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This Easy Vegan Chili is a hearty one-pot meal packed with protein and fiber thanks to beans and veggies. Ready in just 40 minutes, it’s perfect for chili evenings, meal prep, or freezing for later. Vegan and Gluten-Free; Oil-Free Option.
There’s nothing quite like a steaming hot, hearty bowl of this fuss-free Vegan Chili to warm you up on a cold evening. This easy recipe takes the work out of the classic, thanks to a simple blend of canned beans, tomatoes, and smoky spices. It’s a guaranteed crowd-pleaser for vegans and meat-eaters alike!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reader review:
“This is one of the first recipes I made as a newly converted vegan. It is DELICIOUS!! Even my non-vegan family members LOVED it!”
– Tece
Table of Contents
The Only Vegan Chili Recipe You’ll Ever Need
This Vegan Bean Chili recipe is proof that you can do some pretty cool things with the canned goods in your cupboard. Just like this Black Bean Stew and this White Bean Puttanesca, it’s a one-pot meal that’s as perfect for weeknight dinners as it is for game days. The best part? You probably have most of the ingredients on hand already, and it only takes 40 minutes to put together.
Everything you want in a bowl of chili is here: smoky, rich, and deeply satisfying flavors, a well-seasoned tomato base, and enough veggies, kidney beans, and pinto beans to fill you up. By the time it’s done simmering, you’ll have a high-protein vegan chili that’s so thick and chunky, even meat eaters will be asking for seconds.
Ingredients for Vegan Chili
Not only is this Chili super easy to make, but it’s also full of plant-based protein and fiber to keep you full and satisfied for hours and hours. Plus, you only need 11 healthy ingredients to make it! And I’m betting you already have most of them sitting around in your pantry too.
How to Make Vegan Chili
- Sauté the onion in a large pot until lightly browned. Add the bell pepper, carrot, and celery, and sauté for a few more minutes. Stir in the garlic and spices.
- Add the beans, tomatoes, broth, and water to the pot. Cover with a lid and heat to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer.
- Taste the chili and adjust the seasonings as needed. Divide it into bowls and serve warm. Enjoy!
Caitlin’s Cooking Tips
- Finely chop your veggies. This allows them to melt into the chili! I prefer to dice my onions, bell peppers, and carrots to be roughly the same size as the pinto beans.
- Adjust the spice level to your preference. This chili is meant to be as spicy as you want, with most of the heat coming from the ancho chili powder and optional cayenne. To make a milder version, reduce the chili powder to 2 or 3 tablespoons and omit the cayenne. To kick things up a notch, keep the cayenne and consider sautéing a minced jalapeño with the garlic and spices.
Serving Suggestions
We can’t talk about chili without talking about toppings… That’s the best part! Don’t stop at a sprinkle of nutritional yeast or dairy-free shredded cheese. We gotta go big with even more, like sliced green onions, pickled red onions, a dollop of vegan sour cream, diced avocado, and tortilla strips for crunch.
And can you even call it chili without the cornbread on the side? I have to eat every bowl with a soft and buttery slice of this Perfect Vegan Cornbread.
If you’re looking for more meatless chili recipes, you’ll also love this Vegan White Bean Chili with Jackfruit, this 30-Minute Chipotle Black Bean Chili, and this Slow Cooker Bean Quinoa Chili!
How to Store Leftover Chili
After the chili has cooled to room temperature, transfer it to a few single-serving airtight containers. It will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator or up to 2 months in the freezer. Thaw the chili overnight in the fridge before reheating.
When it’s time to eat, reheat as much chili as you plan on eating in the microwave or in a pot over low-medium heat, stirring often, until it’s warmed through. The chili will thicken as it cools, so feel free to stir in a splash of broth or water to help thin it out, if needed.
Substitutions and Variations
- Oil-Free Variation: Sauté the chopped veggies in 1/4 cup of water before adding the garlic and spices.
- Make it “Meaty”: You can add a package of vegan ground “beef,” chopped vegan sausage (like in this Hearty Vegan Chorizo Chili), crumbled tempeh, or extra-firm tofu for a bulky, “beefy” chili. Add your “meat” of choice to the pan when you add the garlic and seasonings.
- Optional Flavor Boosters: If your chili feels like it’s missing anything, try stirring in a splash of soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, fresh lime juice, apple cider vinegar, or even a teaspoon of cocoa powder at the very end to wake up the flavors.
Recipe FAQs
To turn this into a crockpot vegan chili, sauté your veggies and spices in a pan on the stovetop to develop flavor, then toss everything into the slow cooker. Cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours or High for 3 to 4 hours.
It takes a little more time and patience, but dried beans are great in chili. Soak the beans overnight and simmer them in fresh water until tender the next day. Add them to the chili once they’re cooked through (step 3).
If you don’t love beans in chili, I’d recommend swapping them for 1 to 1.5 cups of dry lentils instead. Just be sure to increase the vegetable broth by about 2 cups and simmer until the lentils are tender.
Try mashing some of the beans in the pot to release their natural starches and thicken the base. You can also simmer the chili uncovered for an extra 10 minutes to let some of the liquid evaporate.
Enjoy! If you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I would also love it if you could leave a comment below with a recipe rating! Thank you for the support 😊
Easy Vegan Chili with Beans and Diced Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil see notes for oil-free version, if desired
- 1 small yellow onion 1/4” dice
- 1 large or 2 small green bell peppers 1/4” dice
- 3 ribs celery small dice
- 3 small carrots small dice
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 tablespoons ancho chili powder* (reduce to 3 if you are sensitive to heat)
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 15- ounce cans red kidney beans, drained
- 2 15- ounce cans pinto beans, drained
- 1 14- ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 14- ounce can diced tomatoes (or sub more crushed tomatoes)
- 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth (or water)
- 1 cup water
- Optional Toppings: green onions dairy-free cheese or sour cream, etc.
