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.
Hi Here:
I plan to make your Homemade Vegetarian Chili but do not like Cilantro. What do you suggest I use in its place.
Thanks, Christine
Hi, Christine! I think just omitting it would be fine. :)
Just made this tonight! Delish! Thank you!
Perfect! Thanks, Autumn.
This chili is SO GOOD!!
Even better, it keeps really well too. For some reason, in the past when I’ve made chili it just doesn’t taste very good a few days later. It gets kind of bland tasting. This one tastes just as fresh and the spices are still vibrant a few days later. Maybe it’s the vinegar? I’ve never added that to a soup before.
I made a double batch and it easily served 15 people with leftovers for a vegan chili bar. Served with rice, guacamole, vegan cumin-lime crema, tortilla chips, chopped cilantro, carrot-cabbage-jalapeno slaw, chopped tomatoes, corn, and a variety of hot sauces.
Thanks for the recipe!!
That sounds absolutely delicious, Lucinda! It sounds like you throw a great party!
Great recipes! I just made your veggie chili and it’s delicious Its the third recipe I’ve made of your and they’ve all been huge successes. Thank you!
This recipe is great. I suggest using fresh peas and boiling and/or soaking them first.also a good quality tinned tomato is needed.
Yum! Thanks, Pink!
I made this tonight, it was soo tasty. I forgot to put in the vinegar but it still tasted scrummy.
The recipe makes a big batch, my mum, sister and I barely touched the sides!
When I make it again I think I might add jalps in for extra spice.
Yes, this makes some hearty helpings of chili. I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it, Amy!
Easy to make and delicious recipe! Even my meat loving parents have switched to this meat-free alternative.
Love hearing this, Holly! It’s my evil plan to help folks reduce the amount of meat in their diets. ;)
Honestly, this is my favorite meal of the week. I sub zucchini for the carrots and a white/yellow onion for the red onion. I’m lazy and don’t feel like adding the cilantro or vinegar. Sooooo good!
Do they have to be diced tomatoes from the can or can we dice them ourselves?
I think that’ll work, yes! I suggest a canned diced tomato because people are usually making this in the fall/winter, when tomatoes aren’t in season.
Love this!
I add corn and red split lentils when I make this! Yum!
Yum is right!
The red wine vinegar makes this recipe divine! I used dried beans but otherwise kept everything the same and it was really amazing!
I’m so glad you loved it, Meera!
I made this chili in my dutch oven while camping last weekend. It was delicious! Friends came back second bowls, so this isn’t just the cook’s biased opinion.
Yum! Sounds delicious over an open fire.
This is absolutely beautiful. I put this chilli inside of mini tortillas with smashed avocado and feta. It was to die for, the best thing I’ve ever tasted!.
Oh my goodness, I’m going to have to try that! Thanks, Lauren!
I am a carnivore but my wife is a vegetarian so most of our dinners are vegetarian. We have made this dish a couple of times. I skip the bell peppers because here in Juneau,Alaska bell peppers are super spendy (Like $3 a pepper, on a good day). Instead, I double up on the carrots and celery. I also typically add Beyond Meat Ground Beef substitute to give it a more chili like feel. I sometimes add Jalapenos and/or siracha sauce to bring a little more heat.
Yum! That sounds delicious, Justin. I’m glad you could make it work!
Every time I’m in the mood to make something new (I basically have your lentil soup recipe on repeat – even in the Texas summer!) I come straight to your blog! Made this today and it is AMAZING! I’m not a fan of meat in soups or chili – my husband is usually the opposite – and even he loved this! Thank you for another delicious recipe :)
Oh, I’m so glad this satisfied the both of you! Thanks, Lianne.
Family approved! I got the response “wow, you don’t need meat when it’s this flavorful!” Thanks for the great recipe.
Loved having corn, cilantro, and avocado as toppings!
Ooh, those toppings sound delicious, Chrissy! I’m glad the whole family enjoyed.
