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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 ran out of cumin and somehow missed the oregano so I added a bbq spice blend and it still turned out great! Thanks!! My little boy liked it and I know my husband will too.
Glad it turned out great, Jessica!
Easy Vegan Chili Recipe seems so delicious and healthy too. Will love to make this , hope all my members will love this . Thanks for sharing this one.
Confident they would love it, Yamini!
You are so welcome! Glad you loved it 🙂
Great chili recipe! Always love to make your recipes because they’re so easy to follow and always delicious!
Thank you so much! 🙂
Any suggestions on how you might edit it for someone who can’t handle a lot of spice? If I put less chili powder would you suggest I increase any of the other seasoning to compensate?
You can start with less and add more to taste, if you’d like
I made this for dinner. Everyone loved it, except a little to spicy. Thank you for this great recipe.
Glad you loved it, Melissa! 😄
This is the most AMAZING CHILI EVER!!! A friend used to make chili all the time, and I thought that it was pretty good, so I should look up a recipe for it. I have made this about 10 times now, and still can’t get enough of it! I also make vegan Spelt flatbread to eat along with it!
I made this a few weeks ago. It was easy and comes out delicious. I used Penzy’s Arizona Dreaming for the Chile powder, as it has ancho in it. I plan to make this against tonight and will try adding Field Roast chorizo sausages. Thanks for the great recipe!
Amazing recipes. I am glad that I found your blog as I got new snack ideas from it. My daughter always wants new snacks in her tiffin and now I can make it for her. Keep sharing such tasty recipes with the foodies.
Thanks so much! Glad you and your daughter are enjoying them!
this was really delicious made it tonight for the family! we are new to a vegan diet but love your blog!
Welcome and glad you’re here!
It was really good! I only used about a tablespoon of chili powder because I cannot handle spice unfortunately. I also added some onion powder and nooch at the end and it was delicious!! My non vegan family also approves ????
Glad you were able to customize it to your taste-buds!
Hi. Am I mincing the garlic? I don’t mince when I make my beans, but I wonder if I should here.
Hey! Sort of a preference, really. We like quarter pieces but mincing works well if you don’t like a surprise piece of garlic.
Recipe was easy to make the
Only thing it takes the carrots longer than 7 minutes to get tender
Making this right now! Instead of 4 cans of beans, I’m only doing two and subbing chopped cauliflower and letting it all rest in the crock pot, I cant wait to see how it turns out!
Cauliflower, that sounds good! Definitely interested in how that works out!
How did this turn out? I always love to add more cauliflower anywhere I can.
Wow just wow! What an amazing delicious dish. Great change from the regular chili, enjoyed so much it will on our daily rotation looking forward in trying some of your other recipes. Thanks for sharing
Let us know how you like some of the other recipes!
Love this recipe, great for uni students! I cook up a big batch and freeze it, last for a good. Thank you so much!
It’s totally a perfect meal prep meal!
AMAZING!!!!
Thanks so much!
DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!Thank you 🙂
Thank YOU for making it!
oh. This is the food I need. It looks so delicious. Easy to do and healthy. I will try to make it. Thanks you!
Thanks so much! Enjoy!
I did it. Unbelievable, It so delicious. My family like it. Thanks you!
So happy to hear it! Thanks for making it – glad your family liked it!
This was a great Weekend Dinner! Had my Husband help me chop the veggies, Great way to get him involved 😉 . Wonderful Recipe Caitlin!
Glad you guys were able to make it together!
Made this delicious chili in an afternoon but my plans changed for dinner so it sat for a day. Maybe tasted better. I didn’t have red kidney beans so used garbanzos. I halved the recipe and had a 28 oz can of Italian style whole tomatoes that I used. This chili was a real keeper.
Glad you liked it! And happy that you were able to use what you had on hand!