Homemade Vegetarian Chili
This simple vegetarian chili recipe tastes incredible! It's easy to make with basic pantry ingredients, vegetables and spices. Gluten free and easily vegan.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on October 3, 2024
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 by 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, which 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 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 soup recipes in my cookbook.
Homemade Vegetarian Chili
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!
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Wow just wow! What an amazing delicious dish. Great change from the regular chili, enjoyed so much it will on our daily rotation looking forward in trying some of your other recipes. Thanks again for sharing
Ellooo, how do I prep if I only have dried beans available? :)
Hi Sara! You could try using my black beans from scratch and try a modified version of that for the black beans. With the other beans suggested, you could find another recipe to cook those or just replace with all black beas.
Hey Kate,
Would you use the same proportions if you’re using dried beans (2x 15oz + 1x 15 oz)? If so, would you weight them dry?
Thanks!
Hi Sergi! Here is a guide on cooking beans, I hope this helps!
I was looking for a flavorful, non spicy chilli to feed my 90 year old mom. This recipe is perfect for her, garnished with vegan sour cream and vegan cheddar shreds. Loved the lime!
So delicious! Made pretty much as written with what I had on hand: no celery; used fire roasted diced tomatoes and a can of diced with jalapeños; scaled back chili powder to 1 1/2 tbsp; added vegan crumbles; used lemon juice; no cilantro. It was surprisingly good, even with the substitutions. The spices were spot on for my tastes. Thanks for ANOTHER great recipe!
Love this !
Thanks
I am vegetarian so this is perfect
Ended up using white and red Kidney Beans as that is what I had in pantry !
It’s pretty !
I’ve made this several times since with whatever ingredients I have on hand. I’ve decided I like it best without celery and with fire roasted tomatoes. I’ve made it with whatever beans I have on hand and like it with mostly black beans. It’s really delicious and just a great, customizable recipe.
Oh my goodness this is amazing! I have it on my winter rotations, and it always gets rave reviews from vegans and meat lovers alike. It’s the perfect all occasion meal because it’s vegan, and gluten free. I’ve fed a crowd with it, given it to new parents, etc. I love that it’s so healthy-literally just lots of veggies and beans with spices!
I like to make my own beans in an instant pot to save money.
hey there! do you think this would work/be good with garbanzo beans? thanks for the recipe — i’ve made it at least 20 times!
Hi Emily You can try it. Although I like the beans listed best, those could still work. Slightly different texture and flavor.
I use 1 can kidney beans, 1 garbanzo, and 1 black beans and love it! It’s replaced my old go to chili recipe with that bean combination.
Thanks for this recipe! It turned out great! I added a cup of quinoa and water to make it more filling.
Fabulous! Incredible flavors and with a nice garlic roll, it is tremendous! My husband loves it too!
This looks fantastic. Could you add in green lentils or butternut squash (cubed)?
This looks fantastic. Could you add in green lentils or butternut squash (cubed)?
Hi! Sure, you could try it. It would adjust the the time and liquid with adding lentils.
I just subbed the carrots with butternut squash (and eating it as I type), and it was delicious. Can’t speak for Lentils, but if you like lentils I think the flavor would go well with chili.
Great chile. My wife is Vegan and I am a meat eater and we both enjoyed it. Definitely not too spicy so it is kid friendly. The recipe was very clear to follow. I had never thought to puree a portion of The chile to you improve consistency. This is a game changer for me. I went the lime route and it ended up to be the perfect decision.
Excellent base recipe. Made it today. I used Crushed tomatoes, three different beans, and kicked up the heat factor by adding some harissa and two diced chipotle peppers. Turned out delicious. The squeeze of fresh lime on the finish is a great tip.
This was sooooo good! Thank you for sharing! We’re in south Texas, so the following day, leftovers were used for Frito Pie with some yummy cashew cheese!! Talk about amazing comfort food in a time it is needed most.
I LOVE this recipe, have made it multiple times and it never disappoints!
I’ve made this so many times, and it’s my favorite chili recipe! The spices are just right, and I use the lime option when adding some acidity. The trick of blending a portion of it gives it the perfect texture. I like to make a batch and eat it for a few days, then freeze individual portions for easy lunches.
