Best Vegan Chili with Beans and Millet

This the best hearty, meaty and satisfying vegan chili my husband has ever made. It is loaded with whole foods like veggies, legumes, and grains. All the good stuff. Ridiculously easy and healthy, just how we like it. How about you? 

I have been raving about the Best Damn Vegan Lasagna I have ever tasted, but this Vegan Chili is a serious contender. I think I will start calling it Best Damn Vegan Chili. 🙂 I read somewhere that men don’t have a sensitive taste buds, that’s why they like everything spicer. I truly believe that is why men make awesome chefs. All of my husband recipes are just bursting with flavor like this Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese, or this Meatless Shepherd’s Pie, or this Vegan Jackfruit Stew, or this Chickpea Curry.

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Ingredients of our Vegan Chili

Okay, so let’s talk about this vegan chili recipe. First of all, it is obviously meatless. Apart from the optional sour cream topping, it is as much a vegetarian chili as a vegan one.

I did say that it is full of whole foods, didn’t I? My husband added 10(!) different ones:

• vegetables: onion, garlic, tomato, bell pepper, carrot, and celery
• legumes: red beans and white beans
• grains: corn and millet 

But the spices are the ones turning the above ingredients into an over-the-top delicious dinner meal. What are they?

• red wine -> Of course, we spiked it a little bit.
• chocolate -> Oh yes, you are reading it correctly. You can definitely taste the difference even if it is only a little bit of chocolate.
• sriracha (chili paste) -> You need something hot to make this an authentic chili. Sure you can use chili powder or freshly cut raw chili pepper instead.
• smoked paprika -> It is to highlight the chili flavor a little bit more.
• basil, oregano, parsley, and bay leaves

Do you see what I mean? This vegan chili recipe is so delish, rich and loaded. Even meat-eaters would say “That’s impressive!”

Vegan Ground Beef for a Meatless Chili

It is a vegan aka meatless chili which is already perfect and tasty without any ground beef substitutes. However, we also like it filling and hearty, so we added cooked millet to have some crumbs to bite on. You can use any of the below alternatives though depending on your preference, taste or diet:

• cooked millet or quinoa or bulgur (quick note: bulgur is not a gluten-free grain)
• marinated tofu crumbles
• soy curls or TVP aka textured vegetable protein (we use these in our Vegan Lasagna recipe)
• cauliflower and walnut mince (we use these in our Spaghetti Bolognese recipe)
• lentils
• mushroom
• store-bought vegan ground beef

Let us know in the comments what is your favorite!

How to Make Vegan Chili?

Easy-peasy. You’re done in an hour. You will cook the best vegan chili every time if you are following the below steps.

Prepare the ingredients – step 1

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 nothing to do there. Cook millet as you would cook rice (1 cup of millet – 3 cups of water).

Let’s make vegan chili – step 2

Take a large pan and cook the chopped onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil (photo #1). Add smoked paprika powder and stir for a minute to activate its flavor (photo #2). Now add the sliced carrots and the chopped tomatoes. Stir and cook for a minute (photo #3). Then, add the bay leaves and the chocolate and stir again (photo #4).

Next up are the chopped bell peppers and celery. Stir and cook for another minute (photo #5). Add the red wine and the tomato sauce now and bring to boil (photo #6). Season it with ground basil, oregano, and parsley (photo #7). Cook the chili until all vegetables are tender. It will take approx. 15 minutes. Add canned beans and corn at the very end as they don’t need to be cooked, just re-heated (photo #8). 

You’re almost ready! Add the sriracha (or any other chili paste) and then the cooked millet (photo #9). Check the seasoning again. Add more salt and pepper to your taste (#photo 10). Now, you’re done!

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What to serve with vegan chili?

Our favorite way to eat vegan chili is either with rice as a one-pot dinner meal or we often make a vegan chili loaded soft tortilla wrap with rice, vegan sour cream, guacamole, and shredded vegan cheese.

The following toppings also compliment this vegan chili recipe nicely: chopped avocado, hot salsa, spring onion, chives, cilantro, or lime.

Other popular chili side dishes:

• Biscuits
• Cornbread
• Tortilla chips
• Quick Garden Salad
• Easy Vegan Coleslaw
• Veggie Fries
• Cauliflower rice
• Baked potato

Let us know in the comments what is your favorite side dish!

Top tips to make Perfect Vegan Chili

• Try to chop the vegetables evenly. We added carrots first as they need the most time to be cooked, then bell pepper and celery, 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.
• You can use more beans or other veggies depending on your preference. We think this combination gives a loaded but well-balanced chili.
• 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.

FAQs and Substitutions

How long does vegan chili last?

This chili recipe is perfect for batch cooking. You can easily store it in the fridge for 3-4 days without any problem.

What other veggies I can add to this vegan chili?

I would happily add any of the following veggies: mushroom, red lentil, eggplant, sweet potato, butternut squash, spinach, kale.

What kind of beans is good for chili?

The most popular beans are black beans, red kidney beans, and white cannellini beans. However, pinto beans or even chickpeas would taste delicious.

This Vegetable Chili recipe is meat-free, dairy-free and egg-free. It is also suitable for vegan, vegetarian, nut-free and gluten-free diets. It can also be WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based) if you cook the onion and the garlic in water or veggie broth or directly in the tomato sauce.

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More dinner recipes

You can browse through our Vegan and Gluten-free Dinner Recipes or our Quick Vegan Meals collection or check out

• Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese
• Vegan Eggplant Meatballs Spaghetti
• Meatless Shepherd’s Pie
• Vegan Cabbage Lasagna
• Vegan Cabbage Soup

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