Easy Vegan Chili
Keep it simple and tasty with this Easy Vegan Chili recipe! It’s the best comfort food for a cold winter’s night, especially with cornbread.
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I love cooking, but there are times it’s just not possible. You know, like those busy days when you just don’t have time? That’s why I love this vegan chili. It comes together so quickly and even creates leftovers for tomorrow. I feel like the food prep queen these days, but fixing a meal that lends itself to lunch tomorrow is the way to go.
Serve chili with your favorite bread, like Vegan Cornbread or Vegan Garlic Bread.
Ingredients & Substitutions
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
- Olive Oil — Using a neutral oil helps tenderize the onions. For an oil-free recipe, substitute water.
- Onion — I use a yellow onion, but you can use white or even red onion.
- Garlic — Use fresh garlic or soft, tender cloves from Garlic Confit.
- Veggie crumbles — There are many plant-based crumbles to choose from these days, like Gardein, Beyond Beef, and even plant-based meats like Impossible or Pure Farmland that resemble hamburger.
- Chili beans — You can use plain beans here (like black beans or kidney beans work great), but you can also buy chili beans that have chili seasonings added.
- Chili-ready tomatoes — The same is true for tomatoes. You can add plain stewed or diced tomatoes, or you can buy chili-read tomatoes that have seasonings added.
- Corn — I prefer frozen corn because the flavor is better, but canned will work too.
- Chili powder — If you use chili-ready beans and/or tomatoes, the amount of chili powder you need to add will vary.
Cooking with Veggie Crumbles
Veggie crumbles are made from a variety of plant-based ingredients, including textured vegetable protein and soy. Veggie crumbles are great to use as substitutes for hamburger in your recipes because you can oftentimes heat and serve. Some plant-based faux meat products do require cooking before adding them to your recipes, so read the package instructions. You can find veggie crumbles at many large chain grocery stores and health food stores.
What Makes This Recipe Shine?
- Using veggie crumbles means this recipe comes together quickly and has lots of plant-based protein
- Adding chili-ready tomatoes adds even more of that chili flavor you’ve come to love
- A little bit of corn adds texture, flavor, and color, making this the most irresistible bowl of chili ever
How to Make Easy Vegan Chili
I love making vegan chili recipes — they’re so versatile and tasty. Besides, this recipe comes together so quickly, you’ll be ready to serve it in no time!
- Add oil to a large pot over medium heat. Add chopped onions and garlic, and cook until onions are translucent, around 3 minutes. Add veggie crumbles and cook for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add beans, tomatoes, and corn. Stir to combine. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 10 to 20 minutes. If using chili-ready tomatoes and beans, you may not need to add more chili powder. Taste and determine at this stage. If more is needed, add one tablespoon at a time. If you’re not using chili-ready tomatoes and beans, you may want to add up to 3 to 5 tablespoons of chili powder based on your taste preferences.
- Serve warm with cornbread, crackers, or your favorite crusty bread.
Here are the step-by-step instructions to make this super easy vegan chili recipe:
Step One: Cook Aromatics
The first step for this vegan chili recipe is to add oil to a large pot over medium heat. Add chopped onions and garlic, and cook until onions are translucent, around 3 minutes.
Step Two: Add Veggie Crumbles
Next, add veggie crumbles and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. The goal is to get the crumbles firm and maybe even slightly browned.
Step Four: Add Beans & Tomatoes
Once the crumbles are cooked, add the beans, tomatoes, and corn.
Give this a good stir to combine, and then continue cooking over medium heat. Bring it to a simmer, and then reduce the heat and simmer (where the liquid is gently bubbling, just below the boiling point) for 10 to 20 minutes.
If using chili-ready tomatoes and beans, you may not need to add more chili powder. Give it a taste and determine at this stage if more is needed. If so, add one tablespoon of chili powder at a time. If you’re not using chili-ready tomatoes and beans, you may want to add up to 3 to 5 tablespoons of chili powder based on your taste preferences.
Marly’s Tips
Add-ins: You can add other tasty ingredients to this chili, like jalapeños or diced green/red peppers.
Serve bowls of chili warm with cornbread, crackers, or your favorite crusty bread. You can also add dollops of vegan sour cream or plain vegan yogurt on top, too. And don’t forget the hot sauce!
Best Veggie Crumbles
Let’s talk about veggie crumbles for a moment. I love using either Gardein veggie crumbles or Beyond Meat Beefy because they’re vegan and gluten-free.
These days, you can also purchase plant-based meat, like Beyond Beef Plant-based Ground and Pure Farmlands Protein Starters, which is also a package of “ground meat”-like product. I like both of these products, and they can be used in this chili recipe. Simply follow the instructions on the package and cook the veggie meat according to the package directions.
You can incorporate the cooked veggie meat crumbles into the chili as it cooks or reserve them to add immediately before serving. The advantage of adding it before serving is that it retains that crispy, browned flavor even longer. This makes the best vegan chili ever!
Tofu Chili Recipe
Don’t want to use a veggie crumble or ground veggie meat product? Vegan chili with tofu is actually easy and tasty too! Simply make a batch of my 10-minute Tofu Scramble. Be sure to break the pieces down into small bits and cook them in a skillet until nice and firm.
Then, immediately before serving, add the tofu and stir it into the chili. Believe it or not, tofu chili recipes are delicious!
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Easy Vegan Chili
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion peeled and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 2 cups veggie crumbles
- 30 oz chili beans (2 cans)
- 15 oz can chili ready tomatoes (see note)
- ½ cup frozen corn
- 1 to 2 tablespoons chili powder
Instructions
- Add oil to a large pot over medium heat. Add chopped onions and garlic, and cook until onions are translucent, around 3 minutes. Add veggie crumbles and cook for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add beans, tomatoes, and corn. Stir to combine. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 10 to 20 minutes. If using chili-ready tomatoes and beans, you may not need to add more chili powder. Taste and determine at this stage. If more is needed, add one tablespoon at a time. If you're not using chili-ready tomatoes and beans, you may want to add up to 3 to 5 tablespoons of chili powder based on your taste preferences.
- Serve warm with cornbread, crackers, or your favorite crusty bread.
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Notes
Chili Thickness
Because I’m using chili-read bean and tomatoes, we’ll use the full cans of these ingredients, including their liquids. As a result, I don’t add any addition broth. However, if you prefer a thinner consistency to your chili, go ahead and add up to 1 cup of vegetable broth.The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
More Chili Recipes
That’s it for this easy vegan chili recipe!
This post was originally published in 2019 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2021.
About the Author
Hi! I’m Marly McMillen. I’m the founding editor, author, recipe developer, vegan home chef, and food stylist behind Namely Marly. I’m so grateful to you and every member of my audience for your support and dedication. More about Namely Marly ›
4 Responses to Easy Vegan Chili
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Where is the measurement for how much broth/water to use? I am currently winging it and it smells amazing, absolutely inspired recipe. But that would be nice to have.
Hi Emerson! I’m so glad you like this recipe! You know what, my instructions weren’t clear so I added a note. Because I’m using chili-ready beans and tomatoes, I add the full can (including the liquids). And we like our chili super thick, so I actually don’t add any broth to my pot. However, if you prefer it, you can add up to 1 cup of vegetable broth. I hope this helps!
Love the use of turmeric here. Looks like a comforting bowl of chili 🙂
Turmeric is my favorite spice to add! Love those anti-inflammatory properties!