Whether you’re having some friends over to watch a game or feeding your family, I absolutely love homemade chili! It beats the canned stuff for so many reasons—not the least of which is, it just TASTES BETTER! Also, since you control the ingredients, a great chili recipe is a super way to sneak some vegetables by your kids. And with my chili recipe I honestly don’t miss the meat one bit! Although you can certainly add some in if you like, with its hearty flavor and taste, what’s there to miss? Oh, and with all the different ways you can garnish it, everyone in your family can tailor-make a bowl to their own taste. Giving kids ways to customize their food is a fun, surefire way to get them on board with healthier meals!
Now there are literally billions of chili recipes out there. (Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but there are lots of them). As much as I love my recipe, don’t let yourself get too intimidated by the long list of ingredients. It actually comes together pretty quickly! And once you’ve made it a couple times, feel free to get creative or simplify it—whatever works! Chili is really one of those dishes that’s hard to mess up, especially if you start with a good recipe.
So pull out a big pot from your cabinet and get cooking! I promise you, this recipe is a perfect way to warm up your family and friends … inside and out!
PrintRecipe: You Won’t Even Miss the Meat Vegetarian Chili with Roasted Peppers and Beans
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- Author: Bruce Bradley
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 0 Serves 4 1x
Ingredients
Roasted Pepper Blend: (see directions on how to roast peppers below)
- 1 red pepper (roasted, seeded and sliced in half)
- 1 Anaheim chili pepper (roasted, seeded and sliced in half)
- 1 jalapeño pepper (roasted, seeded and sliced in half)
Chili Base:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red onion (chopped)
- 1 yellow onion (chopped)
- 5 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano (minced)
- cayenne pepper to taste
- 6 large tomatoes (peeled, seeded, and chopped (or one can / box diced tomatoes—approximately 15 ounces))
- 2–4 tablespoons green salsa (salsa verde or even a red salsa with some tomatillos in it)
- 1/4 cup cilantro (minced)
- 2 tablespoons red wine
- 2 tablespoons vinegar (high quality balsamic or cider vinegar)
- 3 cups cooked pinto and / or kidney beans (drained (rinsed well if canned))
- Salt (pepper, and additional vinegar and / or minced cilantro to taste)
Garnish options:
- cilantro
- sour cream
- grated cheddar cheese
- avocado
- chopped red onion
Instructions
Chili Directions:
- Heat the oil in a 8-quart pot over medium low heat.
- Sauté the garlic and onion until soft and translucent.
- Add the roasted pepper blend and seasonings. Stir well.
- Add the tomatoes and green salsa. Warm for 20 minutes over low heat.
- When the chili base starts to thicken, add the wine, vinegar, and cilantro.
- Add pinto beans and cook over medium-low heat until beans are thoroughly warmed and chili is simmering (about 7 minutes).
- Season to taste with salt and pepper, additional vinegar, and/or cilantro.
- Garnish to taste.
How to roast the peppers:
- Heat oven broiler to high or its highest setting.Grease rimmed baking sheet with coconut oil.
- Halve, seed, and stem the peppers.
- Place peppers skin side up on baking sheet.
- Roast peppers under the broiler until the skin buckles and starts to char (about 4 minutes). The smaller peppers may roast quicker than the larger ones, so be ready to pull them off the baking sheet earlier. In general, don’t be afraid to char the pepper skins. That’s what drives the roasted flavor AND makes the skins easier to peel off.
- Remove peppers from the broiler and using a fork, place peppers in a brown paper bag and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
- Peel off the skin, chop and mix the roasted peppers together and set aside. Note: if the peppers haven’t been roasted long enough, the skins will be tough to peel off. Don’t worry or fret … this isn’t the end of the world. Just chop them up. Your chili will still taste great!
Notes
We recommend using organic ingredients when possible.
Although you can make and eat this recipe the same day, I honestly believe it gets better with time. So make it the day beforehand and warm it up for your party or dinner.
This recipe freezes up very nicely so make a double batch and save some for later!
Although I promise you truly won’t miss the meat in this recipe, you can add 1/2 pound cooked ground beef or Italian sausage if you prefer.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: and Broths, Chilis, Soups
- Cuisine: American
Kitchen Tips & Resources:
- A great kitchen ladle is a must for any soup or chili recipe. I recently realized the ladle I had been using was old and plastic … which got me wondering what sort of plastic it was made of and then thinking there might be BPA in it. So I decided it was time to replace the old one with something that I didn’t have to worry about, like this stainless steel ladle from ChefLand.
- An effortless shredder for the grated cheese in this recipe is a super kitchen tool to have on hand! I love this super microplane coarse cheese grater. It makes grating a cup of cheese so quick and easy that you might not even miss the convenience of those pre-shredded cheeses which are usually coated with things like wood fibers/cellulose to keep the cheese from clumping in the bag.
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