If you’re in the mood for a hearty and satisfying vegan chili that is loaded with whole foods and easy to make, then look no further than this incredible recipe! Without any vegan meat substitutes, but bursting with flavor, this dish features a mouthwatering blend of veggies, legumes, and grains that is sure to leave you feeling full and content.

Be sure to check out some of our other easy vegan chili recipes, such as our sweet potato quinoa chili and our vegan white chili!
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What to expect?
Why is this the best vegan chili recipe? Because it is delicious, rich, and loaded. Even our friends who are meat-eaters say, “It is impressive!”
This recipe has everything, literally. We added both cannellini beans and red kidney beans, sweet corn, bell pepper, celery, and carrots. We used sieved tomato puree, which is way better than a simple thin tomato sauce.
Not to mention, we opted not to use any vegan ground beef substitutes but used millet instead. It is larger than quinoa which is a quite popular ingredient in vegan chili recipes, but smaller than TVP or tofu crumbles.
But what really sets this recipe apart is its unique blend of spices and seasonings, which includes red wine, dark chocolate, sriracha, and smoked paprika powder. The result is a rich and savory chili that is sure to satisfy even the most demanding palates.
Ingredients
Okay, so let’s talk about this vegan chili recipe. We packed them with vegetables, legumes, and grains. Actually, there are 10 different ones.
- Onion
- Garlic
- Sieved tomato puree → You can probably find several tomato sauces in the stores. We recommend choosing sieved tomato puree, which is thicker and unseasoned.
- Bell pepper
- Carrot
- Celery
- Red kidney beans
- White beans
- Sweet corn
- Millet → See the Variations section for more ideas.
- Red wine → It makes the chili rich, like a powerful flavor booster.
- Dark chocolate → Oh yes, you are reading it correctly. You can definitely taste the difference, even if it is only a little chocolate.
- Sriracha (chili paste) → You can use chili powder or freshly cut raw chili pepper like jalapeños instead.
- Smoked paprika powder → It highlights the chili flavor more.
- Herbs: basil, oregano, parsley, and bay leaves
🛒 You can find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Instructions
Prepare the ingredients
- Peel and chop onion and garlic.
- Wash and chop bell pepper, tomato, and celery.
- Wash, peel, and slice carrots.
- We used canned beans and canned sweet corn, so nothing to do there.
- Cook millet as you would cook rice (1 cup of millet – 3 cups of water).
Making vegan chili
- Take a large pan or cast-iron skillet and cook the chopped onion and garlic in olive oil.
- Add smoked paprika powder and stir for a minute to activate its flavor.
- Now add the sliced carrots and the chopped tomatoes. Stir and cook for a minute.
- Add chopped bell peppers, and celery, as well as the bay leaves, and the chocolate. Stir again.
- Add the red wine and the tomato sauce and bring to a boil.
- Season it with dried basil, dried oregano, and dried parsley. Simmer the chili until all vegetables are tender. It will take approx. 15 minutes.
- As a last step, add canned beans, corn, millet, and sriracha only at the end, as they don’t need to be cooked, just reheated. Check the seasoning again. Add more salt and pepper to your taste. Now, you’re done!
Cooking tips
- Try to chop the vegetables evenly. We added carrots first, as they need the most time to be cooked, then bell pepper and celery, and finally the canned beans and corn.
- Always keep it on medium heat and stir to make sure the tomato sauce is not sticking to the bottom. Or use a good non-stick frying pan. You can also make this chili recipe in a stockpot for batch cooking.
- Depending on how hot and spicy you prefer your chili, you can go from mild chili powder to sriracha chili paste or to freshly chopped raw chili peppers.
Variations
Luckily, there are a variety of vegan ground beef substitutes available so that you can create your version of the best vegan chili. Below, we will explore some of the most popular vegan ground beef alternatives if you prefer to substitute millet.
- Cooked quinoa or bulgur (quick note: bulgur is not a gluten-free grain)
- Tofu crumbles (like in our plant-based chorizo recipe) or frozen tofu mince (like in this vegan sausage recipe).
- Soy curls
- TVP (textured vegetable protein) (we use these in our vegan cabbage lasagna recipe)
- Cauliflower and walnut mince (we use these in our vegan spaghetti bolognese recipe)
- Lentils (we use these in our vegan lentil lasagna recipe)
- Mushroom
- Store-bought vegan ground beef
Serving ideas
- With toppings: Top it with sour cream or avocado, or sprinkle it with vegan shredded cheese, vegan bacon bits, chopped cilantro, spring onion, or scallions. Squeeze a bit of lime juice over the top for a tangy twist!
