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.
I’ve made this recipe many times now and it is always soo good! I always used a mix bean medley with it and then I add in a little cooked quinoa and green lentils to give it a little heartier texture and added protein, and it works perfectly!
Make this Chili Quite often. Always turns out great We just love it.
First time making this recipe: I prepared it for dinner and then froze the remains for future camping adventures….I prefer vegetarian, my husband does not BUT we both looved this recipe and thought it was one of the most delicious meals we’ve had. It is going into my recipe book for the future!
Thank you!
Wonderful to hear, Clara! Thank you for your review.
First time making this recipe: I prepared it for dinner and then froze the remains for future camping adventures….I prefer vegetarian, my husband does not BUT we both looved this recipe and thought it was one of the most delicious meals we’ve had. I added corn and fire roasted tomatoes because I ran out of plain diced tomatoes. It is going into my recipe book for the future!
Thank you!
I’m happy to hear that, Clara! Thank you for your review.
2 Tablespoons of chilli powder is way too hot 1 & 1/2 Tab is way too hot!! I can’t taste anything for the heat. I like chill but this is fire I’ll try the recipe again with Way less chilli may even have to make another batch minus the chilli to add to this batch?!
Hi Maree, I’m sorry you didn’t like it. Yes, chili powder can vary as why I added a note. If you are outside the US it can be much hotter.
Made this tonight and it was very delicious. I truly loved it. So good. Thank you for sharing it.
I make this a lot. So delicious and it freezes well!
Thank you for your review, Jody!
I just made this, and it was hands down the best chilli I’ve ever made. Super easy, REALLY tasty. Thankyou for sharing!
so yummy! i didnt want to do the blender thing so i subbed refried beans for the pintos. worked great! one less thing to clean! thank you!
I made this today as written . It was excellent . I then added a 4 oz can of diced green chilies and 2 more cups of vegetable broth to give it a little heat and more volume . Definitely a keeper !
Thanks for letting me know you will be making this chili recipe again, Mark! I appreciate your review.
I made this Chilli for a family birthday gathering in a garden. It was delicious. Everybody commented on how flavoursome it was. It’s a definite on our menu going forward. Thanks M. O’L
You’re welcome, Mary! I’m happy you enjoyed it.
Thank you for the lovely recipe. I made a delicious bean chilli which felt like a high in a bowl. I like it spicy so added 2 scotch bonnets and only a dash of cayenne pepper. Perfect! Xxx
Thank you for this recipe. This is the best vegetarian Chilli recipe I have ever tasted.
I made it tonight with just a couple substitutions because I didn’t have certain ingredients in my pantry. But still was great.
Thank you very much.
You’re welcome, Vanessa! Thanks for your review.
I love this recipe, as well as does everyone in my family! Great combination of flavors, super healthy, and faster than a beef chili! I skip the oil as it’s not 100% necessary (just add a little veggie broth as you saute the veggies instead…) I also swap out one can of black beans for dark red kidney beans.
Having recently eliminated meat & dairy from my diet – your recipes have been so important in making this switch! Thank you so much!
This is now one of our weekly favourites..and with 3 meat loving young men to cook for, finding a good veggie alternative has been a game changer. I add a tsp cumin seeds when I fry the onions. I use 1 tin of tomatoes instead of 2 plus a tins worth of water and add half a cup of rinsed red/green lentils, stock cube and tomato puree to the mix plus my chilli special addition of 1 tbsp each of coco powder, brown sugar and white/red vinegar…very good result consistently!!We love it , so thank you for the recipe xx
That’s great, Melanie! Thank you for your review.
Loved it thankyou I’ve just gone to being a veggie and so much protein I even added chickpeas and lentils for it to go further
Thank you for sharing, Debi!
I’ve cooked this recipe 2 or 3 times and it’s exceptional! An absolute hit every time I do it. We’re meat eaters but would say that this is way better than any beef chilli I’ve cooked.
That’s great! Thank you for sharing, Mrs. Hannah.
First time making vegetarian chili and it was delicious! This recipe is definitely a keeper.
I absolutely love this recipe. Even the red meat loving men in my household enjoy it! It freezes really well too.
I serve it without rice garnished with avocado, chopped coriander and a squeeze of lime juice. Yummy!’
Lovely recipe but I totally overdid it on the chilli! Any tips on how to cool down my leftovers?
Oh no! Sour cream can help or something similar.
This is absolutely delicious! Thank you so much for sharing, Kate!
I subbed one of the cans of black beans for cannellini because I like the mixture of all three beans, left out the cilantro and celery (just a matter of personal taste) and since I cut back on some of the spices, I added a healthy tablespoon of vegan Worcestershire sauce.
So stinking good!!
You’re welcome, Colleen! Thank you for your review.
Hello! Thanks for the great recipe! I’m planning to try it this week. Question though – my husband has IBS and is very sensitive to garlic. Is it possible to omit the garlic or even just reduce the amount? Thanks so much!
Hi, you can reduce or omit if you need to. You may need to add different spices.
Ok, thanks so much for responding! Can’t wait to try this recipe!! :)
really good! immersion blender gave a great texture.
Thank you, Ian!
