5-Bean Vegetarian Chili
There’s nothing quite like a hot bowl of chili with all the fixings on a chilly night. This easy, one-pot 5-Bean Vegetarian Chili packs all the flavor so you won’t even miss the meat!
Like any good vegetarian chili, it’s packed with warm spices, a kick from some roasted poblano peppers, and 5 of my favorite beans resulting in a super hearty and delicious chili recipe!
Table of Contents
The Best Vegetarian Chili
I have always been a huge chili person. I swear, growing up it was on a weekly rotation in my house. We regularly enjoyed turkey chili, but during my vegetarian years I wanted a flavorful and hearty chili without the meat that didn’t sacrifice flavor.
Even now, I love enjoying plant-based meals a couple of times a week and this incredible 5-bean vegetarian chili is the perfect comfort food for chilly nights.
With all the hearty beans and rich flavor, you won’t even miss the meat! It’s perfect for spooning over cornbread, or a steamy bowl of mac and cheese for a DIY chili-mac situation.
This is a healthy and delicious chili recipe perfect for game days, busy weeknights, or whenever you need a big bowl of cozy.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
One pot recipe – We love a one-pot soup recipe for dinner! It makes life so much easier and cleanup that much quicker.
Quick and easy – The whole recipe comes together in just about 1 hour making it perfect for those busy weeknights. Most of the time is hands-off simmering!
Made with pantry staples – Other than a couple of fresh ingredients, this recipe for 5-bean vegetarian chili comes together with pantry staples that you probably already have on hand!
How to Make 5-Bean Vegetarian Chili
As with all my soup recipes, I highly recommend investing in a dutch oven! This piece of cookware does all of the heavy lifting in my kitchen and I love it so much. I’ve linked my favorite dutch oven below.
Tools Needed
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Onion. You really can use any onion here, but I like using yellow.
- Chilies. Jalapeños and poblanos give this vegetarian chili the perfect kick of heat.
- Spices. Like any good chili, it’s all about the spices! You’ll need ancho chile powder, paprika, chipotle powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and dried oregano.
- Fire roasted tomatoes. The roasty flavor of these tomatoes add so much flavor to the chili.
- Worcestershire sauce. Traditional Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies, so look for a vegetarian version. I personally don’t mind using the classic version here.
- Yellow mustard. Possibly controversial, but this is my secret ingredient for delicious chili!
- Hot sauce. Opt for a vinegar-based hot sauce like Frank’s or Crystal.
- Beans. For my canned beans, I use black beans, pinto, red kidney, great northern, and navy beans as well as refried beans for thickening purposes.
- Broth. You can use water or broth here.
The Process
- Roast the poblano pepper. Start by charring or broiling your poblano pepper until blackened. I use a pair of tongs to rotate it over the flame on my gas burners. Alternately, place it on a baking sheet and broil on high heat, turning the pepper once, until blistered all over. Place the charred pepper in a ziplock bag or a heat safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Once the pepper is cool, peel and dice it.
- Drain and rinse the beans. Pour the canned beans into a colander or strainer and rinse them well. Set aside.
- Mix the spices. Combine all the spices in a small bowl and whisk them together.
- Saute the veggies. Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the diced onion, poblano, and jalapeño. Let the veggies cook, stirring occasionally, until they’re soft–about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the spices. Add the spices in and stir often, until the spices are fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, Worcestershire, mustard, and hot sauce and stir well. Use a rubber spatula to scrape up any browned bits that may have stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Add the beans and simmer. Add the drained and rinsed beans to the pot along with the broth or water and stir well. Season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat down to low, cover, and simmer for 1 hour. Stir every so often to make sure the chili isn’t sticking to the pot.
- Add the refried beans. This is an optional step, but if you like a thicker chili, add the refried beans and stir well. Let the chili simmer uncovered for another 10 minutes and then season to taste with salt and pepper.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
Roast the poblanos. If you want to save some time, you can skip this step. But the flavor that roasting the poblanos give the chili is so, so good. Take your chili to the next level with roasted and peeled poblanos!
Make your own spice blend. While it can feel like a lot of spices, they all have their place in this chili. If you don’t have a lot on hand, I highly recommend utilizing the bulk spice section of your grocery store. It’s so cost effective and a great way to grab spices in small quantities that you don’t use often.