I love this recipe (and all of your others). Blending the mixture is fabulous way to satisfy all of the carnivores I serve. I find the vinegar a little biting for my taste but love the lime addition. Thank you!
Kate,
I had to come back and comment again. I left a comment in June. I have literally made this every week since then. Yesterday, my 6 year old (who was 5 when I commented last), said that your chili is better than Wendy’s and McDonald’s. She said if I were going to take her there for lunch but then made chili, she would pick the chili!! Your recipe is so AMAZING, that even a kid would give up a happy meal for it! Just had to let you know. We will probably make it every week forever and my girls will probably pass this recipe to their kids when they are older. THANK YOU!!!
Best Chili I have ever had. I tweaked :added and subtracted a few things but used the same spices …. wow.
I followed the recipe exactly, used an immersion blender to blend just a little bit then added a little frozen corn, simmered 5 minutes and squeezed a little lime. it was the best chili I have ever made. Thanks!
First of all, the blending of some of the chili is brilliant. A fantastic suggestion!
I’m sure the recipe as suggested is great for most families. That said, my wife and daughter like things really spicy. So went with the recipe as written, but added a cookie sheet full of roasted hot peppers (think the count was three jalapeños, three hatch, one habanero, and the bells). Added some roasted corn as well to balance some of the heat. Added a little liquid smoke, too. We all loved it, though I’m still sweating as I type.
My daughter is a vegetarian (pescatarian, actually) and a competitive swimmer and water polo player, so any chance I can get protein in her is great. Thanks so much for the great recipe!
Super delicious! Officially my favorite recipe for chili! Made exactly as the recipe stated and topped w/ raw onion, jalapeno and shredded cheese.
I’m happy to hear that, Jessica! I appreciate you taking the time to review.
This is the BEST chili recipe. Don’t have the words to fully encompass how much I love it. I’ve made it so many times the past 2 years (easy enough for a new college grad to make well) and just made it for the first time since moving to Washington state. The best meal for autumn days. Thanks so much, Kate!!!
You’re welcome! I’m glad you loved it.
Can you make this in a slow cooker? If so hi or low and how long?
Hi Susan! I haven’t, tried it. I know some readers have tried it. I would still suggest to sauté your vegetables to get the best flavor.
We just sautéd the veggies and then put it in the slow cooker for several hours – first on high until it started to bubble (about an hour) and then on low for two hours more. We couldn’t wait any longer because it smelled so good! Turned out great.
Thanks for another great receipe!
So good! I will make this chili again soon, but I’ll up the spices a bit and add a jalapeno, too. Some chilis and stews feel so wintry, but this one is perfect at the end of summer.
This recipe is delicious! Thank you so much for sharing! I found that the lime qas the best pairing for me personally after experimenting with the others! Im trying to improve my health and reduce the amount of meat I eat. The recipes on This site have really helped! Hope to be vegetarian by the end of the year, just need to learn how to have a roast dinner without the meat!
I’ve made this recipie twice so far.. my family loved it so much. Now that it’s fall, gonna make it a lot more..
Enjoyed this very much. I added 1 Chipotle and 3 ea. Anaheim and Padilla because I only had 2 small bell peppers on my plant.
This has become my go-to chili recipe! So hearty and so delicious!
Tried this chilli three times now and I’ve loved it every time! I add mushrooms too for some extra veggies and some garlic salt for added flavour. It’s become a regular go-to meal!
This was a fantastic vegetarian chili recipe. Thanks so much!
This was a fantastic vegetarian chili recipe. I didn’t have celery, so I substituted with green onions and it was great. Next time I will add kidney beans in addition to the pinto and black beans. I love how versatile this recipe is. I think the tip to use an immersive blender makes this a secret sauce tip! Thanks so much!
So easy and delicious! I didn’t even miss the meat at all. I will definitely be making again!
Made this recipe turned out great, however I didn’t read the * after the chilli powder ingredients that said chilli powder outside the US is hotter. I’m from Ireland and I threw in the two tablespoons of chilli powder. It was like Satan was having a party in my mouth . So people, read the fine print! Will make it again, but adjusting the chilli!
A big hit, even with the carnivores in the house! I had thought about adding some Quorn mince at the end for texture, but after a quick blitz with the blender, it didn’t need it. I took heed of your comment regarding chili powder (I’m in Scotland) and added only a teaspoon . It had a bit of kick without inducing a sweat, but we’re a bit wimpy when it comes to spicy dishes!