I make batches of this regularly for my elderly mother. She loves it! (Tho she insists I add meat to it.) So easy for her to heat up and it’s got everything she needs in one dish.
I made this chili and it was outstanding! I have been trying to find vegetarian alternatives to my staple meals with beef and this was so good! Even my meat-eating family loved it. I will definitely make it again. Thank you for posting this recipe.
You’re welcome Nichol.
Made this last night, didn’t tell my kids and husband that it was a vegetarian chili and they all loved it! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Kyllie. Thank you for your review!
Absolutely love this thank you. I do add a sweet potato.
How many calories per portion (without the sweet potato!)
Regards Anita x
Just delicious! I followed the recipe and the flavors are perfect. I added quinoa and avocado for toppings :) I always love Kate’s recipes.
I’m glad you enjoy them, Em! I appreciate your review.
This chili has become a family favorite. Thank you.
Turned out really well, this is my go to vegetarian chilli recipe now!
Just finished making. Very yummy. Thank you
Absolutely delicious! Blitzing a bit to thicken it up is a great tip, thanks.
And you are correct – chilli powder in the USA (and probably Canada but I don’t strictly know) is a blend of spices and herbs such as paprika, cayenne, cumin, oregano, onion and garlic powder, salt and pepper whereas chilli powder bought in Australia, New Zealand or the UK is exactly that – 100% ground chillies so 2 tablespoons will blow your head off!
dang this stuff slaps dude
My brother and family showed up with different dietary needs. I made this chili, which was perfect for him for many meals. I added some corn, and served with rice. It was delicious, and very hearty. Thank you!!
You’re welcome, Marla! I appreciate your review.
I made half of the recipe. Had black beans and chili beans (in sauce). I used fire roasted Ro*Tel instead of diced tomatoes. I added 1/2 tsp. of Old Bay Seasoning & same amount of blackening seasoning, diced yellow pepper too, roasted Pablano pepper, and diced jalapeños. Left out the celery. It was amazing!
Do you think i can use only chickpeas to make this chili? I am loving the reviews and excited to make this! Thanks, Joan
Hi, Sure you can use them if that is what you have on hand.
This recipe is absolutely delicious and so easy to make! I made mine with a few additions (just because I was trying to use up some stuff in my pantry!).
I added about a 1-1/2 cups of cooked lentils (French). I followed the Cookie + Kate recipe for cooking the lentils perfectly. I added those in as well as a can of rinsed and drained corn. I thought they made excellent additions to this recipe! However, next time I make this, I will add in the corn AFTER I blend a portion of the chili (just for aesthetics-related reasons).
Also, I used fire roasted diced tomatoes (just because I had them on hand and wanted to use them up). I was worried the fire roasted flavor would be too overpowering combined with the smoked paprika. However, it worked out fabulously!! I would not go out of my way to purchase fire roasted tomatoes just for this, but I would definitely use them again if I happened to have them on hand.
Overall, amazing recipe! I ate them with corn Good Thins for some crunch.
Thank you for sharing, Lea!
It’s a family favourite! So tasty!
This has been my go-to chili recipe for years! I don’t do the blending part and it is still great. Thanks for sharing
I will hands down make this again! This was so easy and super tasty. I didn’t have red wine vinegar for the end but used lime juice and it really finished it off so perfectly.
That’s great, Rebecca! Thank you for your review.
Love the recipie!
I’m glad you loved it, Vidhu! Thank you for your review.
Hi
Thanks for the recipe. I’ve just been making a double amount here in Sussex in the UK for my book club tomorrow and for me and my partner next week. It’s just simmering but tastes great already!
Cheers
Steve
Made the Chili this afternoon and is very tasty. I have Falafels, your recipe, in the oven baking now.
Your recipes never disappoint!
Thank you!
I made this recipe for the first time about a month ago, for one a retirement party of one of our surgeons. Everyone loved it. One girl in the office said it was the first vegetarian chili she ever ate that tasted good. I’m making it again for a vegan friends birthday on Tuesday.
That’s great, Rebecca!
My daughter is a vegetarian and I wanted a meal we could all enjoy when her family visited. Your vegetarian chilli turned out to be the perfect compromise. In fact, it was so delicious, I now make it regularly for ourselves.
This was my first chili! It was delicious, and thank you for the note about halving the spices – it was a helpful note, and was delicious as such. I topped it with either sliced avocado or a sharp cheddar and I was so proud that I made such a delicious dish! Thank you, Kate. Another home run.
Hooray! I’m delighted you loved it, Julie. Thank you for your review.
Best recipe ever! Is so simple and delicious!!! I will be cooking this a lot. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Mayra! Thank you for your review.
Excellent recipe. I reduced the beans to two cans and added a package of mushrooms. My meat eating husband even liked it.
I love it! Thank you for your review, Julie.
Hi! Could the canned tomatoes be swapped with fresh? I have an overflowing garden I need to make use of and this looks amazing!!
I haven’t tried it, but I especially like the flavor canned tomatoes bring to this dish. If you try it, let me know!
Kate my wife and I just loves your recipes! I Googled Vegetarian Chili and your recipe came up. I said “say no more”! Let me say it is the bomb! Love ya!!!
btw your dog is so cute:)
Corey