Use your favorite beans, but be sure to rinse them. I used my favorite bean varieties, but you can easily swap some different ones in! Just be sure to rinse them well before using.
Don’t shy away from salt. There are a lot of beans in this chili which on their own can be very bland. Make sure to season well throughout the cooking process so that you end up with a delicious and flavorful vegetarian chili.
My Favorite Vegetarian Chili Toppings
Toppings are literally the best part of chili! I tend to go a little crazy and really pile them on, but here are my favorite vegetarian chili toppings:
- Pickled red onions
- Corn Chips Ccoops (like Fritos)
- Sour Cream
- Shredded Cheese
- Green Onion
- Sliced Jalapeno
- Queso
- Guacamole
- Chopped Cilantro
- Sliced Green Onions
However you enjoy topping your chili, always go all-out!
Best Ways to Enjoy Leftover Vegetarian Chili
One of my favorite things about chili is how is actual tastes better the next day! The flavors and spices have a chance to really meld and it just gets better and better. While I love just eating leftover 5-bean vegetarian chili as it, it’s always fun to mix it up!
Chili Dogs: I absolutely ADORE chili dogs! Crisp up your favorite plant-based or all-beef dogs in a skillet and throw them in a toasted brioche bun. Top with warmed chili, diced onions, and cheese!
Chili Mac: Whoever thought to mix chili with mac and cheese is an utter genius. Try mixing my 5-ingredient stovetop mac and cheese with chili for another cozy and comforting meal!
Chili Baked Potato: A loaded baked potato is one of my favorite ways to use leftovers! Roast some russet potatoes until soft and fluffy and then fill with loads of chili and all your favorite toppings.
Storage Instructions
Leftover 5-bean vegetarian chili can be cooled to room temperature and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days. As I mentioned, the chili gets better as it sits so I love having leftovers!
This recipe also freezes like a dream. Store the cooled chili in a freezer-safe ziplock bag and try to press all the air out. Freeze flat in the freezer (space saver!) for up to 3 months.
Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat in a small pot on the stove.
5-Bean Vegetarian Chili is the perfect game day or weeknight recipe. It’s ultra-hearty and packed with flavor–you won’t even miss the meat! If you do give this recipe a try, be sure to let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter and never miss a new recipe! You can also snap a photo & tag @JENNYGOYCOCHEA on Instagram. I LOVE hearing about & seeing your SMF creations!
More Vegetarian Soups to Try Now
Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons
Potato Leek Soup
Spicy Black Bean Soup
Sopa de Fideo
Tomato Tortellini Soup
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Easy Vegetarian Chili
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 poblano peppers
- 1 jalapeño pepper, minced
- 15 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoons vinegar-based hot sauce (like Frank's or Crystal)
- 15 oz can black beans
- 15 oz can pinto beans
- 15 oz can red kidney beans
- 15 oz can great northern beans
- 15 oz can navy beans
- 2 cups vegetable broth, chicken broth, or water
- 1 cup refried beans (optional)
- kosher salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
Chili Spice Mix
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ancho chile powder
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Instructions
- Roast the poblano pepper. Start by charring or broiling your poblano pepper until blackened. I use a pair of tongs to rotate it over the flame on my gas burners. Alternately, place it on a baking sheet and broil on high heat, turning the pepper once, until blistered all over. Place the charred pepper in a ziplock bag or a heat safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Once the pepper is cool, peel and dice it.
- Drain and rinse the beans. Pour the canned beans into a colander or strainer and rinse them well. Set aside.
- Mix the spices. Combine all the spices in a small bowl and whisk them together.
- Saute the veggies. Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the diced onion, poblano, and jalapeño. Let the veggies cook, stirring occasionally, until they're soft–about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the spices. Add the spice blend in and stir often, until the spices are fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, Worcestershire, mustard, and hot sauce and stir well. Use a rubber spatula to scrape up any browned bits that may have stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Add the beans and simmer. Add the drained and rinsed beans to the pot along with the broth or water and stir well. Season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat down to low, cover, and simmer for 1 hour. Stir every so often to make sure the chili isn't sticking to the pot.
- Add the refried beans. This is an optional step, but if you like a thicker chili, add the refried beans and stir well. Let the chili simmer uncovered for another 10 minutes and then season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve. Ladle the chili into bowls and top as desired.
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