Vegetarian Chili Recipe (easy to make with lots of veggies)
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I was a vegetarian for 14 years, and during that time, I perfected this vegetarian chili recipe. It’s a one-pot meal that is full of vegetables, made with pantry staple ingredients, and easy to make. I still make it for my family today, and even our non-vegan friends rave about it.
I love sitting down to a big bowl of hearty chili on a cool evening. Although I can no longer call myself a vegetarian, I prefer vegetarian chili to meat-based chili.
When I was 20 years old, I decided to stop eating meat. During those 14 years, I became attached to my meat-free comfort foods. Vegetarian chili is at the top of my list, followed very closely by my coconut lentil curry, one of my most popular recipes. There’s just something about a one-pot meal where all the flavors meld together to become so much more than they could have been on their own.
I’ve been making this homemade chili for so many years that it’s become second nature. Honestly, measuring the ingredients so I could share the recipe with you felt a little funny.
You need to know one thing: I wasn’t joking about this being an easy recipe. Even though I have all the ingredients listed in proper measurements, feel free to eyeball and make substitutions. This is one chili that you cannot mess up.
And if you love your crockpot, I’ve made a Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili Recipe. It’s basically this recipe with a few tweaks to make it work in a slow cooker.
Key ingredients
This vegetarian chili recipe comes together using pantry-staple ingredients – you probably already have most of the ingredients on hand.
- From the spice rack: Chili powder, ground cumin, oregano, and sea salt bring warming flavor to your vegetarian chili.
- Vegetables: Use some fresh bell peppers, carrots, celery stalks, and frozen corn in your vegetarian chili.
- Canned goodies: Grab two cans of whole tomatoes and two cans of beans – I like kidney and white beans!
Tip ⇢ The one thing you need to know about this (or any) vegetarian chili recipe is that you want to salt it well. Salt helps bring out the flavor and create a feeling of depth that can sometimes be lacking in vegetarian recipes. Don’t be shy with the salt shaker.
Vegetarian Chili Toppings
While it’s delicious on its own, I love this chili with some toppings. They make it feel extra special. My favorites are:
- Grated cheddar cheese or sour Cream
- Corn chips (bonus if they’re nacho flavored!)
- Sliced green onions
- Diced avocado (amazing!)
- Pickled red onions. This is the recipe that I LOVE!
Serving suggestions
Most of the time time I serve this with a topping or two and call it dinner. But sometimes it’s fun to add a side. My favorite chili sides are garlic bread and zucchini cornbread. And while this is a vegetable loaded chili, a side caesar salad goes nicely!
Store and reheat
Store: Let the chili cool completely, then transfer it to a sealed container, keep it in the fridge, and eat it within one week.
Reheat: I like to reheat this in a pot over medium-low heat, but a microwave also works.
Freeze: This chili freezes very well! Make extras and store some in freezer bags for a quick meal. It will keep for at least 6 months in the freezer.
Vegetarian Chili Recipe (easy to make with lots of veggies)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 large onion (diced)
- 4 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- 1-3 tablespoons chili powder (more will be spicier)
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ¼ – 2 teaspoons chili flakes (the more chili flakes the spicier it will be)
- 2 medium bell peppers (diced)
- 2 medium carrots (diced)
- 3 medium celery stalks (diced)
- 2 28-ounce cans of whole tomatoes and their juice (use your hands to roughly crush the tomatoes)
- 2 15-ounce cans of beans (drained and rinsed – like kidney and white beans)
- 2 cups frozen corn (you could use fresh but frozen is easy and works great)
- Sea salt (to taste -I like about 2 teaspoons)
- Optional toppings: sour cream, cheddar cheese, cilantro, diced avocados, or green onion
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté for about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute more. Add the chili powder, cumin, oregano, and chili flakes and stir.2 tablespoons cooking oil, 1 large onion, 4 cloves garlic, 1-3 tablespoons chili powder, 2 tablespoons ground cumin, 1 teaspoon oregano, ¼ – 2 teaspoons chili flakes
- Add the peppers, carrots, and celery and cook for about 5 minutes, or until they just start to soften. Add the tomatoes and their juice and bring to a simmer. Once the chili begins to simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low. You want the chili to be at a low simmer with the lid off.2 medium bell peppers, 2 medium carrots, 3 medium celery stalks, 2 28-ounce cans of whole tomatoes and their juice
- Continue to cook the chili, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Add beans and corn and let the chili return to a simmer. Cook for 5 more minutes or until the corn and beans have heated through. Season generously with sea salt.2 15-ounce cans of beans, 2 cups frozen corn, Sea salt
- Serve on its own or topped with one (or all!) of the delicious toppings. Enjoy!Optional toppings: sour cream, cheddar cheese, cilantro, diced avocados, or green onion
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Hello! I have to tell you, this was my first time actually cooking a meal (I’m 22) and it turned out fantastic! It was super delicious! My family loved it!! We used all your ingredients. But I ended up putting 3 TABLESPOONS of chili flakes. And 4 with chili powder. It wasn’t spicy for us because we are used to spicy food. We are originally from the Caribbean. I also added a ton of baked beans because my mother had bought the wrong tin of kidney beans. She bought the smaller version of kidney beans. But those baked beans made it Taste fantastic!! I also added 3 leaves(chopped finely) of a Caribbean seasoning. It’s called “Recao” here in NY. That’s gives food a lot of extra flavor. We put it in almost all our foods! Well we season our meats with it before cooking it. Anyway, great recipe! My family loved it and I loved it! It’s now in my favorite recipe folder!! Lol. I’m about to go have leftovers!!…
Oh, and I don’t like prawn stock, so I used veggie stock. I should have used a bigger pot though. By the time I was done putting the corn, I literally had half an inch to the rim of the pot!! Haha
That is so great to hear. I can’t believe you added 3 tablespoons of chili flakes! I thought I liked my food spicy but girl, that’s crazy hot!
