Chili is one of my go-to meals to make when I have a busy week ahead. I cook up a big batch on Sunday or Monday, and then have leftovers for days. And it doesn’t get boring because with chili it’s so easy to switch things up. Eat it out of a bowl one night, stuffed in a potato the next, over a carrot dog on the third night…you get the idea. There are a ton of ways to make vegan chili, but this chickpea chili is especially easy, and I tend to have most of the ingredients on hand pretty often, so it’s been a dinner staple lately.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Olive oil. You can really use any neutral high-heat oil here. I happen to like olive, but corn oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, and the like are all totally fine options. Onion. Red bell pepper. Prefer green bell peppers? Or yellow or orange? Use them! Carrots. Garlic. Chickpeas. The recipe calls for canned chickpeas. This makes life easy! But you can cook them from scratch if that’s how you do things. You’ll need about 5 ½ cups. Fire roasted tomatoes. These are super flavorful and smoky. Regular diced tomatoes will do just fine if you can’t find fire roasted ones. Vegetable broth. Spices. We’re using chili powder, ground cumin, cocoa powder, oregano, ancho chile powder, and paprika. Yes, cocoa powder is in there. Is it really a spice? I’m not sure, but it adds a ton of flavor so we’re using it as one in this particular recipe. Frozen corn. You can use fresh corn if you’d like. Add it about five minutes earlier than you would the frozen corn, since it will take longer to cook. Salt & pepper.
How It’s Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe! Tip: You can absolutely let your chili simmer longer than 30 minutes if you’d like, up to a full hour. The flavors will continue to meld with a longer cook time. Be sure to add water, as it will reduce more and more as the chili continues to simmer. Take the pot off of heat when your chickpea chili is done simmering. Season it with some salt and black pepper to taste. You can also add some hot sauce at this point if you’d like! Ladle the chickpea chili into bowls and pile on your favorite chili toppings, like fresh cilantro, shredded vegan cheese, sliced avocado, or cashew cream. Dig in!
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover vegan chickpea chili will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
More Vegan Chili Recipes
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