Love reading all the amazing reviews. Question: does it freeze well? Thanks!
Hi Elizabeth! Yes, this recipe does freeze well. I hope you love it.
So amazing!!! My first time making chili! Very easy to follow, dare I say idiot-proof? I did tweak it to my preferences but it was so so so delicious. 10/10 would recommend.
Made this yesterday. Our 6 year old who never eats chili asked for it for breakfast today. I’ll never make chili a different way! I did add some worcestershire and a can of beer. Great recipe.
That’s great! Thank you for sharing, Randall.
I made this recipe tonight and used it to make chili dogs with carrot-dogs. I tweaked this to replace one of the cans of black beans with dried lentils and therefore extra veggie broth, as well as a little extra smoked paprika—and the whole family loved it! My 4 y.o. wolfed it down and said that she wants it tomorrow served over a potato for dinner. :-) Thanks for the recipe, it will definitely be replacing the canned chili that I’ve been using since all the other chili recipes I tried where “meh.” Ha!
I’ve made this multiple times, and it’s great and very forgiving.
Kidney beans / butter beans can be substituted for pinto but I would keep the black beans – they are yum! I used a mixture of Indian chilli powder / cayenne pepper / paprika but then I do love spice. Also left out the celery and put an extra pepper in.
A little teaspoon of cocoa powder makes it incredibly rich and thickens it really well.
I’ve been making this chili on repeat for nearly a year now – we just love it! My mom used to make a pinto beans + vinegar dish when I was little and those flavors come out in this big time, plus a load of veggies. It’s my favorite. Thank you!
Hi! I’m excited to make this! How could I include meat (beef) into this recipe? Making one batch vegetarian and one batch paleo/meat. Thanks so much!
Hi Kate, I am a vegetarian so can’t speak to end result, but I believe others have and didn’t mind the results.
I hate your blurb. Stick to the recipe. Thanks, Kyle
I feel bad. I don’t hate your blurb, just blurbs in general annoy me. Thanks, Kyle
This recipe is just divine! Perfect exactly as is. Thank you Kate, for the most tasty chili.
Yummy! The lime juice was unexpected but delicious. And the blending technique really gave the chili a nice texture.
Love this recipe. Have made it several times and have to say that smoked paprika makes a lot of difference. Have tried making it with regular paprika and it just wasn’t right.
This is an AWESOME veggie chili recipe. I definitely recommend pulsing 1-2 cups in a vitamix or other blender per the recipe…it adds a great texture to the chili. I love it as is but might add some jalapeño and maybe some corn next time…there will absolutely be a next time! Serving it with some homemade cheese empanadas tonight…SO EXCITED! Thanks for another winner Kate!
Ive made this recipe many times…its always a hit. I would like to try cooking it in a crock pot. Have you ever made it in a crock pot.
Important if you’re European/not American: DO NOT USE 2 TBSP CHILLI POWDER OR YOU’LL REGRET IT!!!
Use 1 tsp and add chilli flakes to taste, turns out US chilli is pretty weak in comparison. This is a lovely recipe though and works well in enchiladas. My favourite family dinner usually consists of this recipe
I make this chili at least once a month and every time I try it I’m amazed at how good this is! Chili with meat was a staple for my family when I was growing up and I’m so happy to have found a good vegan recipe that doesn’t cut any corners when it comes to flavor!
I made your vegetarian chili this afternoon it is so wonderful. I’m taking it to a luncheon tomorrow and I’m so thrilled with how it turned out all the little tips you gave me just made it delightful. You do a beautiful job of presenting your recipes.
Thank you, Sylvia! I’m delighted to hear you are enjoying them.
This was incredible! I’m so glad I found it. Thank you for sharing!!
I tried this recipe. It was awesome. My vegetarian son loved it and my vegetarian friend gave it an A+. Vegetarian chili fr the win. Btw your granola recipe is amazing. Love your book and intend to make lots more using your recipes.
This is delicious! I made it side-be-side with some ground beef chili for the meat-eaters in my family. I much prefer this one!
I’m not a vegetarian but tried this recipe as a non meat day – absolutely delicious. So full of flavour and you can temper the heat accordingly. It’s now my go-to recipe. Thank.yoy for sharing