this easy vegan, dairy & gluten-free chili is loaded with veggies, protein and flavor. coming together in around 30 minutes, it’s a great budget-friendly weeknight dish the whole family will love.

Okay guys, I finally did it! I came up with an easy weeknight veggie chili no crockpot or pressure cooker required!

All you need is 30-40 minutes and in a handful of steps later, the entire dish is done! It’s a great weeknight meal because it doesn’t take a lot of time and only dirties 2 pots!

It’s spicy, but not SO spicy that your little kiddos can’t handle the heat (and you can always add more heat with simple adjustments in the recipe or with hot sauce if you like super spicy).

It’s also budget-friendly thanks to the fact that you can make most of it using canned or boxed pantry items!

Hearty enough to please even the biggest meat eaters, it’s satisfying and filling and only tastes better the more time it marinates in the fridge. It’s also great to make ahead of time then freeze for those really busy weeks (which I know are coming given that the holidays are upon us!).

And perhaps the best thing about this chili is that pretty much anything goes. If you’re not a quinoa fan, you can nix it, stir in rice or farro, wheatberries…whatever you like! You can use whatever veggies you have on hand, stir in ground meat if you prefer…the base flavors are so perfect that you can’t mess it up. So go ahead and make it your own!

weeknight veggie chili

Author: Cait
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30-40 minures
Total Time: 35-45 minutes
Yield: 6 servings (more or less depending on portion) 1x
Category: chili

Description

this easy vegan, gluten-free chili is loaded with veggies, protein and flavor. coming together in around 30 minutes, it’s a great weeknight dish the whole family will love.

Scale

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small or 1/2 large onion, chopped fine
1 orange bell pepper, stemmed, seeded & diced
1 yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded & diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon minced canned chipotle in adobo sauce
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained & rinsed
2 (14 oz) cans fire roasted tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup cooked quinoa
Salt & pepper
Optional for serving: shredded cheese, plain greek or skyr yogurt, hot sauce, avocado, cilantro and corn chips

Instructions

Place a large dutch oven over medium heat and add olive oil. Once glistening, add onion, bell peppers and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook until vegetables are softened and lightly brown (~6-8 minutes).
Stir in garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika, chipotle and a pinch of pepper. Cook until fragrant (~30 seconds).
Stir in black beans, kidney beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce and broth. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, lower heat to a simmer and cook until chili is slightly thickened (30-40 minutes).
Add cooked quinoa, salt & pepper to taste.