I like meat a lot. This was so freaking good though. 10/10 would make again
Ha! Thanks, Ryan. So glad you enjoyed this.
Great recipe. The nice thing about chili is you can put whatever you want inside. I nixed the celery, added more bell pepper, & used kidney, black and pinto beans. I added a 1/3 of the chili into a blender and transferred it back which I highly recommend doing. Thickens up the soup a ton. I made cashew sour cream for the top and served it with cornbread. Delicious!
Sounds like a delicious variation, Christine. Thanks!
Just made this and it’s superb! I didn’t need to put vinegar or lime in as it already had that taste to the dish, (not sure what ingredient that would’ve been, smoke paprika?). I also added a tablespoon of full flavour tomato puree. I’ve made it for batch freezing (we have a little one joining us, soon!) so hopefully it will freeze Ok! Thanks :)
This freezes great, so no worries about that! Congratulations on your new babe. :)
We eat this all the time at our house now. It’s one of my toddler’s favorite meals!
Awesome! Thanks, Dana!
Best. Chili. Ever.
Made this for the 1st time, it was so delicious!
Awesome! Thanks, Carol.
Made this tonight — very pleased with the result! Blending some at the end really makes all the difference, thanks for sharing as always.
You’re welcome Stephanie! And yep, the blending does wonders for the texture and heartiness.
This is a fantastic recipe! I, however, replaced the pinto beans with a can of corn kernels and red beans, and it was delicious. Perfect amount for a week’s worth of work lunch too :)
Yum! That sounds excellent, Tran.
Just made this and it is DELICIOUS! My 2.5 year old loves it! Just used less chili for kiddo but my goodness I will make tons of this – it’s winter in Australia and this was exactly what we needed, thanks Kate.
You’re welcome, Katy! Stay warm.
Your vegetarian chili is awesome! Have made it many times. Could you please tell me the nutritional information for it? Thanks.
I’m so glad you love the chili, Pam. Unfortunately, I don’t have nutritional info available for my recipes just yet. I’m looking for a solution, and will update about it once I find one. In the meantime, here’s a nutrition calculator that might come in handy.
LOVE this recipe! Put it in the slow cooker instead, and it was phenomenal! I’m definitely going to be trying out more of your recipes!
Perfect! Thank you, Jessie.
Hi Kate, could this recipe be completely blended to a soup like consistency? And what sort of things could it be served with (breads etc?) thanks!
This recipe is delicious. Yesterday I began my journey to clean eating, and eliminating meat completely from my diet. This was my dinner, and it was awesome! I will give a heads up though, you’ll be tootin’ all night. Beans beans the magical fruit the more ya eat the more ya… well you all know the rest. Thanks for the recipe!
Haha! Thanks, Alexis. I’m glad you liked it, despite the side effects.
I don’t usually comment on recipes but I gotta tell you – this Texan and his family absolutely LOVED this chili. I think this will be my new go-to recipe! I added a can of corn (drained) and a teaspoon of coriander. Other than that I followed it as written. Amazing chili!!!
That’s quite a compliment coming from a Texan! Thank you, CJ!
I have made this recipe twice. I increased the carrots because I like it a bit more sweet. I also include a diced up zucchini. I dice everything very small and it comes out perfect. The first time I used regular paprika, but I found smoked paprika for the second time and found it to really elevate this dish. My favorite vegan chili recipe I’ve found so far.
That sounds delicious, Jen!
That is just a fantastic littre recipe really enjoyed it. We had some nice crusty toasted sour douh bread yum. We have some carnivores friends coming over on weekend so I’m going to cook it for them. Thank you
You’re welcome, Martin! I hope your friends enjoy the chili.
Made this today, lovely flavour, I used quiet a lot of hot chilli powder as we do like our food to have a lot of taste, I also used cumin powder and cumin seed, had no veg stock so used beef stock and some black pepper too and a dash of cinnamon.
I’m glad your swaps worked so well, Fenella!
I just made this chili this afternoon. It was very tasty and great overall. It has a perfect cannot-go-wrong combination of ingredients. It was full of the flavor I was looking for and very simple to make. A good idea to make this one again soon!
