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This Veggie Chili recipe is the best vegetarian chili you’ll ever make. It’s made with tender sweet potatoes, canned beans, and doesn’t need to simmer on the stove all day to develop a rich flavor. In fact, it’s ready to eat in under an hour!
This is delicious with my vegan skillet cornbread. If you need a more hands-off recipe, check out my Instant Pot Vegan Chili to avoid standing by the stove.
“A wonderful, easy chili recipe; even my meat-obsessed husband was pleased. I serve it with sour cream and sliced avocado. Yum!”
Table of Contents
Ingredients You’ll Need
I use canned beans in this recipe to make it as fast & convenient as possible. If you prefer to cook dry beans from scratch, you can use my Instant Pot Black Beans tutorial for guidance.
You can use any variety of canned beans you have on hand, but I prefer black beans, pinto beans, or kidney beans. (Or a mix of all 3!)
Prefer a spicier chili? Try adding in a diced jalapeño (with or without seeds) or a pinch of cayenne pepper to the mix. (No more than a 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne, unless you want to breathe fire, though.)
How to Make the Best Veggie Chili
Step 1:
Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, and sauté the onion, celery, and bell pepper until they start to soften, about 5 minutes.
When that’s done, add in the garlic, cumin, chili powder, oregano, and smoked paprika. Stir briefly, just until the spices smell fragrant, about 60 seconds.
Step 2:
Add in the beans, sweet potatoes, diced tomatoes (and juices), salt, a bay leaf, and water. Bring the liquid to a boil, then lower the heat to a gentle simmer and cover the pot.
Let it simmer until the sweet potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Then remove the lid and let the chili simmer for about 10 more minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent anything from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Note: Most chili recipes call for simmering the chili uncovered the whole time to help it thicken, but I found that it takes 40-50 minutes for the sweet potatoes to become tender when you don’t cover the pot. (And I don’t have that kind of patience.)
Instead, I prefer to use less liquid to begin with and cover the pot so the potatoes become tender faster. If you have more patience than I do, use double the water and simmer the chili uncovered for 45+ minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are tender and the chili has thickened.
Step 3:
When the sweet potatoes are tender, remove the bay leaf and then use the back of a spatula, the back of a fork, or a potato masher to gently mash some of the chili to help thicken it. Alternatively, you can also use an immersion blender to briefly blend some of the chili until it’s as thick as you’d like it to be.
Stir in some fresh cilantro, and adjust any seasoning to taste. I usually add in extra salt, and you can add a squeeze of lime juice or vinegar to help brighten the flavor, if you’d like to.
Serving Tips
Serve the chili warm right away with your favorite toppings, like sliced avocado, fresh cilantro, or green onions. If you like dairy on top, you can also add a spoonful of sour cream or shredded cheddar cheese, which will melt over the hot chili. It’s so comforting!
Note: If your chili tastes too acidic or salty, you can balance it by adding a splash of sweetener, like maple syrup or honey. (Use maple syrup if you want to keep this recipe vegan.)
Veggie Chili Recipe FAQs
• Adobo sauce. If you keep a small can of chipotles in adobo sauce in your pantry, use a tablespoon of that sauce in this recipe. It adds a smoky, spicy flavor to your chili. (Smoked paprika adds a similar smoky flavor, so I call for that in this recipe to keep things more pantry-friendly.)
• Bay leaf. It’s hard to describe the flavor that a bay leaf adds to soups and stews, but it has a savory taste that pairs particularly well with anything tomato-based. Be sure to add it whole, so it’s easy to find and remove later. You wouldn’t want anyone to accidentally swallow a bay leaf, because they are too tough!
• Soy sauce. Replace some of the salt with a tablespoon of soy sauce (or use tamari to keep this recipe gluten-free). It adds an umami flavor to the overall dish.
• Chocolate. Adding a touch of grated dark chocolate will boost the flavor, or you can use unsweetened baking chocolate for more bitterness.
• Molasses. This ingredient will add another layer of flavor and a subtle hint of sweetness to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes.
• Simmer uncovered. Remove the lid towards the end of the cooking time, and stir until some of the liquid evaporates. This will naturally thicken the chili.
• Mash it. Use a potato masher to mash some of the soup, especially the sweet potatoes and beans, until it thickens up.
• Blend it. Use a measuring cup to remove 1 to 1 1/2 cups of the soup, including plenty of the liquid, and transfer it to a blender. Blend until smooth, then pour the pureed soup back into the pot. When you stir it in, the chili will be considerably thicker. Alternatively, you can use an immersion blender to blend some of the soup directly in the pot until it’s thicker.
Yes! In that case, you might want to cut-back on the salt, since the broth will contribute to the sodium content. I personally use water in this recipe because you only need 1 cup, and there’s already plenty of flavor from the other ingredients you’ll add in. If your chili turns out bland, it means you didn’t add enough salt!
It will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months if you’d like to portion it out and have a convenient meal on hand.
More Vegetarian Recipes
If you try this veggie chili recipe, please leave a comment and ⭐ star rating below to tell me what you think. Thanks for visiting!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion , chopped
- 2 celery ribs , chopped
- 1 red bell pepper , seeded and chopped
- 4 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 large sweet potato , peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt , plus more to taste
- 3 (15 oz) cans beans (kidney, black beans, or pinto beans)
- 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes , with juices (fire-roasted is preferred)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro , chopped
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat, and add in the onion, celery, and bell pepper. Stir until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and smoked paprika, and stir for 1 more minute, or just until fragrant.
- Add the sweet potato to the pot, along with 2 teaspoons of salt, the drained & rinsed beans (I use 2 cans black beans + 1 can kidney beans), the diced tomatoes with juices, the bay leaf, and 1 cup of water. Stir well, then raise the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil.
- When the liquid is boiling, lower the heat and cover the pot. Let the chili cook until the sweet potatoes are fork tender, about 20 minutes. Remove the lid and let the chili continue to cook uncovered for 10 more minutes, or until the chili is as thick as you'd like it to be. Stir often, and mash some of the beans and sweet potato with the back of the spatula as you go, to help thicken the texture.
- When the chili is done cooking, remove the whole bay leaf, then add more salt to taste. I start with a 1/2 teaspoon at a time, and usually add an additional 1 full teaspoon by the end. (So, 1 tablespoon of salt in total.) If your chili tastes bland, make sure you aren't under-salting it! Stir in the fresh cilantro, and add any other additions that you like such as a squeeze of fresh lime juice, or a touch of maple syrup if you need to balance out the acidity.
- Serve warm with your favorite toppings, like sliced avocado, sour cream, or cheddar cheese. Leftover chili can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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This chili hit the spot! Easy to prepare – so tasty and cozy on a cool fall day like today. Thanks for another great family dinner Megan!
Megan, this is absolutely delicious! I snuck a grated zucchini in it too because, well you know, zucchini season, lol! Thank you for sharing!
Perfect & appreciate the adjustments to the recipes (serving sizes)this is super helpful as I’m never sure how many I am cooking for so this is just such handy feature (one less thing to figure out). Your recipes are always intriguing! Thanks
A wonderful easy chili recipe, even my meat obsessed husband was pleased. I serve q sour cream and sliced avo.yum
delicious! Been loving all the recipes on your site
The flavors are amazing and allll in one Pot!!! Perfect!
Love this chili. Sweet potato balances out the spice. I did not purée, kept it all whole. You yum yum!
This is a tasty chili. so good. Thank you for a lovely recipe.