Vegetarian Chilli {Easy & Delicious!}

A pan filled with rich Veggie Chilli, with sour cream and spring onions on top.

4.86 from 14 votes

Vegetarian Chilli {Easy & Delicious!}

This is a simple and delicious Vegetarian Chilli recipe. Perfect for vegetarians and meat eaters alike, it's an easy meat-free family dinner that's hearty and full of flavour. It's also ideal for batch cooking!

Prep Time10

Cook Time1 30

Total Time1 40

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Family Food, vegetarian

Servings: Servings

Author: Sarah Rossi

Ingredients

1 tbsp Olive oil
2 Onions Peeled and finely chopped
6 Garlic cloves Peeled and crushed
3 tbsp Brown sugar
1 tbsp Paprika
1 tbsp Sweet smoked paprika
1 tbsp Ground cumin
1/2 tsp Cayenne
1 tsp Ground cinnamon
1 tsp Dried oregano
1/2 tsp Dried chilli flakes
500 ml Hot vegetable stock
400 g Borlotti beans Drained and rinsed
400 g Cannellini beans Drained and rinsed
700 g Sweet potato Peeled and cut into 2cm cubes | See notes
800 g Tinned tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Limes

Metric - Imperial

Instructions

Put the oil, onions and garlic into a large non-stick saucepan or sauté pan and cook over a medium low heat with the lid off for 5 minutes until just starting to soften.
Add the brown sugar, paprika, smoked paprika, cumin, cayenne, cinnamon, oregano and chilli flakes, along with plenty of salt and pepper. Put the lid on the pan ajar, reduce the temperature to low and cook for 15- 20 minutes, stirring regularly.
As the onions cook, you will almost certainly need to add a splash of water if they start to stick a little (from the tap is fine). This will depend on what type of pan you’re using (and also if you’ve put the heat up too high as you’re impatient like me!)
After 15-20 minutes the onions should be deep brown and fragrant. You shouldn’t be able to see any white onion parts left, they should all be soft.
Add the stock, cubes of sweet potato, beans and tinned tomatoes. Give everything a good stir. Put the lid on and put the heat up to medium.
Cook for 45 minutes-1 hour. As the chilli cooks, I like to use a masher to mash about half of the softened beans. I find this improves the texture of the finished dish. It’s personal preference if you prefer not to though.
The chilli is ready when it is darker in colour and everything is soft and thick.

Notes

Cooking time: The method here says to cook for 45 minutes-1 hour after you put the sweet potatoes in. We found that 45 minutes was enough, but keep it going for longer if you prefer it softer

Sweet potato, onion and garlic: I use pre-prepared from the frozen section for these. It makes everything so much easier. You can use peeled and chopped regular fresh though if you prefer

Beans: You can add whichever beans you prefer in this recipe, but I always go for ones in a tin that simply need rinsing and are ready to go

Gluten free: You can make this a gluten free chilli by making sure you use gluten free stock. And obviously whatever you decide to serve it with

To slow cook: Pop all of your ingredients into the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours

Nutrition