- Alongside chips or crackers: Serve it with a side of tortilla tips or crackers for dipping.
- Mexican-style: One of our favorite ways to eat this chili is on top of a soft tortilla wrap with rice, vegan sour cream, guacamole, and shredded vegan cheese. Try it with our grain-free red lentil tortillas!
- Chili nachos: Serve it over tortilla chips with our vegan nacho cheese sauce or creamy vegan queso dip for a delicious game day appetizer.
- Chili bread bowl: Serve it in a flaky bowl topped with your favorite toppings.
- Baked potato: Make a loaded baked potato using vegan white chili as the topping.
- Stuffed mushrooms: Add the chili to large mushrooms as we do in our vegan stuffed portabello mushrooms recipe.
- Other sides: Try it with other popular side dishes for chili, such as our easy vegan coleslaw, veggie fries, or cauliflower rice. You can also serve it alongside biscuits or a slice of vegan cornbread!
Storing tips
If you’re a fan of stews and casseroles that taste even better the next day, then you’ll love this vegan chili recipe! Perfect for batch cooking, this dish is loaded with delicious flavors and can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days. Alternatively, you can freeze it in batches for up to 2-3 months.
Just be sure to let the chili cool completely before storing it, and remember to leave some space at the top of each container to prevent spillage.
When you’re ready to enjoy your leftovers, simply reheat them in the microwave or on the stove, adding a small amount of water or vegetable broth if necessary to loosen the thick texture.
If you have frozen your chili, be sure to defrost it in the refrigerator overnight before reheating it to ensure that it tastes just as good as the day you made it.
FAQs
You either opt to make a meatless bean chili or choose one of the vegan ground beef substitutes. The most popular ones are tofu crumbles, textured vegetable protein, mushroom mince, cauliflower mince, walnut mince, millet, and quinoa. Each option has its own unique flavor and texture profile, which can be used to create different variations of vegan chili depending on your personal taste preferences.
The most popular beans are black beans, red kidney beans, and white cannellini beans. However, pinto beans or even chickpeas would taste delicious.
There are at least 20 ways to thicken soups, stews, and chili. The most popular ways to thicken chili are by adding flour or cornstarch. What makes classic chili thin is the water released by the meat. Since you don’t have a problem with that in vegan chili, you can just simmer it until the sauce thickens. Our recipe doesn’t even use vegetable broth, so it is really thick, creamy, and rich.
THANK YOU so much for visiting our website. Please comment below if you have tried this recipe. We LOVE hearing from you! If you loved the recipe, please don’t forget to give us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ RATING. We appreciate all of our readers.
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The Best Vegan Chili
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Onion
- 3-4 cloves Garlic
- 2 Tomatoes (medium)
- 2 Carrots
- 1 Bell pepper
- 1 Celery
- 2.5 cup Sieved tomato puree aka Tomato sauce
- 2 cup Beans (black, red and white mixed)
- 1 cup Corn
- ½ cup Millet dry
- ⅓ cup Red wine
- 2 cube Chocolate
- ½ tsp Sweet smoked paprika powder
- 2 Bay leaves
- ½ tsp Basil
- ½ tsp Oregano
- ½ tsp Parsley
- ½ tsp Sriracha (or any other chili paste)
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
Prepare the ingredients
- Peel and chop onion and garlic. Wash and chop bell pepper, tomato, and celery. Wash, peel, and slice carrots. We used canned beans and corn, so there are nothing to do there.
- Cook millet as you cook rice (½ cup of millet – 1 ½ cups of water).
Making vegan chili
- Take a large pan and cook the chopped onion and garlic in olive oil.
- Add smoked paprika powder and stir for a minute to activate its flavor.
- Add the sliced carrots and the chopped tomatoes. Stir and cook for a minute.
- Add the bay leaves and the chocolate and stir again.
- Next up are the chopped bell peppers and celery. Stir and cook for another minute.
- Add the red wine and the tomato sauce now and bring to a boil.
- Season it with ground basil, oregano, parsley, salt, and pepper. And cook the chili until all vegetables are tender. It will take approx. 15 minutes.
- Add canned beans, corn, and cooked millet at the very end, as they don’t need to be cooked, just reheated.
