This predominately plant-based chili is loaded with fresh vegetables and plenty of protein with just enough zip to keep things interesting.
Jump to RecipeChili is easily one of my cold weather favorites. Not only is it relatively easy to make, but there’s so much variety! This time around, I decided to make a vegan chili and take advantage of plant-based proteins. This recipe is gluten-free too, plus high in fiber. For an extra bonus, it also takes less time to make than your standard chili because there’s no meat to cook! And, even if you are a meat-eater (like me), this chili is still a great way to shake things up. Meatless Monday, anyone?
Start by rinsing your quinoa. Quinoa has a natural coating, called saponin, that can give it a slightly bitter taste. Rinsing it helps to remove this coating, and thus reduce any bitterness. Then, bring your quinoa and 2 cups of water up to a boil. Once it’s boiling, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Don’t forget to fluff your quinoa once it’s cooked. If you let it sit too long it’ll stick together which will make your chili more clumpy.
While your quinoa is cooking, chop up and prepare all of your vegetables. Dice your onion, chop your celery, bell pepper, and zucchini, and mince your garlic. For the jalapeno pepper, I cut the pepper in half lengthwise and throw away the seeds from one of the halves. This way, the chili has some zip to it without being too spicy. If you have a high tolerance for spice, you can add all of the seeds.
Then, quickly drain and rinse your kidney beans, black beans, and corn. This helps reduce the sodium content, as well as eliminate the additional liquid these canned goods would add to our chili.
Next, I like to pre-measure all of the chili seasonings into a small bowl so they’re ready to go when I need them.
Then we’re ready to start cooking our chili! Start by heating one tablespoon of olive oil in a stockpot over medium-high heat. Add your onion, celery, bell pepper, and zucchini and saute until slightly softened, or about 5-7 minutes. Then, add in your garlic and saute until fragrant, or about another 30 seconds.
Once your veggies are slightly softened, add in the jalapeno pepper, crushed tomatoes, vegetable broth, and seasonings. Let the chili simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes.
Then, add your kidney beans, black beans, and corn and let the chili simmer for another 5 minutes.
Finally, add your cooked quinoa to the chili. At this point in the recipe, your quinoa should have cooled down to at least room temperature. If it’s too warm, it won’t hold its shape and will basically mush in the chili. To prevent this from happening, make sure it’s cooked early enough in the process so it has time to cool down a bit.
Once your quinoa is added, immediately remove your chili from heat. Serve promptly for best results. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3-5 days, or frozen for up to 4-6 months.
Quinoa Chili
Ingredients
- 1 cup white quinoa rinsed
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- 1 bell pepper (any color) chopped
- 1 medium zucchini chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 jalapeno pepper (de-seed half) diced
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 (15 oz) can kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1 (15 oz) can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 (15 oz) can corn drained and rinsed
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring rinsed quinoa and 2 cups of water to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until all the water is absorbed and quinoa is tender, about 20 minutes. Fluff well with a fork and set aside.
- While quinoa is cooking, heat olive oil in a stockpot over medium-high heat. Saute onion, celery, bell pepper, and zucchini until slightly softened, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add garlic and saute until fragrant, or about another 30 seconds.
- Add jalapeno pepper (and seeds), chili powder, salt, ground cumin, smoked paprika, dried oregano, ground black pepper, crushed tomatoes, and vegetable broth. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.
- Add kidney beans, black beans, and corn and simmer, still covered, for another 5 minutes.
- Add cooked quinoa and immediately remove from heat.
Video
Notes
- To prevent quinoa from clumping, it is extremely important to thoroughly fluff the quinoa with a fork immediately after cooking.
- ~1.5 cups of frozen corn can be substituted for the canned, if desired.
- To make less spicy, add less than half of the jalapeno seeds. To make more spicy, add more than half of the seeds.