It’s freezing cold outside, and has been for days. All I want to eat is cozy comfort food like this vegetarian chili recipe. It’s my favorite, and leftovers taste even better the next day.
This chili is perfect for watching football games with a crowd, since it’s a hearty meatless option that carnivores will enjoy. Plus, it can be vegan and gluten free if you choose your toppings carefully. This chili will satisfy everyone.
I originally published this recipe four years ago. Since then, it’s become your favorite chili recipe as well (four-hundred reviews and counting).
I’ve cheered when you’ve told me that it won your chili competition, and love hearing that it’s become a staple recipe in your kitchen. Hooray!
How to Make the Best Vegetarian Chili
While the ingredients in this chili recipe are super basic, the flavor is anything but. Simple ingredients can taste exceptional when they start off with aromatics like onion, carrot, celery and garlic.
I added traditional chili spices and some smoked paprika for an extra-savory, smoky note. Canned beans and tomatoes contribute delicious plant-based protein and heft.
Blending a small portion of the chili makes it look and taste like a chili that has been cooking all morning long, but it only needs about 30 minutes of simmering. That’s a little trick that I learned from my lentil soup, which is another cozy option for cold days.
Finishing off the chili with a little splash of sherry vinegar (or lime juice) and fresh cilantro makes it taste vibrant and fresh. The vinegar offers a little acidity and complexity, and it makes all the difference.
Watch how to make vegetarian chili
Chili Toppings
This chili is dairy free and vegan as written. You can keep it that way be choosing vegan toppings like sliced avocado and tortilla chips.
Here’s a full list of options:
- Grated cheddar cheese
- Sour cream or crème fraîche
- Sliced or diced avocado
- Tortilla chips (crumbled if desired)
- Additional cilantro
- Lime wedges
Leftover Chili?
This chili makes great leftovers that keep well for four days in the refrigerator. Reheat your chili in a bowl and it’s good to go.
You can also serve this chili as a protein-rich topping on nachos, baked potatoes or oven-baked fries. Stuff your burritos or quesadillas with chili. Why not?
Please let me know how this chili turns out for you in the comments! I always love to hear from you.
Stay warm out there, and if you love this hearty soup, be sure to check out the hearty soup recipes in my cookbook.
Homemade Vegetarian Chili
- Author:
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings 1x
- Category: Chili
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
The smoky, complex flavor of this simple vegetarian chili comes from basic pantry ingredients, vegetables and spices! It makes great leftovers, too. Recipe yields 4 large or 6 moderate servings of chili.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, chopped
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt, divided
- 4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 2 tablespoons chili powder*
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika*
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 large can (28 ounces) or 2 small cans (15 ounces each) diced tomatoes**, with their juices
- 2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can (15 ounces) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 cups vegetable broth or water
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnishing
- 1 to 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar or lime juice, to taste
- Garnishes: chopped cilantro, sliced avocado, tortilla chips, sour cream or crème fraîche, grated cheddar cheese, etc.
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, warm the olive oil until shimmering. Add the chopped onion, bell pepper, carrot, celery and ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Stir to combine and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and the onion is translucent, about 7 to 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika and oregano. Cook until fragrant while stirring constantly, about 1 minute.
- Add the diced tomatoes and their juices, the drained black beans and pinto beans, vegetable broth and bay leaf. Stir to combine and let the mixture come to a simmer. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally and reducing heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer, for 30 minutes.
- Remove the chili from the heat and discard the bay leaf. For the best texture and flavor, transfer 1 ½ cups of the chili to a blender, making sure to get some of the liquid portion. Securely fasten the lid and blend until smooth (watch out for hot steam), then pour the blended mixture back into the pot. (Or, you can blend the chili briefly with an immersion blender, or mash the chili with a potato masher until it reaches a thicker, more chili-like consistency.)
- Add the chopped cilantro, stir to combine, and then mix in the vinegar, to taste. Add salt to taste, too—I added ¼ teaspoon more at this point. Divide the mixture into individual bowls and serve with garnishes of your choice. This chili will keep well in the refrigerator for about 4 days or you can freeze it for longer-term storage.
Notes
Recipes consulted during the making of this recipe: vegetarian chili with winter vegetables (The New York Times), vegetarian chili (Saveur) and winter vegetable chili (Food and Wine).
Make it vegan/dairy free: This chili recipe is vegan as written. Just be sure to choose vegan/dairy free toppings, such as avocado and tortilla chips.
If you love this recipe: You’ll also love my butternut squash chipotle chili and sweet potato chili. You might also enjoy my hearty lentil soup and black bean soup.
*Spice note: If you are sensitive to spice or using particularly potent spices (I hear that chili powder purchased outside of the U.S. can be very hot), you might want to scale back on the spice here. Start with half of the amounts listed and add more to taste. That said, I enjoy spicy food and found this chili to be well-balanced as written.
**Canned tomatoes note: I recommend Muir Glen brand—they have the best flavor and their cans are BPA-free!
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Michelle
Tweaked a bit (used Mexican flavoured tinned toms, Mexican bean mix and red kidney beans), much less chilli powder (yes it’s super hot in Australia!!! And the chili was absolutely delicious! Thanks for the great recipe!