- Add the sriracha. Check the seasoning again. Add more salt and pepper to your taste. Now, you’re done!
Notes
- Try to chop the vegetables evenly. We added carrots first, as they need the most time to be cooked, bell pepper and celery, and finally the canned beans and corn.
- Always keep it on medium heat and stir to ensure the tomato sauce is not sticking to the bottom. Or use a good non-stick frying pan. You can also make this chili recipe in a stockpot for batch cooking.
- Depending on how hot and spicy you prefer your chili, you can go from mild chili powder to sriracha chili paste or to freshly chopped raw chili peppers.
- It will last in the fridge for 3-4 days without any problem.
Video
Nutrition
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Bethany Chance
I didn’t have all the ingredients, but needed a millet recipe. Even minus the bell pepper and celery, it was outstanding. I did add some mushrooms, just because. Thank you!
Nandor
Hi Bethany, I am so glad you liked the recipe. Thanks your for trying it.
D Smith
I was looking for some millet recipes to add to my repertoire and I am a huge fan of chili so I could not pass this one when i saw it. This is a nice recipe and I can’t wait to try it. From the ingredient list alone it sounds pretty good, although I must admit that the chocolate was an interesting surprise. I’m not a huge fan but I still might try it just to see the difference whenever I may have some around. However, I would add cumin seed (or ground cumin) to this recipe. Cumin is a mandatory ingredient whenever I make chili so I was also surprised to not see it listed here. All said, thanks for the recipe! All the best!
Bethany Chance
I forgot in my comment to say that I, too, added cumin. This is such a flavorful recipe. I also add some of the spices in the broth ( I cook the millet in beef stock, since I’m not vegan) and it really brings the millet up a notch.
Jolice
I’m a vegan and I made this chill, about 3 times….it’s that good !! I uses grated tempeh and ground Beyond Burger. I made a big batch and freeze it. Sorry I never leave a comment, before. 🙈
Amy
Yup, truly the best chili ever!! I used cocoa powder instead of cubes, 1 can great northern beans & 1 can black beans, and used 1 TBS of chili powder instead of Sriracha, but it was still absolutely delish! Thanks so much!
Grace
What can you substitute the wine for?
My Pure Plants
You can skip it or add 100% grape juice.
Mary Dalia
I have done this chili like 4 times and now is my 5th! I make it to my sister and her family who are vegan and they love it also! Thanks
My Pure Plants
We are so happy to this recipe became a family favorite. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.
Cindy
I’m curious to what kind of chocolate you use?
My Pure Plants
Dark chocolate. We usually use the one with at least 60-70% chocolate content.
Cindy
Thank you
Trace
1/3 cup Red wine 1 dl
I may just be having a duhr moment, but…Can you clarify the above ingredient? What kind of red wine, regular wine or vinegar wine? Also what’s 1 dL ?
Thanks!
My Pure Plants
We usually use dry red wine standard quality. Not vinegar wine, drinking wine. 1 dl is an approx. of 1/3 cup to show metrics for those who need it.
Gina Cuneo
Love this! In lieu of millet, I switched it with a “chopped meat” product I make with ground walnuts. The flavors were incredible and I love the touch of red wine and chocolate.
My Pure Plants
Hi Gina, that sounds amazing. We are so happy you loved our recipe.
Estelle
This looks delicious(looks like Amy’s canned chili!!!) and the ingredients are sooo different! Looking forward to trying it.
My Pure Plants
Be sure to let us know how you like it.
Megan Ellam
I just love beans and love how you have created this delicious humble bowl of goodness. Thanks for the inspiration.
My Pure Plants
A humble bowl of goodness – That’s absolutely fitting. 🙂
Jessica Formicola
This is the perfect chili to share with friends on a cold fall day! It looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it!
My Pure Plants
Thank you, Be sure to let us know how you and your friends like it.
Cathy
I actually prefer chili without any meat so this recipe is right up my alley! It looks so tasty and loaded, I cannot wait to make it! Tell your husband on my behalf, amazing job with this chili!
My Pure Plants
Thank you for your kind words. I will let him know.
Jacqueline Debono
I’ve never tried a vegan chili but this looks so tempting. I love the addition of chocolate. I’ve used it in traditional meat chili and it really does add an interesting flavour!
My Pure Plants
It does, doesn’t it? Chocolate turns it up a notch.