The best vegan chili is loaded with beans, veggies and plenty of flavor! It’s hearty, cozy, comforting and insanely delicious. It’s also super easy to make with pantry staples.
This delicious, hearty vegan chili is one of our absolute favorite vegan dinners. It’s so easy to make, with simple pantry ingredients.
It is absolutely loaded with flavor and takes around an hour to make. Plus, leftovers are divine and it freezes beautifully too. So it’s perfect to make a large pot of this even if you’ll eat it over a few days.
It also makes the perfect meatless Monday meal because even meat-eaters will not miss the meat one bit in this hearty, satisfying dinner.
Serve it with cashew cream on top and vegan cornbread on the side and you have a seriously memorable meal.
Ingredients You’ll Need To Make This Bean Chili:
Ingredient Notes
- Black beans and red kidney beans – this is our favorite combination of canned beans for this bean chili, but you are welcome to mix and match or just use any canned beans you have on hand.
- Chopped tomatoes – canned chopped tomatoes work best for texture rather than crushed tomatoes.
- Chili powder, oregano, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, cumin – is the perfect spice combination for that smoky, layered, chili flavor.
- Light brown sugar – simply cuts the acidity from the tomato. Coconut sugar also works great.
How To Make Vegan Chili
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Heat a large pot over medium heat, add olive oil and chopped onion and sauté until the onions are softened. About 5 minutes.
- Add sliced celery and carrots and sauté with the onions until the veggies have softened. About 12 minutes.
- Add crushed garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper and smoked paprika and cook until the spices are fragrant. About 2 minutes.
- Add canned chopped tomato, vegetable stock, tomato paste, kidney beans and black beans and stir in. Bring it to a gentle simmer.
- Reduce heat and gently simmer, uncovered until the vegetables are cooked and the flavors have blended together. About 30 minutes.
- Add light brown sugar for flavor balance and stir in. Add sea salt to taste.
- Your vegan chili is ready to serve.
How To Serve Vegan Chili
This is divine served with a dollop of plain cashew cream. It cuts the spiciness perfectly and adds an extra layer of total deliciousness to this meal. It is also great with some vegan sour cream if you want more of a tang.
My preference is for the plain cashew cream (as pictured here), I feel that the more plain option works better to alleviate the spiciness of the dish.
Some fresh chopped cilantro and diced avocado are also great accompaniments.
And sides? You just can’t go wrong with vegan cornbread on the side, or make some vegan cornbread muffins instead. Vegan biscuits also pair perfectly.
Storing and Freezing
Storing: Leftovers keep very well for 4-5 days, covered in the fridge. You can reheat it on the stovetop over low heat or in the microwave.
Freezing: It freezes beautifully for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and heat on the stovetop over low heat, or in the microwave.
More Comforting Vegan Stews and Soups
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Chili
Ingredients
For the Chili:
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Medium Onion White, Yellow or Brown, Chopped
- 2 Medium Stalks Celery Sliced
- 2 Medium Carrots Sliced
- 2 Cloves Garlic Crushed
- 2 Tablespoons Chili Powder
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Oregano
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 28 ounces Canned Chopped Tomato (800g)
- 1 cup Vegetable Stock (240ml) or Broth
- ½ cup Tomato Paste (130g)
- 15 ounce Can Kidney Beans Drained
- 15 ounce Can Black Beans Drained
- 2 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar or Coconut Sugar
- Sea Salt To taste
For Serving:
- Cashew Cream
- Fresh Chopped Cilantro
- Avocado
Instructions
- Heat a large pot over medium heat, add olive oil and chopped onion and sauté until the onions are softened. About 5 minutes.
- Add sliced celery and carrots and sauté with the onions until the veggies have softened. About 12 minutes.
- Add crushed garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper and smoked paprika and cook until the spices are fragrant. About 2 minutes.
- Add canned chopped tomato, vegetable stock, tomato paste, kidney beans and black beans and stir in. Bring it to a gentle simmer.
- Reduce heat and gently simmer, uncovered until the vegetables are cooked and the flavors have blended together. About 30 minutes.
- Add light brown sugar for flavor balance and stir in. Add sea salt to taste.
- Serve with cashew cream, fresh chopped cilantro and diced avocado.
Notes
- Storing: Leftovers keep very well for 4-5 days, covered in the fridge. You can reheat it on the stovetop over low heat or in the microwave.
- Freezing: It freezes beautifully for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and heat on the stovetop over low heat, or in the microwave.
- Nutritional information is for chili only and excludes toppings.
My first time making Chili and I have to say that it was absolutely delicious! I never thought to put avocado in it but it really pairs well with cashew cream.
Though I will note that I forgot to get canned tomatoes so I improvised by roasting 5 tomatoes in the oven along with seasoning them with salt and pepper. Then I added them to a blender with a powder vegetable soup base, adobo peppers, and a cup of water (add more water if needed) In the future I will add serranos for I feel it wasn’t spicy enough! But I will gladly make this again.
Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for sharing!
I followed the recipe and felt it had too much flavor of a tomato base flavor that was overpowering. The cashew cream and fresh cilantro helped counter and mellow the sauce. Otherwise a solid base to experiment with and personalize to individual taste preferences.
Thanks for sharing James.
Hi! Made the recipe using fresh chopped tomatoes instead of canned tomatoes. Also added more water to compensate for the switch. Had a very nice flavor.
Thanks so much for sharing and for your great review Renee! Happy to hear you enjoy the recipe!