Nothing feels more comforting on a cold, winter or fall day than a warm bowl of chili, so why not give this vegan chili a try!
Where my inspiration came from
Throughout my childhood, every winter my dad would make a similar delicious chili. He would make a batch that served 12 people and we would have leftovers for days! My brother and I would constantly be asking my dad to make it, and everyone in my family loved it! Unfortunately, the recipe my dad makes has ground turkey in it. Now that I’ve cut out meat from my diet, this recipe wasn’t an option anymore. But I wasn’t about to let that stop me from eating chili! So, I made it my mission to create a vegan chili version of my dad’s recipe.
I was thinking about how I could make the recipe vegan and thought about using tofu instead of ground meat. Coincidentally, I had recently run out of tofu but had a sweet potato in my pantry that was starting to go bad. I decided that I might as well just add the sweet potatoes to my experimental vegan chili instead of tofu, and trust me, it turned out AMAZING. There’s just something about sweet potatoes that just feels so cozy and comforting, especially during the fall and winter season.
Is VEGAN chili still chili?
Honestly, the main thing that makes chili what it is is not the meat, but the combination of spices and beans that give the chili the bulk of its flavor. My family was skeptical to try a vegan chili, but discovered that it’s just as good as my dad’s chili and loved it! Just go ahead and give it a try and I promise you won’t be dismayed!
Essential Chili Spices (that make Chili so good):
- Chili Powder
- Cumin
- Cayenne Pepper
- Paprika
Perfect occasions for vegan chili!
I grew up going to tailgaters for football games, and I loved helping my dad make his chili to share with friends and family. This vegan chili is great for any tailgaters, group events, or thanksgiving, and it’s particularly comforting during the colder months of the year. Sweet potato comes into season in my area during September, October, and November, and I always take advantage of this time to make all my favorite sweet potato recipes, including this one!
A little extra tip to fight food waste 🙂
I know that this recipe asks you to peel your sweet potatoes, but that doesn’t mean that you have to throw out those potato peels. In fact, you can use up those peels in a delicious recipe that turns those undesirable peels into yummy and crispy chips! Not only will you be saving food from being wasted, but you’ll be able to enjoy this fantastic snack with friends, family, or by yourself. Find this recipe HERE.
Watch how to prepare it
Check out how to make this recipe and follow along with my youtube video! Check out my channel, ecofoodstuff!
The Ultimate Vegan Chili Recipe
Equipment
- 1 big pot
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic
- ½ onion
- 2 large carrots or a handful of baby carrots
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 medium sweet potato peeled
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp favorite hot sauce
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper (2 if you want it spicy!)
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 2 (14.5) oz cans of crushed tomatoes (ideally with green chiles)
- ¾ cup vegetable broth
- ¼ cup water
- 1 (15) oz can black beans
- 1 (15) oz can kidney beans
Instructions
- Mince the garlic, dice the ½ onion, carrots, bell pepper, and peel and cube the sweet potato into half inch cubes. Meanwhile, heat up the olive oil in the big pot until it is hot. Add all these ingredients to the large pot over medium heat and sauté the ingredients for 5 minutes or until the veggies begin to soften, stirring every once in a while. The onion and garlic should start becoming more aromatic by this point as well.
- Next, add the chili powder, hot sauce, cumin, cayenne, paprika, salt, and pepper to the pot and stir until the spices are fully incorporated. I usually mix up all the spices in a separate bowl while the other ingredients are sautéing to quickly add in all the spices at the same time, but this is totally optional.
- Add the two cans of crushed tomatoes, veggie broth, water, and beans to the pot and mix together. Bring the mixture to a boil then turn down your heat to low and simmer the chili (uncovered) for 30 to 45 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are tender. You can test this by checking if a sweet potato cube can easily be cut by fork with little pressure. You can also cook the chili longer if you want it to be a thicker consistency.
- Allow the chili to cool for 5 minutes and then serve hot with avocado, a side-salad, and/or tortilla chips. Enjoy!
Notes
- Don’t let those potato and onion skins go to waste! You can make some delicious potato peel chips with this recipe HERE and you can save your onion skins and other vegetable scraps to make your own veggie broth. I haven’t personally tried making my own veggie broth, but you can check out this recipe HERE.
Curious for more?
Find other delicious vegan and vegetarian recipes here! And, check out our latests posts on the environment, including the first part of our eco-friendly gift guide. For more information about me and my story, check out my about page!
This recipe is AMAZING!! My family and I made it the first time and literally haven’t run out because we keep making it again when we finish one batch…aah it’s so good!
Thank you so much for commenting! It’s great to hear such wonderful feedback 🙂
Turned out really great! I decided to leave out the cayenne pepper and it was just the right level of spiciness