Hearty Vegetable Chili: A Protein Packed Vegan Meal

After a delicious Thanksgiving, where I nibbled on more than a few things that were not in my dairy, egg, gluten free approved list I decided it was time for one of my favorite veggie packed meals.

One of the best things to come out of my Unprocessed and Vegan challenges was this vegetable chili recipe!

After searching the web for vegetable chili, I was sad to find that most contained some carrot or 1 pepper and that constituted a “Vegetable Chili”. I continued searching and have tested out a variety of options to get to this result. A delicious spicy chili that puts me well on my way to  9 servings of fruits and veggies a day!

It’s hearty enough to satisfy even my meat loving hubs.
This dish is rich in protein, full of fiber and nutrients and some spice to fire up your metabolism! It’s not one of the easiest recipes due to all of the chopping, but it makes a large pot that will last awhile and tastes amazing.

Hearty and Spicy Vegetable Chili

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons EVOO
• 1 medium yellow onion diced
• 1 large carrot diced
• 1 stalk celery diced
• 1 medium green bell pepper diced
• 1 medium red bell pepper diced
• 1 medium yellow bell pepper diced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 4 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp crushed pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (28 ounces) can diced tomatoes, with their liquid (or use 2 14.5 oz cans diced, fire roasted for spice!)
• 2 cups cooked red kidney beans, drained (or 2 15oz cans)
• 2 cups cooked black beans, drained (or 2 15 oz cans)
• 1 1/2 cups cooked pinto beans, drained (or 1 15 oz can)
• Optional – If more liquid is needed use 1 cup vegetable stock or water (I put a little water in the tomato can to get out all the juices and use that)
• Optional – 1 can corn

Instructions

• Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large heavy-bottom pot.
• Add onion, garlic, celery, carrots and bell peppers; sauté until tender (approximately 7 min)
• Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes
• Top with avocado or greek yogurt if you don’t have any dairy allergy

**TIP: Rinse all canned beans before using to reduce total sodium content.

If you wanted to make this a complete meal in one pot, you could add in chopped potatoes, sweet potatoes or serve over quinoa. I have been enjoying it for multiple meals this week and added some extra steamed broccoli when warming it up to increase the post Thanksgiving fiber!

What is your favorite recipe to pack in the vegetables?

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