This vegan chili recipe is so simple and so satisfying. Even if I’m exhausted at the end of the day I can still manage to throw this together and it’s worth it. If you drink red wine, a small glass of Cabernet goes well with it.
Since you’re using canned beans, all you’re doing is softening the garlic a bit and letting the flavors meld with the tomato sauce, beans and garlic plus raisins if you choose to add those. In other words it can be put together in as little as 10 minutes if you’re hungry.
You can serve this as a chili over spinach salad if you want to keep it lean, or over whole wheat pasta or toast if you want something heartier.
For a Sloppy Joe, put it inside a soft roll for a deliciously messy meal. With the cheese on top: just sprinkle parmesan to keep it light, or cheddar/vegan cheeze to make it heavier.
You will be helped by having a potato masher for this recipe. Otherwise you can probably squash the kidney beans with a fork but that’s going to take longer.
Ingredients:
- one tablespoon extra-virgin, cold-pressed olive oil
- one garlic clove, chopped
- one 15.5 oz. can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- one cup tomato sauce
- A handful of raisins (about 20 medium-sized)
- one rounded tablespoon chili powder
- handful of shredded organic cheddar or vegan cheeze
- fistful of fresh parsley, shredded
- two tablespoons chopped red onion
- sprinkles of parmesan
- avocado (optional)
**For base: choice of spinach leaves, whole wheat pasta, toast, or soft roll (Sloppy Joe)
Directions:
- Lightly Warm the olive oil in a pan
- Stir in garlic and within a minute add the strained and rinsed kidney beans. You don’t want the garlic to brown.
- Let the beans steam for a half a minute then add the tomato sauce.
- Once the sauce warms take your potato masher and mash the beans. Don’t worry about crushing them completely, just so you have a creamy—ish base consistency.
- Once that warms, add the raisins and crush those down also, to release the sugars.
- Add chili powder and stir
- Let simmer without the lid on low for a few minutes. You just want to let some of the liquid to cook off but you don’t want it to dry out.
- While it’s hot, pour over your spinach leaves, pasta, toast, or roll. Top with the cheese or vegan cheeze of choice, and then the red onion and parsley.
- Add avocado on the side if you like.
Enjoy!
Health Notes on Easy Vegan Chili:
- One cup of kidney beans has a whopping 46 grams of fiber.
- Fiber keeps your gut healthy and slows the rate at which sugars are released into the bloodstream, thus keeping your blood sugar balanced (for another high-fiber recipe see my post Focus on Cabbage.)
- Beans lower cholesterol and are rich in minerals and protein.
- Garlic and onions are part of the Allium family. They stimulate enzymes that are responsible for neutralizing free radicals linked to cancer. Research shows that the best way to eat them is raw; that’s why I recommend not letting the garlic brown.
- Olive oil is also healthiest when uncooked so only heat to lukewarm prior to adding the garlic, or alternatively steam the garlic and stir the olive oil into the chili beans at the end.
- Spinach contains lots of beta-carotene and lutein, both of which are cancer-preventive in studies.
Do you have a favorite Chili Recipe? Let me know in the comments section below:)
