Veggie Chili

 

Veggie Chili is a hearty way to have big bowl of comfort food during long cold nights and leftovers make a great addition to homemade nachos or a taco salad. Served with crutsy bread, rice or organic corn chips it's perfect.  Because I don’t make mine too spicy (for young eaters) we always have hot sauce and/or chili flakes on the table for those with more adventurous taste buds.  You can also serve it with lime wedges and yogurt. 

Choose almost any bean you like for this recipe; kidney and black are traditional.  I used black beans and white beans because that is what I had on hand. Cooking dried beans is easy and economical plus you have the bonus of no BPA!  

Cooking times differ for each bean so I boiled mine up in separate pots. The white beans were done in about an hour and the black beans took about twice that time. I always add a bay leaf or two to the pot and a bit of salt when they are almost cooked. The best way to tell if they are done is by plucking one out and eating it. For more details on how to cook beans from scratch check out my previous post on cooking beans.

 

One of the great things about veggie chili is that you can add other vegetables as you like. I had a few extra tomatoes to get through so I put them into the pot with the carrots and onions. I have also used bell peppers, spinach, grated zucchini and and almost any other veggie that I have had on hand. So why wait?  Empty that fridge and make some Chili!

Veggie Chili

Ingredients

• 2 cups dried beans OR 6 cups cooked
• 3 large carrots chopped
• 2 ribs celerly diced
• 3 cloves garlic diced
• 1 medium onion diced
• 4 cups stewed tomatoes
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 TBSP chilli powder or more to taste
• 2 TBSP coconut oil or olive oil
• Salt to taste

Directions

1. If you have not done so, cook the dried beans (as per this post on cooking beans). 
2. In a large pot, sauté onions, celery, carrots and garlic in oil, stirring often until onions are golden about 10 – 12 minutes.
3. Stir in the chili powder and cumin.  Cook while stirring for another 2 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes with their juice. If they are whole break them up with a wooden spoon or spatula.
5. Stir in the beans, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer with lid off for about 45 minutes. Add salt and if you need it, more chili to taste.  Enjoy!

 

As always, making more beans than you need and freezing them is a great way to cut down on cooking times for the next dish. The chili itself also freezes well.

What do you like to add to your veggie chili? Let us know, share below!