Recipe: Easy Plant Based Chili

This is one of my all-time favorite chili recipes. This one here is a staple I used to bring to potlucks and small group meetings. Vegans and Meat eaters are sure to enjoy this one. Give it a try as written below or add your own twists. Common to most chili recipes the pleasure of just letting it simmer while you do other things is unmatched.

This recipe requires about 15 minutes of initial prep then 45 minutes of "lazy" cooking. Listen 45 minutes is quite a long time; long enough to get in some positive body movement or gratitude journaling right?

Happy Cooking!

Ingredients

Seasonings: Herbs & Spices

• 1 tablespoons olive oil

• ½ medium onion, chopped

• 2 tablespoons dried oregano

• ½ tablespoon salt (if desired)

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• 2 bay leaves

• ¼ cup chili powder

• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper

Produce/Vegetables

• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

• 2 colored bell peppers, chopped

• 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped (if desired)

• 1 handful of fresh spinach leaves (if desired)

Canned

• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained & washed

• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained & washed

• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans drained & washed

• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn (if desired)

• 2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chile peppers, drained

• 3 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed

Protein Source

• 2 (12 ounce) packages vegetarian/vegan “burger” crumbles

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in onion and season with oregano, salt, cumin, and bay leaves. Cook and stir until onion is tender; stir in colored bell peppers, jalapeños, and garlic. Add green chile peppers and cook until heated through. Stir in vegetarian/vegan burger crumbles; reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer for 5 minutes.

2. Stir in tomatoes; season with chili powder and black pepper. Stir in kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and black beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 45 minutes.

3. Stir in the corn & fresh spinach leaves, and continue cooking for 5 minutes before serving.

4. Turn off heat and serve in a bowl.

5. Top with the garnish of your choice. Fresh made guacamole or dairy free sour cream are usually a hit.

This chili recipe is naturally high in sodium so choose low sodium cans of beans and omit salt if this suits your body’s needs.

The recipe is also high in carbohydrates, therefore feel free to omit the corn to lower this a bit.

Lastly, by using fresh produce & herbs this chili will naturally be high in dietary Fiber, Protein, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, and Potassium.

Enjoy!

Photo Credit: Stephanie Monfette

Original Recipe Idea Credit: calead910