★★★★
Sheena Lyttel
I have made this recipe several times now and it’s a winner every time fantastic combination of flavours!! Thank you
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Sheena! Thank you for your review.
Renee
Hi,
Does the onion have to be red?
Kate
I prefer red here, but you can use yellow too.
Renee Schouten
Hi again,
What does the * on the chili powder mean?
Renee
Kate
See the note below. Chili powder can vary by country for level of spice.
Sophia
Love this recipe. Better than any meat chilli I’ve ever had. I’ve made it multiple times and it always turns out excellent.
★★★★★
Lysanne Pelletier
Love this recipe! Always made it with beans in cans but would like to make it with pre-cooked dry beans next time. Do you know how many cups of dry beans I need? Black and Pinto. Thanks in advance!
★★★★★
Kate
Hi, Each can is roughly 1.5 cups I believe. Or if you have a scale, you can measure the ounces that are listed in the recipe. Thank you for sharing you enjoyed this one!
Sydney
This is delicious and I’d highly recommend! I did omit the bay leaf and used beef stock instead of vegetable. My family also loves spice, so I added a whole jalapeño(seeds and all) to the blender. It turned out great!
★★★★★
Deirdre
Would have been a good idea to add the comment about the chili powder in the ingredients list. Luckily I only used 1 tablespoon but even that was too much! Did you mean to write teaspoon rather than tablespoon?
Kate
HI Deirdre, I made special note that some chili powders vary as to the * next to the ingredient. I’m glad you went with what worked for you!
Thatch
I am considering trying this recipe with bulgur. Have you tried it with bulgur? How might that change liquid proportions?
THANKS!
★★★★★
Kate
I haven’t tried it. I would cook it prior to adding it, otherwise you would need to change the liquid amount. I’m not sure how much.
DeeDee
Because of all the great reviews, I am making this for a football watch party. However, I SO wish ingredients like “2 medium red onion”
“2 large red bell pepper” and “4 medium carrots” were translated into cup/oz measurements.
Natalie
Love this chili! Recommend!! Adding it to fall & winter favorites!
★★★★★
Dani
Fantastic chilli! Love your recipes and I’m finally getting around to rating all of the ones I have saved to my phone home screen.
★★★★★
Cheryl Craig
My husband and I loved this recipe. Same as the chipotle chili, I used bean broth and extra water if I needed it, instead of vegetable broth. I’ve made this even when I’ve been out of carrots and celery, and it’s still delicious. I’ve made two of your recipes and both are five stars!!
★★★★★
Kate
I love to hear that! Thank you for sharing, Cheryl.
Corrina
I appreciate you and others that help us to make such wonderful, flavorful vegan dishes!! I come to your site offen, when I need help with being creative and trying out new dishes; and this chili recipe, I use often. So thank you very much!!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Corrina!
Karen
Would this recipe freeze well?
Kate
Yes! This recipe is a great freezer option.
kim
This was delish. I did not miss the meat because it was so tasty and hearty
★★★★★
Kathy
I LOVE this recipe. It converted me to vegan chili. I don’t blend and I don’t add water. I also add a bunch of random spices (whatever I have on hand) and some cucumber. I love that I can just throw in random stuff I have! Thank you.
★★★★★
Prabhjot Ragbotra
This was by far the best vegeterian chilli I have ever made! I’m keeping this one for the books. I used gardein veggie ground and it was perfect. Even my neighbour’s picky kid loved it! I find I can trust most of your recipes to be delicious… so kudos to you!!
★★★★★
Kate
That’s great! I’m glad it was a hit, Prabhjot.
Anthony Gonzalez
Very high in sodium how can I cut that sodium by 75 percent? And also half that sugar? Thank you
★★★★★
Kate
Hi Anthony, you can adjust by using no or low sodium ingredients and omitting the salt. More on my Nutrition Disclaimer
Sada
I made a few minor adjustments because of what I had/didn’t have on hand (yellow onion instead, regular paprika with a bit of liquid smoke, kidney beans instead of pinto and added beyond meat grounds), turned out really good! Will make this again and would recommend :)
Thanks Katie!
★★★★★
Kate
That’s great, Sada! Thank you for your review.
Claudia
Just made this and it’s AWESOME! The combination of the spices works really well. Thank you for sharing with us.
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Claudia!
Barbara Doherty
I would love to try to cook in a sliw cooker…any thoughts?
Jocelyn
hands down, the BEST chili recipe!! I make this ALL the time because 1.) It tastes amazing 2.) It’s extremely easy to make 3.) The recipes makes enough to have leftovers for dayyysss 4.) The concept of “fall/winter foods” does not exist in my book because I live in Florida where it’s almost always summer. I’ll just turn my AC way down, pretend it’s cold outside, and eat my delicious vegetarian chili :) Thanks for the great recipe!!
★★★★★
Carolyn
This is a delicious recipe that everyone I’ve served it to has loved, from vegans to meat lovers. Thank you!
★★★★★
Jamie
I just made this and I’m enjoying it now. I had to say that, This chili is delicious, right away! I added cheyanne pepper, black pepper, 1/2 a can of roasted corn and thyme. Blending 1 1/2 cups is a must for consistency.
★★★★★