Also, I’ve put Recao on my list of things that I must try. I love trying new flavors and I’ve never heard of it before so I really want to try it. Going to look for it at the market today. 🙂
Recao is actually cilantro. I haven’t tried the recipe yet, but it looks really delicious.
I’m so glad you let me know! I’ve been keeping my eyes open for it, but haven’t seen recao anywhere. Now I know why! Love cilantro. 🙂
Recao is not cilantro, but it’s part of the cilantro family. It also looks very different than cilantro. To me, definitely a better, stronger taste than cilantro. Now seeing this comment after years due to trying to find the recipe once more! Hope you found Recao it like us Caribbean’s (Trinidadians) say “Shadowbenni”…
Hi! I’m about to make your vegetarian chili in the crock pot. It looks great. Can I substitute fish sauce for the prawn stock? Thanks.
Absolutely you can!
Delicious!
We added a cup of rice into it as well. Super yummy!
Such a great idea!
Delicious chili! I added a bit of tVp for an extra umpth of protein! Fantastic chili tho 5 stars!!
Thank you!!
I’m so happy to hear she liked the recipe!
Delicious! I used the same spices from your recipe but changed the veggies a bit based on what I had on hand. I skipped the celery and added acorn squash, carrots, frozen peas and jalapeno peppers (so I reduced the red pepper flakes a bit). I also added some homemade veggie stock and I used 1 can of diced tomatoes and 1 can of crushed tomatoes (that’s just what I had in my pantry). It turned out great! Thanks for the recipe, I will definitely be making this again, or maybe I will try one of your other chilli recipes next time.
I’m so happy you liked the recipe! Adding squash is a great idea. Have you tried the Chickpea and Yam Chili? I think you’d like that one, too. 🙂
This was really good, nice and spicy! And I only used about 1.5 T of chili powder. Next time I make it I will sauté the veggies a bit longer. The celery was a still a a little crunchy. I will definitely be making this again!
I’m so happy to hear you liked it!!
Simple recipe to keep vegan! So yummy!
So happy you enjoyed it!
Thanks so much for this delicious recipe. Instead of using oil, I simmered the onions and other vegetables in a cm of water. Makes no difference to the final product but reduces the fat content substantially. Also, I added a few dashes of cinnamon for extra autumn warmth.
I’m so happy you liked it! It’s funny timing that you should mention adding cinnamon to the chili … I’m working on a pumpkin chili post right now that has some cinnamon in it. Great minds think alike!
So easy to cook and so tasty. Definitely one of my favourites.
Thank you so much for your feedback, Sylvie! I’m so happy you enjoy the recipe!!
Hello! I will surely try this! However, do you have a substitute for cumin powder? I am not really used or fond of cumin..powder. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Hi Lyds! If you’re not a fan of cumin you could either omit it or try replacing it with coriander. Hope that helps!
Thank you for posting this recipe! It was absolutely delicious! I added some Quorn Mince (meat free) and some diced potato and it was very filling and hearty!
You’re so welcome, Dannie! I love that you’ve added some potato … yum!!
Excellent recipe. I will definitely make this again.
Thanks, Kathy! So happy you enjoyed it. 🙂
Made this tonight…it is fantastic!
Love the pulled pork idea but stuck with the veggie version (including Yves Ground Round for texture) today. I love the sweetness of corn in a spicy chili, too. It is absolutely delicious.
Hello,
This chili looks great and I’d like to give it a go this evening, could you tell me how many grams of beans are in one can? Im from France and we usually have small 265g or bigger 500g cans.
Hope you can help!
Thanks 🙂
Hi Isabelle,
The brand that I usually buy is 425 grams. Just go with the 500g can and put the whole thing in. Better to have more beans than less. Hope you enjoy the chili!