Veggie Chili Recipe

This hearty veggie chili recipe is full of rich flavors and you won’t even miss the meat. Using veggies, beans and a variety of spices this, vegetarian chili is the perfect meatless meal on a cold day. Just add your favorite toppings and enjoy!

You might also like this Mexican red lentil chili recipe.

Recently my son wanted to eat more vegetarian food and I’ve been having fun creating some for the blog. However this easy veggie chili is a very old recipe that I decided to redo. I love rediscovering old recipes like this one and nothing is better than a bowl of chili in the colder weather.

This vegetarian chili is thick, rich and hearty as it’s full of veggies, beans and spices all in a thick tomato base. This recipe and my recent veggie bolognese sauce are really making it easy for me to up my vegetable in take!

Recipe ingredients I used and substitutions.

The simple ingredients I used for this recipe were yellow onion, green bell peppers, mushrooms, kidney beans, black beans, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, fresh garlic cloves, steak seasoning, chili powder, cumin, paprika, basil, olive oil, salt and black pepper.

Veggies
I used onions and green peppers because that is what I always use in my chili recipes. You can use hot peppers like poblanos, a jalapeño or other chiles if you want to add some heat. And you can also substitute with sweet bell peppers if you prefer.

Note if you love that chipotle flavor you can add some canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce which will add a smoky and spicy flavor along with some more heat.

The other veggie I used was baby portobello mushrooms. You can use white button mushrooms or if you are a connoisseur of mushrooms use whatever you want but don’t use canned mushrooms as they won’t have the same texture.

Crushed Tomatoes and Paste
I like thick chunky chili but if you prefer it with a thinner broth you can use canned whole tomatoes or diced tomatoes in placed of the crushed. Or you can add a bit of vegetable broth or even water to thin it out a bit. I would still use the tomato paste though.

Beans
Because there is no meat in this recipe I wanted to use two kinds of beans which were dark red kidney beans and black beans. You can use other types of beans if you prefer like cannellini or other white beans, pinto beans, chili beans, garbanzo beans, etc. Some people use diced sweet potato to mimic bean texture and that is an option if you don’t like beans.

Spices
Fresh garlic is always my preferred way to add garlic to a recipe but you could substitute with garlic powder. Use ¼ teaspoon per clove of garlic. Also I used steak seasoning to give the veggies and especially mushrooms a more meaty flavor but you can skip it if you don’t have any.

The other classic chili spices (basil, chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt and black pepper) are common seasonings you should have on hand. If you want more heat you can add hot pepper flakes, a pinch of cayenne pepper or even a dash or hot sauce.

How to make this easy veggie chili recipe.

Step 1: Get out a large pot and add the olive oil. Heat to medium high heat. Then add the mushrooms and steak seasoning. Saute for a minute or two and then turn the heat down to medium heat.

Step 2: Next add the diced onion and peppers. FYI Love this vegetable chopper to create uniform diced veggies in minutes. Saute everything few minutes until everything softens.

Step 3: Next you add all your seasonings and crushed garlic and cook for a few more minutes to get everything coated and well combined.

Step 4: Now all you have to do is add the drained beans and tomato products. Mix well and cook for about 10-20 minutes until everything is cooked to your liking.

When done, you can eat this chili as is, over rice, baked potatoes or macaroni. Or try it with some toppings. My favorite chili toppings are sour cream, chopped green onions or white onions, fresh cilantro or a fresh sliced jalapeño. There are all kinds of delicious toppings you can use like shredded cheddar cheese or a Mexican blend shredded cheese.

Store leftover meatless chili in an airtight container. Please scroll down to view the printable recipe card.

To make this in a crock pot or slow cooker.

You could also make this in the slow cooker. It might make it a bit thinner in consistency because the water from the veggies won’t cook out. You can just let the lid of the slow cooker sit askew for 5 minutes after it’s done cooking.

More delicious vegetarian recipes to try.

As I mentioned above I’ve been making more vegetarian recipes for my son and a few of my favorite recipes with Mexican flavor are these veggie quesadillas, this one pot Mexican rice casserole, creamy poblano soup and bean salad.

And for more of an Asian flare try this spicy tofu, red lentil curry, Thai butternut squash noodle stir fry and Thai eggplant red curry stir fry.

Chili is one of those things that everyone makes different and most of the time they all have delicious flavor. I hope you make this easy veggie chili recipe next time you are trying to have a vegetarian meal and are hankering for some homemade chili.

While we always eat this as is with toppings next time I am going to serve it over corn tortilla chips for an easy nacho appetizer during football season!