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.
We had an unexpected snow day and decided to try this recipe—it’s fantastic! I’ve made many vegetarian chili recipes in the past but this one took the cake. Blending some of the mix is a game changer—we got the perfect chili consistency without the meat. Grocery store was out of celery so I substituted celery flake and that worked great. Spice level was on point. Served with sour cream and shredded cheese, even my (meat-loving) husband loved it. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you for sharing, Lindsay!
Tastes AMAZING! If you are cooking in a 9 inch round pan make sure you bake for about 10-12 mins longer. 25 minutes was not enough for 9 inch round pan. WOW so good with my homemade vegan chili!!! I will def use this again!
this is my favorite veggie chili! i add a cup of beefless grounds, sometimes I sub sweet potatoes if i don’t have carrots or red bell peppers. super versatile!
Starting the new year differently. Just off Keto for the last 3 months. I rarely eat vegetables and I love meat. I’m a huge chili fan. I followed your recipe exactly as written and added 1 jalapeño diced. No meat. This was one of the most delicious bowls of chili I’ve had in a long time… and I made it myself. The small crunch of the carrots gave it a great texture. Our family destroyed it. Thank you for sharing with us.
When I want a great recipe, I always come to your site and I haven’t ever been disappointed. This chili is fantastic! I read some reviews that said it was too hot, so I change the chili powder to 1 Tablespoon because I’m a “spice weenie”! I think this could be made with any number of different ingredients and would be delicious no matter what. Thank you Kate for another winning recipe!
Thank you, Ann! I’m delighted you love my recipes.
The best chili recipe I’ve ever tried! Absolutely delicious.
Absolutely delicious, especially with Piment Chili powder
I’ve made this chili a couple of times before and I keep coming back to it. It’s just so delicious! Everyone I made it for also loved it. Looking forward to making it again tonight (:
Love this recipe! Got rave reviews! Added a little bit of cocoa to it and a little sugar + Italian seasoning. Yum!!
I also have searched for a good vegetarian chili recipe and now the search is over! We love the carrots, absence of meat substitutes and smoked paprika! We also added a jalapeno as well as a chipotle in adobo (we like it smoky and hot!)
So grateful- thank you!
This is my go-to chili recipe since I came across the recipe about a year ago or so. It’s so filling, so tasty, and so easy to make! Making a pot of it this morning as a matter of fact. Delicious!
That’s great to hear, Lynn! I appreciate your review.
I very seldom leave any comments or reviews but your blog is really helping me. My husband is a huge meat eater and my 19 month old daughter has just decided she won’t eat meat of any kind. I found your recipes googling vegetarian recipes for meat lovers and so far the 3 I made, including this chili (it’s 16 degrees outside) have been a hit with both of them and they are well balanced nutritionally so I know I am feeding my family well. After reading the comments I did only add 1 teaspoon of chili powder and smoked paprika (the one I have is very spicy) and it was great, my husband added some hot sauce to his. The blending made this dish extra delish with the creaminess. Thank you so much!
I’m so glad you did and find it helpful! Thank you for your comment, Olga.
I am typically a huge fan of recipes on this site but felt this recipe lacked flavor and a desirable texture.
Hi Emily, I’m sorry to hear that. Were your spices fresh? Sometimes if spices are older, they can lack flavor.
This is the best chili recipe!! I make it several times a month and never tire of it. It is so flavorful. I substitute one of the back beans.
I’ve made this several times, but tonight I added Impossible ground “meat” and it was so good! I also used Hot Rotel (diced tomatoes with green chilis and habanero) instead of just diced tomatoes because we like it spicy! Topped with sour cream to “cool” it off + Fritos! Love this recipe so much!
I made this for a snowshoe trip to a yurt for my family, a few members are vegan. This is sensational! Even my husband didn’t miss the meat because the spices and vegetables are spot on!
I love how you taste the heat and the flavors mingle so well a second after you’ve eaten it.
This will be my go-to chili recipe! Thank you!
really tasty.
i like this chili very much. I am cooking it again for the second time. Thank you very much. My very favorite vegetarian chili.
You’re welcome, Liza!
This was SO good!! I threw in a jalapeño with the veggies at the start because I know my chili powder is not all that spicy. Also added a can of corn with the beans and subbed a can of kidney beans for one of the cans of black beans. Then added a little instant espresso, unsweetened cocoa powder, ground coriander, and cayenne to bump up the flavors. Served with a side of jalapeño-cheddar bread — perfect winter lunch!
Thank you for sharing how you adapted this recipe, Mary!
I made the vegetarian chilli it came out just great love it thank you Kate
Tried this recipe for the first time today for dinner and it was AMAZING!!! Highly recommend!
The Chili beans tasted fantastic, I did add a block of tofu that I had pressed, cut up into small squares and sautéed for firmness. I added the tofu and two tablespoons of pure maple syrup right before I let the Chili beans simmer for 30 minutes. We are whole foods plant based.
Thank you for sharing, Kevin!
This is my go too recipie for a tasty veg dinner!
Very good chili. I used black beans, kidney beans, and cannellini beans because that’s what I had. I also used Muir Glen fire roasted crushed tomatoes and added whatever amount of water needed to rinse out the tomato cans. Based on reviews, I used 1 1/2 tbsp of chili powder (Penzeys regular) but I had to add some vindaloo seasoning because there was no heat. I added ground chicken and cooked the chili for over an hour. It was perfect, no need to blend. The finished product could have used more salt but I topped it with white cheddar cheese, avocado, hot sauce and tortilla chips. So good! Will definitely make again.
