I know, I know… beans or no beans is the great debate of chili in some circles. In this house, we do beans. And when money is tight, we only do beans. GASP!!! No really, it’s delicious and the recipe is flexible depending on what you have on hand and how thick you like your chili. Personally, I prefer it thick like a stew, rather than thin like a soup. However. This particular version is more of the brothy sort, for the express purpose of being able to cook pasta in it, for either Chili Mac or Chili Spaghetti.

What makes it brothy is keeping the liquid with the beans instead of draining it off. The starch in the liquid will help it thicken up to some degree, but a portion of it can be poured off if you’re looking for a thicker version.

And this is a stove top version. However, it’s just as easy to make in your slow cooker, and cooking on LOW for 6-8 hours or HIGH for 2-3. I do recommend the LOW setting however, as it does give the flavors more time to develop. Not to mention, the slow cooker can make this possibly one of the easiest, laziest meal preps ever. No veggie chopping involved. Why? Because we’re using frozen pepper and onion blend to shortcut that step.

Vegetarian Chili

Recipe by HRM Coupon QueenCourse: SoupsCuisine: HomestyleDifficulty: Easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Ingredients

3 cans beans, undrained (pinto, kidney, black, or a combination)
1 can of diced tomatoes with green chiles (aka Rotel), undrained
1 12-oz bag of frozen peppers and onions
1 packet of chili seasoning
1 T cooking oil (coconut not recommended)
1 T vegetable bouillon (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Heat oil in large pot or Dutch oven. Saute frozen veggies until onions are translucent.
Add beans, tomatoes, and chili seasoning to pot. Include bullion if you’re using it.
Bring chili to a boil, then lower heat to maintain a slow simmer for 35-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve with crackers, tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream, green onions, or however you personally like your chili.

A few notes:

If you’re making this chili from dried beans, keep the cooking liquid the beans were cooked in.
If you have a stray packet of ramen seasoning, it can absolutely be used in place of the vegetable bouillon. Be aware that using a chicken or beef packet will make this chili no longer vegetarian if that’s important to you.
You don’t have to chop the frozen peppers and onions. But you can if you want them in more of a dice than in strips. Either way, they’re tasty!
You can absolutely make your own chili seasoning instead of buying a package if you have a fairly well stocked spice rack. My personal blend is: 1/4 c chili powder, 1/2 T cumin, 1 tsp paprika, 1/2 T garlic powder, 1 tsp oregano.
If you’re cooking the chili in the slow cooker, you can omit the saute step on the vegetables and just add everything to the pot. They’ll cook up just fine that way.