Great to hear this, Mike!
This was the best chili I’ve ever made! Thank you!
Hooray! Thanks, Cheree!
I have followed this recipie around 10 times now and I keep coming back to it whenever I want a easy and delicious dinner. Keeps the whole family happy! I make nachos with it, have it with rice or on top of a jacket potato with sour cream and cheese!
Thanks, Laura! I’m so glad this is a reliable recipe for you.
This chili is amazing. I’m not a vegetarian but was tasked with preparing a vegan meal for a large group on a camping trip. I tested this recipe a week in advance and was stunned by how good it is. I ended up making three batches for that trip and loved watching people go back for seconds and thirds. I just looked up the recipe because I’m going to make it again this weekend and then freeze it for a trip in two weeks. Thanks for posting this!
Perfect! I’m so glad this was what you were looking for, Jennifer.
Cooking this now and my kitchen smells sooooo good!
YES I love a delicious-smelling house!
Wow! Always wanted to make a meatless chili. I’m glad I tried yours first because it’s delicious! I bet my family won’t even miss the meat. Great tip by the way of blending a portion of the chili to make it thick. Love the texture.
Yes, this one is definitely carnivore-approved!
How many calories and sodium is in this dish? I love when this information is provided.
Hi, Latesha! Unfortunately, I don’t have nutritional info available for my recipes just yet. I’m working on a solution, and will update about it once I find one. In the meantime, here’s a nutrition calculator that might come in handy.
I made this recipe recently but it came out waaaay to spicy so next time I will put in half the paprika and less chilli powder. I was sad because it smelled so good when it was cooking!
Yes, the spiciness in chili powder really varies depending on the type. I hope you try it again, Nikki!
Do you have nutritional information for this recipe?
Unfortunately, I don’t have nutritional info available for my recipes just yet. I’m looking for a solution, and will update about it once I find one. In the meantime, here’s a nutrition calculator that might come in handy.
G’day Kate,
I have only recently stumbled upon your site, and this is the 2nd recipe i’ve made, after your sweet potato, black bean taco’s. Both these recipes have been amazing! I can even get my husband to eat vegetarian…
I love this chili and am enjoying this on a cold night in front of the fireplace all the way Down Under! Which reminds me: i need to open a beer!
Thanks for your great, so far fool proof, recipes, and looking forward to making heaps of your recipes!
Haha! Thanks, Sim. I’m so glad you enjoy the chili. Stay warm down there!
This was delicious!!! I just started meal prepping and decided to use this as my dinner meal, along with some brown rice and some more carrots. Very happy with the result, especially considering I’ve only cooked a few times before. Made waaay more than I expected. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!!!
You’re welcome, Rafael! I hope your lunches this week are delicious.
I’ve made this many times. It’s SO tasty, even this cheese-lover doesn’t need cheese! Actually it’s better without it!
Love that it’s healthy, yummy AND SO SIMPLE.
Thank you, a million thank-yous, for this recipe!
You’re welcome, Karen! Thank you.
I made this, it was great! :)
Awesome! Thanks, Alexa!
re conversion chart for beans, the link in comments did not work, http://beaninstitute.com/recipes/bean-yield-chart/; but this did: http://beaninstitute.com/bean-counting-the-bean-yield-chart/
Thanks for the tip, Lorri!
Hi!
I tried this recipe and it was delicious
Absolutely loved it!
Thanks, Jasmina!
Amazing recipe, I substituted 1 of the small tomato cans for Rotel, family and I loved it!!
Why only transfer part of the chili in a blender. Wouldn’t you need to blend all of it for the best texture and flavor. Looks like a great variety of veggies. I am going to make this tonight.
This was fantastic! Blending 1.5 cups of the chili gave it such an amazing texture and flavor.
I’ve made 6 recipes from your site over the past 3 weeks, and they have all been wonderful. This is now my go-to place to find new recipes.
Thanks for the delicious recipes!