The Only Vegan Chili Recipe You Need

This is the only vegan chili recipe you need. It has a bold, rich flavor, and a velvety consistency. Perfect for meal prep and made with wholesome ingredients. {Gluten-Free}

How we ended up stumbling upon the only vegan chili recipe you need

Earlier in the week, my wife was whipping together a soup for a quick lunch. It was intended as an easy vegetable soup. But things led to things, and she took some creative liberties to jazz it up. Cumin, smoked paprika, and chile powder brought a nice well-rounded spice base. She added some chopped veggies – mushrooms, celery, and potatoes. However it was the secret ingredient, which I’ll tell you about later, that made all the difference.

Even before tasting the soup, we knew it was almost chili by how it smelled. The smoky spiciness was unmistakable. Stirring the soup, you could tell it had a thick consistency uncommon in a quick veggie soup.

We enjoyed this experimental soup, and from that point, my wife handed the project to me, to turn it into a full-blown vegan chili recipe. I spent time over the next several days testing different combinations of spices, vegetables, and accompaniments. The outcome of this experimentation was a spot-on general chili that was as tasty as any I’d ever had. It had that perfect, rich thickness. The flavor spicy and smoky but not overpowering. No single ingredient stood out – it just tasted like chili.

The only vegan chili recipe you need is simpler than you think

The cooking process takes some time, but probably less than you’re expecting. (I remember chili needing half a day when I was growing up. Time seemed to pass really slowly back then, anyway.) Once you have everything chopped and prepped, things move along quickly. The actual cooking time is around 30 minutes.

The general workflow goes like this. Saute onions, carrots, and tomato paste in olive oil. Add garlic and some spices. Deglaze. Add vegetable stock, mushrooms, canned tomatoes, and the secret ingredient. Simmer 5 minutes. Add chickpeas. Simmer 10 minutes. Brown the optional vegan chorizo in a skillet. Combine, garnish, serve. Devour. Repeat

The versatility of this recipe

Like I said earlier, this chili really just tastes like chili. It contains mushrooms, onions, and chickpeas but doesn’t taste especially mushroomy, oniony, or chickpea-y. As such, you can pretty much add whatever you want to this basic chili foundation. Throughout the experimentation, we tried okra, summer squash, potatoes, green beans, and baked tofu and they all worked wonderfully.

Feel free to use this chili base however you like, adding whatever vegetables, beans, or roots appeal. We haven’t tried it yet, but I’m sure the leftovers would make a great tortilla soup. Just dilute it with a bit of vegetable stock, add salt as needed, and top with diced avocado and tortilla strips.

I can confirm that it is a great chip dip – thick enough to coat a chip well, but not so thick that it breaks the chip. 🙂  When I develop a vegan queso dip recipe, I’ll be sure to link back to this one because I know they’ll be perfect together.

Now, how about that secret ingredient?

OK, I know I’ve been stalling on this. The secret ingredient is a soup base made from two simple things – dried mushrooms and nutritional yeast. The mushrooms are briefly rehydrated and then blended together with the yeast, then added to the chili in the middle of the cooking process.

The dried mushrooms create an unbelievable earthiness that lays a really solid foundation for the flavor of the chili. That’s the only way I can explain it. And the yeast lends its signature savoriness. Blending them at high speed creates a velvety texture that takes over the whole pot of chili once added. And trust me, with the bold seasonings, you won’t taste the mushrooms. It’s well-rounded like that.

Some cooking notes before you get started

In the recipe, you’ll see “chile powder” called for. This is a deep red powder that contains only ground, dried peppers. It is not the “chili powder” that contains some combination of peppers, cumin, garlic, onion, etc. The powder I recommend may be labeled “New Mexico” or “California”. Please be aware of this distinction. It will affect the flavor of the chili greatly.

The smoked paprika is also important. Be sure it is smoked. And not a spicy variety. It may be labeled “Spanish” or “sweet” or some combination thereof.

I call for dry sherry to deglaze the pot. If you don’t have sherry you can use Japanese sake (or Chinese Shaoxing wine if you’ve got it). You can replace the sherry with vegetable stock, too. Just be sure you have enough on hand.

The dried mushrooms I used were a mix – oyster, portobello, black trumpet, and porcini. I got a giant tub of them at Costco and they are fantastic. If you’re going to create your own combination I would recommend using mainly those listed above or similarly mild mushrooms. Limit shiitakes to 1 total (they are strong).

For toppings, browned vegan chorizo and shredded vegan cheese are included. If you want to keep it whole-food, no sweat! The chili is great without them.

The chili is also highly compatible with bean pasta. For example, chickpea macaroni and black bean spaghetti (pictured above).

Feel free to switch it up on the beans. Black and pinto are great alternatives to the chickpeas. You can also skip the beans if you’re Texan.

Other Recipes you might like

• Vegan Enchiladas
• Vegan Tonkotsu Ramen
• Curry Tofu Scramble
• Air Fryer Roasted Potatoes
• Roasted Portobello Mushrooms (Oil Free)

If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it @gastroplant on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with.