Hearty Vegetarian Chili & Rice
A classic to serve on cold days, this hearty vegetarian chili & rice recipe has the rich sauce, beans, and spices of traditional chili con carne, but rather than including meat, it is chock-full of fresh vegetables. The result is a flavorful chili that is nutritious and full of plenty of colors and textures.
While this chili could certainly be served on its own, brown rice is great to serve it with as it makes it more filling while adding extra nutrition. Adding garnishes like green onions and sliced avocado takes it over the top as well, making bowls of the chili not only look prettier but also even tastier.
What is Vegetarian Chili & Rice?
This vegetarian chili recipe is a meatless chili comprising lots of vegetables and beans for a meal that is lower in fat and cholesterol than the original meat-based chili. Loaded with bell peppers, zucchini, corn, mushrooms, and black beans, plant-based chili is very nutritious with plenty of vitamins and fiber.
This chili gets served over brown rice, which is incredibly filling and is full of fiber. For those on vegan or vegetarian diets, rice is an excellent option as it can amp up your protein intake, ensuring that you are getting enough in the day.
Ingredients
This vegetarian chili includes many of the same ingredients as traditional beef chili, but there are plenty of additional components that make this perfect for vegans and vegetarians. Here is what you will need to make it:
- canola oil
- yellow onions
- red bell pepper
- garlic
- serrano peppers
- zucchini
- frozen corn kernels
- portobello mushrooms
- chili powder
- ground cumin
- salt
- tomatoes
- black beans
- tomato paste
- vegetable stock
- cilantro
- sliced avocado
- green onions
- cayenne
- brown rice
Instructions
This vegetable chili recipe is quick to come together, making it perfect to prepare on a busy weeknight. Here are all the steps to making this saucy chili recipe:
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.
- Add the onions, bell peppers, garlic, and serrano pepper, and cook until soft, about 3 minutes, while stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the zucchini, corn, and mushrooms, and cook them while stirring occasionally until liquid comes out of the vegetables and they start to brown around the edges, about 6 minutes.
- Add the chili powder, cumin, salt, and cayenne, and cook, while stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the tomatoes and stir well.
- Stir in the beans, tomato paste, and vegetable stock, and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium low and allow it to simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Add more vegetable stock if needed.
- Remove the chili from the heat and stir in the cilantro.
- To serve, arrange a ¼ cup of brown rice in each bowl and top it with the chili before garnishing it with the green onions and avocado.
Variations
The wonderful thing about one-pot meals like chili, soups, or stews is that you can easily make them your own or use other ingredients that need to get used up. Here are some ideas for how you could modify this chili recipe:
- Serve Over Other Grains: If you aren’t a fan of brown rice, rest assured that you can serve this chili over other types of grains. White rice is great but you could also serve it over quinoa if you appreciate its nutty flavor. Quinoa is also high in protein, which is great for plant-based eaters.
- Add Other Legumes: This chili recipe uses black beans which have a beautiful color against the other components, but you could include other legumes if you prefer. Red kidney beans, cannellini beans, chickpeas, or even canned baked beans are all great in chili. You could also add lentils if you like. Just avoid red or yellow lentils which turn to puree quite quickly.
- Add Other Vegetables: If you don’t have all of the fresh veggies that this chili calls for on hand, you could add other vegetables to it instead. Cubed sweet potatoes or squash, green beans, kale, and spinach are all delicious fresh ingredients that you can add to chili.
How to Store Vegetarian Chili
If you have leftover chili, it can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days, and in fact, may taste even better a day or two after you make it. You could also place it in the freezer if you would like to store it for longer. It should keep well for up to 3 or 4 months in the freezer.
Hearty Chili & Rice
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons canola oil or oil of choice
- 2 medium yellow onions, (chopped)
- 1 medium red bell pepper, (chopped)
- 5 cloves garlic, (minced)
- 2 serrano peppers, (minced, stemmed, seeded)
- 1 zucchini, (medium, stem ends trimmed, cut into small dice)
- 2 cups frozen corn kernels
- 5 portobello mushrooms, (stemmed, wiped clean, cubed)
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 4 large tomatoes, (chopped)
- 2 cans black beans, (rinsed, drained)
- 1 can tomato paste
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
- Sliced avocado, (for garnish)
- Green onions, (for garnish)
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 4 cups brown rice, (cooked)
Instructions
- In a large, heavy pot, heat canola oil or oil of choice over medium-high heat.
- Add onions, bell peppers, garlic, and serrano peppers and cook until soft (about 3 minutes), stirring occasionally.
- Add zucchini, corn, and mushrooms and cook until soft, stirring occasionally, and until vegetables give off liquid and start to brown around the edges (about 6 minutes).
- Add chili powder, cumin, salt, and cayenne and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds), stirring occasionally.
- Add tomatoes and stir well.
- Add beans, tomato paste, and vegetable stock, then stir well and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes. Add more vegetable stock if needed.
- Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.
- Ladle over 1/4 cup cooked brown rice in bowls, then garnish with green onions and avocado slices.
Bon appétit!
FAQ
This chili is quite saucy, making it perfect for serving over rice. However, if you would like it to be a little looser, you could add more vegetable stock as the chili simmers. Meanwhile, if you find that your chili is too loose for your liking, you could allow it to simmer for a longer period of time to allow the sauce to reduce.
This vegetarian chili is served over fluffy brown rice and has a garnish of green onions and sliced avocado. However, you could also serve it on its own or over other grains like white rice or quinoa. This chili would also be delicious with other garnishes such as pickled jalapenos, plant-based cheese, pickled radishes, vegan sour cream, tortilla chips, lime wedges, and more.
If you plan to serve this chili to children or don’t love spicy food, rest assured that you can limit the spice. Make sure you choose a mild tasting chili powder, and you could omit the cayenne and serrano peppers if desired. If some members of your family prefer their chili to be more spicy, simply serve the chili with hot sauce or hot peppers so that everyone can spice their chili as they like.
Yes, you definitely could! If you would like to make your vegetarian chili in a slow cooker, you could prepare it to step 6 before adding it to the slow cooker. Then, you could allow it to simmer low and slow through the day until you are ready to serve it.
Related
If you are looking for other one-pot dinners, consider trying these recipes:
Jalapeño Cornbread - Veggiecurean Moist Cornbread Recipe for Plant Based Comfort Food Lovers.
[…] You don't have to give up your favorite comfort foods when shifting your way of eating to a vegan lifestyle. Plant based Mexican corn bread with corn is a classic dish among a huge collection of beloved southern recipes made without any animal products. This moist cornbread is an extra special treat when enjoying a slice or two of it with our own homemade hearty chili and rice. […]