Instructions
- Base Flavor: Warm the oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, until the edges are beginning to brown. Add the bell pepper, carrot, and celery and sauté for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Aromatics: Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne (if using), and salt. Mix well and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, until the spices are just beginning to stick to the bottom of the pot. medium high saute onion 3 to 5 min.
- Simmer: Add the beans, crushed and diced tomatoes, vegetable broth, and water to the pot. Mix well, scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pot as needed. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, uncover and reduce the heat to medium, maintaining a simmer. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the chili begins to splatter you can reduce the heat slightly, or cover it with a splatter screen.
- Serve: Sample the chili and add any additional salt, if needed. Serve warm, and top as desired. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days and reheated on the stovetop or in the microwave. You can also store this vegan chili in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Recipe Notes
- Chili Powder: Your chili powder should be pure ancho chili powder for better flavor, not a “blend” of various spices and salt. I find that some brands are spicier than others, so you may want to sample a small bit of yours and reduce the amount to 2-3 tablespoons if you are sensitive to heat.
- Beans: You can swap out the pinto beans or kidney beans for black beans, if you’d like. Or check out my Chipotle Black Bean Chili!
- Oil-Free: Sauté the onion, celery, and green pepper in 1/4 cup of water for 3 to 5 minutes, then add the garlic and species and sauté for another 2 to 3 minutes. Proceed with the recipe as written from step 3 onward.
I make often and I love it!!! The carrots give it a hardy texture. I had a little flour to thicken the sauce
so happy you love it, Valisa!
I made this tonight and it was tomato soup. It took me till after I made it, that two 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes is an insane amount. If you all think this is chili, that’s crazy.
I agree! I never use that many tomatoes 🙂
Ty for the recipe
you’re very welcome!
Can you mod this in an instapot?
Hi Michelle! I think you could – I would use the sauté setting on the iPot for steps 1-2. Then add all of the ingredients in step 3, seal the pot, and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. Let the naturally manually release for 10 minutes before naturally releasing it. The chili may be a little more runny; if so, simmer on the sauté setting, stirring occasionally, until it has thickened to your liking.
Delicious recipe! My husband raved about it. Lots of chopping but that’s chili 99% of the time. Can’t wait to make it again!
So happy you both enjoyed!
Can I sub chopped tomatoes for crushed?
Canned chopped tomatoes? Yes, just but it will be a bit chunkier!
Love your recipes
Yet to make
But they sound very straiggt forward thnx for keeping it simple
Even for me to follow
Thank you, Denise! I hope you enjoy.
Fabulous chili!! Wow there is just enough chili powder with only 2 tbsp. and cayenne pepper! I also added Abbot’s chorizo to it. Love it and I’m eating it now! It just got done cooking. This is a definite keeper. Delicious! Will freeze left overs because the big pot was so full! I’ll have enough for the rest of winter here in Long Island! Thank you!!
Yum – love the idea of adding chorizo! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review 🙂
I’m doing the vegan chilli now I’m see how my family doing with this meat less meal on today. We have snow in our area of Texas. Normally we don’t have snow at all lol.
Enjoy the chili and the snow!!
I did everything perfectly. I don’t know what went wrong. Maybe 4 teaspoons of ancho chili powder was too much. Adding more salt and some brown sugar helped fix the taste for me.
My husband absolutely loved it.
Thank you for sharing a healthy, easy, vegan chili recipe.
It’s definitely up to preference! You can always start with less chili and add more as needed. Hope it works out better next time!
I am making this now but I have made it a few times prior. It’s absolutely amazing! Thank you for sharing
So glad you enjoyed, Mark!
Made this tonight and it was wonderful, but I might halve the chili powder next time. I’m a bit of a wimp. But I licked my bowl clean, nevertheless! I smothered my chili with chopped sweet onions, fresh tomatoes, cilantro, sauerkraut, and added a dollop of almond yogurt (because it tastes like sour cream). Thank you for a great recipe.
(I’m so happy you added that leftovers can be frozen because it makes a big batch of chili.)
I’m so happy you enjoyed, Cynthia! Those toppings sound delicious.
This chili is not only easy to make , it’s delicious!!! Adding it to my main meal rotation! How many calories is a serving?
I am so glad you enjoyed! Plugging into an online nutrition calculator it says 254 cals per serving if you divided into 6 servings.
Made this for a pot luck at work, it was delicious. Will definitely be making it again. Thank you great recipe
I’m so glad, Carol!
Made this last night during a rainy day and it was just what we needed. My husband has never had a chili with so many vegetables so he was very curious about it but definitely enjoyed it all!!! Will definitely make it again!
Thank you for the review, Sarah! I’m glad you and your husband enjoyed it
This chili is exceptional – every time I make it, I love it even more!!! Thank you!!!
Amazing! So glad you love it, Laura.
First vegan dish I made too.
Everyone wanted the recipe so I just gave them your site!
Thank you Kaitlyn
So happy you enjoyed it, Penny!
This is one of the first recipes I made as a newly converted vegan. It is DELICIOUS!! Even my non-vegan family members LOVED it!
So happy to hear that!
Perfect snow day recipe. Hearty and tasty. Appreciate how easy it was to make and having leftovers. (Cooking for 2)
So happy to hear that Kate!
I appreciated the yummy beans and lots of veggies in this chili but for me it was too tomatoey