Great recipe! One of my faves.
I’m happy you love it!
Loved this recipe! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Shelly!
I made this tonight and it was amazing! I’ve been transitioning to a vegetarian (and eventually vegan) diet and this chili will be a mainstay. I can’t wait to try your other recipes. Thank you!
Be sure to tell me what you think as you try other recipes!
this chili is FABULOUS…as well as all of your recipes!!
*freezes wonderfully so make a triple batch*
Thank you, Jill!
My first attempt at a plant based meal and it was a success! I followed the recipe almost exactly (used red wine vinegar) and it turned out great. Very flavorful with a nice texture. My family enjoyed it too! I’ll definitely put this in the rotation.
Hooray! Great to hear, Michelle.
Best vegan/vegetarian chili recipe I have tried. The spices are perfect! Even my meat eating family enjoyed it. Thanks for another great recipe.
Delicious, but with UK chilli powder def use nowhere near that amount of chilli powder! We used half the amount and it was lovely. The kids enjoyed too, with sour cream. Will be making again!
I’m glad you loved it, Laura!
Fantastic veggie chili recipe! I made this for dinner last night and my husband and I loved it. Delicious! Blending some of the chili in my vitamix blender and then returning it to the pot really makes the dish. We are looking forward to the leftovers tonight. Maybe inside
tortillas on the pan with shredded vegan cheese as quesadillas? Yes please! Last night I served it in old school crispy corn taco shells topped with shredded lettuce, chopped onion, and kite hill brand vegan sour cream. Sheer bliss!
Great recipe, delicious flavor!
Best vegetarian chili i have ever had. I will definitely make this often.
I read the entire article, followed the recipe step by step and loved it! Its texture and flavor – amazing…no one knew it was vegan. My father is a carnivore…. it fooled him… I have never told him it’s vegan.
Thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome, Mari!
Love C&K recipes—use your site every week! This chili is great! Sometimes I add cubed butternut squash if I have on hand. This recipe is a family favorite.
This is my new favourite chilli recipe.
We’ve had it twice now and just love it.
Out of the freezer tonight, served on rice (also out of the freezer) with corn chips on the side and topped with grated cheese.
Brilliant!
After procuring most of the ingredients months ago, i finally got around to making this chili. Admittedly, i added some ground turkey. The results were really excellent. The heat took the edge off a frigid mid January night. Yum. Slept well. Ty.
Clearly the can sizes for the diced tomatoes are wrong!
Hi Rose, I’m sorry to hear you are having issues with this recipe. What are you specifically referring to? Are you increasing the serving size of this recipe?
Holy heck, I’ve tried so many recipes for vego chili and this is a game changer! Love the partial blend.. and I’m in Aus and 2 TBSP of chili powder was hot, but not tooo hot. I subbed 1 tin of beans for another large pepper / capsicum as it was what we had and it was delicious. Thanks!!
My husband enjoys cooking. Yesterday he made this veggie chili at my request. This recipe is fabulous! Have shared it with family and friends. So nutritious and palatable. Thank you for sharing this wonderful healthy recipe.
You’re welcome, Shelley! I’m glad he enjoys this chili and that you have shared it.
Omg !!! I made this in the uk using your dose of chilli powder that was one hot chilli !!!!
This is one of my favorite vegetarian chilis. The flavor was good but I did make some changes. I only used one can each of beans instead of the 2 black beans and used kidney beans. I also used one can of diced tomatoes and half a 8oz can of tomato sauce. If I had used the full amount of beans and tomatoes it would not have had enough broth for me. I also used half the cumin since I am not a huge fan.
This was wonderful! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Kate!
Loved this Chili. My husband is not a vegetarian, he had two bowls. I diced up some avocado to top it off. We
Loved the recipe! Thank you for such a simple and tasty recipe. My son didn’t even know it was vegan and really enjoyed it!
If you had to choose, what would you make for the superbowl… This Vegetarian Chili recipe or your sweet potato chili recipe? Thanks
Hi EM! I think they are both great choices. Let me know what you try!
I hadn’t seen the notes – aghhh – It would be great if they could be moved to the bottom of the ingredients section for clarity – I did a quick scroll to see the asterisks but didn’t see anything. The spices in the UK make this totally inedible. I’d halved the chilli powder amount anyway as I’d assumed it may have been a mistake that it said table spoons instead of teaspoons but still ended up having to make desperate attempts – adding lime, replacing the juices with water, adding sugar etc to avoid wasting lots of ingredients. Ruined our Saturday night dinner! (I’ve spent time living in India and Thailand so I’m not afraid of a bit of heat!)
YES! I made this but I made a mistake. My sister cannot consume any meat products anymore so I’ve been searching for recipes to make her. This is the 1st I’ve tried from your recipes but it won’t be the last! My slip-up was that I grabbed the thyme instead of oregano &didn’t catch it till 10minutes b4 it was done simmering. I decided to add the oregano & then simmered for 20minutes. 2 carnivores ate big bowls & didn’t know that meat was missing My sister says it’s the best chili she’s eaten, EVER! Including when she could eat meat. I am looking for what to make her tomorrow since there’s no leftovers now. LOL THANK YOU SO MUCH!
I added a couple of cups of cubed roasted Hubbard squash and the same amount of white sweet potato because I had them to use. I followed the rest of the recipe exactly. Well not exactly, we don’t use cilantro! It is delicious and a keeper. Garnished with sour cream and cheese. I am cooking at least 4 days a week without meat but eating fish. Great recipe!