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    Home » Entrees

    The Best Vegan Chili

    Published: Apr 11, 2022 Updated: Apr 11, 2022 by Alison Andrews This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe
    Vegan Chili

    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.

    Vegan chili in a black bowl with chopped cilantro, cashew cream and diced avocado.

    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:

    Ingredients to make vegan 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.
    Vegan chili in a black bowl with chopped cilantro, cashew cream and diced avocado.

    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.
    Onions and olive oil added to pot and sautéed.
    • Add sliced celery and carrots and sauté with the onions until the veggies have softened. About 12 minutes.
    Chopped celery and carrot added to pot and sautéed.
    • Add crushed garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper and smoked paprika and cook until the spices are fragrant. About 2 minutes.
    Crushed garlic and spices added to pot and sautéed.
    • 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.
    Canned tomatoes, vegetable stock, tomato paste and beans added to pot and brought to a simmer.
    • Add light brown sugar for flavor balance and stir in. Add sea salt to taste.
    Light brown sugar and salt added to pot and mixed in.
    • Your vegan chili is ready to serve.
    Vegan chili in a pot with a serving spoon.

    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.

    Vegan chili in a black bowl with chopped cilantro, cashew cream and diced avocado.

    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.

    Vegan chili with chopped cilantro, cashew cream and diced avocado in a black bowl with a spoon.

    More Comforting Vegan Stews and Soups

    1. Vegan Minestrone Soup
    2. Vegan Black Bean Soup
    3. Vegan Stew
    4. Vegan Gumbo
    5. Vegan Jambalaya
    6. Easy Ratatouille
    Spoonful of vegan chili.

    Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!

    Vegan chili with cashew cream, chopped cilantro and diced avocado in a black bowl.

    Vegan Chili

    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.
    4.91 from 21 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Vegan
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 50 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour hour
    Servings: 6
    Calories: 249kcal
    Author: Alison Andrews

    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
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    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

    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. Nutritional information is for chili only and excludes toppings. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Serve | Calories: 249kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 1034mg | Potassium: 1049mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 4977IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 129mg | Iron: 5mg
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @lovingitvegan on Instagram and hashtag #lovingitvegan
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    About the Author

    Hi I'm Alison Andrews, I'm the voice and cook behind Loving It Vegan. I love making delicious vegan food and creating vegan versions of all your old favorites, so that you’ll never feel like you’re missing out. Find out more about me here.

    Loving It Vegan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site may contain some of these links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through one of those links, Loving It Vegan will receive a small commission from the purchase at no additional cost to you.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Bloopie says

      June 21, 2025 at 1:33 am

      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.

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        June 26, 2025 at 7:15 am

        Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for sharing!

        Reply
    2. James says

      March 10, 2025 at 6:42 am

      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.3 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        March 11, 2025 at 8:01 am

        Thanks for sharing James.

        Reply
    3. Renee says

      September 24, 2024 at 7:59 pm

      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.5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        October 01, 2024 at 12:23 pm

        Thanks so much for sharing and for your great review Renee! Happy to hear you enjoy the recipe!

        Reply
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    4.91 from 21 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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