick pea texture), northern beans, cannellini beans…
You can also add crumbled tofu if you like. If you freeze tofu and then let it thaw for a few hours on the counter, it has more of a meaty texture. Just crumble and throw in the chili with all the other ingredients.
This chili has a little more soupy consistency, but you can easily reduce the amount of vegetable broth you use if you prefer a thicker chili.
What goes great with Chili? Sweet Cornbread!
Check out this no-oil vegan sweet cornbread recipe!
What do you think? Are there ingredients or spices you really like in your chili? Let me know in the comments below!
Other great recipes –
- Easy No-Oil Buffalo Cauliflower
- Healthy Vegan Carrot Cake
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Nutritarian Spinach Lasagna
3 Bean Vegan Chili Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup frozen chopped onion
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 3/4 cups black beans, drained low sodium or no-salt added
- 1 3/4 cups red kidney beans, low sodium or no-salt added drained
- 1 3/4 cups northern beans, low sodium or no-salt added drained
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 cup frozen chopped bell peppers (or fresh chopped)
- 1 3/4 cups crushed tomatoes low sodium or no-salt added
- 1 3/4 cups diced tomatoes with chilis (like Rotel) low sodium or no-salt added
- 1 cup vegetable broth low sodium
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- juice of 1 lemon
- dash black pepper
Instructions
- In a large pot, saute chopped onion and minced garlic over medium heat in a 1-2 tablespoons of water, adding more as necessary, until translucent. (about 3-5 minutes)
- Add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 45 minutes.
- You can also added chopped mushrooms or chopped greens like kale or spinach to make it even healthier!
Love it. Just the right amount of spices for me as I cannot handle spicy hot. Easy to throw together.