Best Vegetarian Chili

This best vegetarian chili is easy and healthy, leaves meat lovers begging for the recipe, and wins awards at chili cook-offs. How’s that for impressive?

If you’ve been looking for the best meatless chili, that search stops here. Yes, this vegetarian chili recipe is irresistible to vegetarians and meat eaters alike. And it doesn’t just taste like bean soup. We’ve been looking for a recipe like this for years. Now, we serve it for Super Bowl parties, pitch ins, fall dinners, and gloomy gray days. And hey, it’s even won awards! Said reader Liz, “Had a chili cookoff. Saw this recipe online thought it looked good and gave it a shot. I won first place with about 20 entries! A lot of people loved it and quite a few wanted the recipe.”

Well it’s your lucky day, because now you can have it too.

Related: Top Healthy Dinner Ideas | 12 Easy Dutch Oven Recipes

How to make vegetarian chili…that tastes good without meat

Of course, no vegetarian chili is world’s best without a few secrets. The main challenge for a no meat chili is how to make the flavor and texture stand up to a standard meat-based chili. Here are a few of our secrets:

• Bulgur wheat: This veggie chili features bulgur wheat, a whole grain that adds a chewy texture and helps thicken a chili like meat would. It’s not gluten-free, so if you prefer a gluten-free grain you can substitute quinoa (instructions are in the recipe below).
• Canned green chilis: To up the tangy complexity, green chilis add a warmth and body. Use mild green chilis to add flavor without heat.
• A load of chili powder: 1/3 cup of chili powder is no joke. It gives the chili spiced, nuanced undertone.
• Chipotle powder (optional): If you like heat, add a little chipotle powder: it adds complexity and heat!

Best chili toppings

A vegetarian chili is one thing: but topping it is quite another! We’ve called this a vegetarian chili because we like to add the standard toppings that do add dairy. Here are some of our favorites:

• Sour cream: Even above cheese, sour cream is our number 1 chili topping because of the creamy richness that it brings. If you prefer dairy free, try Vegan Sour Cream or Cashew Cream.
• Nacho cheese: A dollop of our vegan nacho cheese also adds huge flavor!
• Shredded cheese: Mexican blend or get fancy with shredded Gouda or Havarti
• Pumpkin seeds: Our new favorite idea is to add a little crunch with roasted salted pepitas!
• Saltines, crushed tortilla chips, or tortilla strips: Some people swear by saltines in chili: are you one of them? We prefer to go with our baked tortilla strips.
• Sliced green onion or chives: The sharp onion sends vegetarian chili over the top.
• Minced red onion: We like to give red onion a little rinse in water first to remove some of the strong bite.
• Hot sauce: We like hot sauce more for its tang than its heat! Our favorite for topping chili is Cholula.
• Avocado slices: Add those good fats with a hit of everyone’s favorite fruit.

How to make it vegan

This easy vegetarian chili has a secret…it’s also vegan? The only thing that’s not plant based about this chili is the toppings. To make it into a vegan chili recipe, just omit any dairy chili toppings in favor of Vegan Nacho Cheese, green onions and lots of crunchy pepitas. And of course: a dollop of hot sauce! Or try our Ultimate Vegan Chili: it’s a huge crowd pleaser as well!

Related: What is a Vegan vs. Vegetarian Diet?

How to make it gluten-free

Contrary to most chili recipes, this one is not gluten-free. Why? It contains bulgur wheat. It’s a product of, as the name implies: durum wheat. But there’s an easy fix! Cook up a pot of quinoa while you’re prepping the chili, then add 2 cups cooked quinoa to the chili while simmering. We’ve added notes in the recipe below to indicate exactly how to do it.

Sides to go with chili

Of course, you’ve got to have an equally cozy side to go a homemade vegetarian chili recipe! Here are a few sides we recommend:

• Easy Vegan Cornbread / Best Homemade Cornbread The hands down favorite, this cornbread is tender, moist, and tastes the Jiffy box but 100 times tastier. (One version has dairy, one does not, and both are fantastic.)
• Buttermilk Biscuits with Hot Honey These biscuits are perfectly flaky: top them with spicy hot honey to put them over the top.
• Kale Caesar Salad with Cornbread Croutons Bring in the cornbread ethos with croutons instead.
• 10 Best Sides to Go with Chili We’ve got more great ideas where those came from! Head over for more.

Looking for other vegetarian soups?

This website is full of vegan and vegetarian soups! Here are a few other vegetarian soups we’d recommend:

• Cozy Farro & Brussels Sprouts Soup
• Instant Pot Wild Rice Soup Recipe
• Cauliflower Soup with Moroccan Spices
• Italian Vegetable & Gnocchi Soup
• Tomato Artichoke Soup
• Creamy Vegan Tomato Soup
• Golden Vegetable Soup Recipe
• Tomato Artichoke Lentil Stew
• Creamy Vegan Tomato Soup

This vegetarian chili recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant based, dairy free, naturally sweet, and refined sugar free. For a vegan and dairy-free chili recipe, top with Vegan Nacho Cheese. For gluten free, use quinoa (see special instructions below).

Vegetarian Chili (All of Our Best Secrets!)

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(190 votes, average: 4.19 out of 5)

4.2 from 190 reviews

• Author: Sonja Overhiser
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 8 1x

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Description

This best vegetarian chili is easy and healthy, leaves meat lovers begging for the recipe, and wins awards at chili cook-offs. How’s that for impressive?

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Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 2 medium yellow onions
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 15-ounce cans beans or 4 1/2 cups cooked dried beans (black, pinto, and kidney), drained
• 2 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes
• 2 4-ounce cans roasted green chilies
• 1 cup bulgur wheat (for gluten free, see below*)
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1/3 cup chili powder (standard, not spicy)
• 3 tablespoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
• 1/8 teaspoon chipotle powder
• Hot sauce, sour cream, cheese, cilantro, or chives for garnish (for vegan, garnish with vegan nacho cheese or vegan sour cream)

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Instructions

1. Chop the onions. Mince the garlic.
2. In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until softened, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and saute, stirring, for about 1 minute.
3. Add the remaining ingredients: beans, tomatoes with their juices, green chilies, bulgur wheat, frozen corn, chili powder, oregano, garlic powder, kosher salt, black pepper, maple syrup or honey, and chipotle powder. Mix to combine. If necessary, add a bit of water to make sure everything is covered (we added about 1 cup).
4. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the bulgur is soft, about 20 to 30 minutes. Taste and add additional seasonings as desired. Add hot sauce to taste; and serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, and cilantro or chives. For a vegan chili, garnish with our Vegan Nacho Cheese.

Notes

*For gluten free, you can also substitute quinoa: however, use 3/4 cup quinoa and use the instructions listed in Step 1 of our Quinoa Vegan Chili to cook the quinoa separately. Then add 2 cups of cooked quinoa to the final step when simmering (save any leftover quinoa for future use).

The chipotle powder is a bit of a hard to find, but it adds great complexity and flavor; we recommend using it if at all possible. Ancho chile powder also can add a nice bit of smokiness.

If 1/3 cup chili powder seems like a typo, it’s not! While it’s a large quantity, it did bring the flavor we were looking for to the dish. The resulting chili is not overly spicy (though it would be if you use spicy chili powder, jalapeños, or more chipotle powder than specified below); we like our chili with moderate spice and then adding spiciness at the table with hot sauce.

• Category: Main Dish
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American

Keywords: Vegetarian Chili, Chili, Healthy Chili, Vegetarian, Vegan, Chili Recipes, Healthy Recipes

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