Smoky, Vegan Bean Chili Recipe

This homemade vegan bean chili is one of the easiest foods to make, requiring some of the most affordable ingredients you can find at most grocery stores. It makes for a perfect, hearty meal that hardly takes much effort at all.

This chili has an array of finger-lickin’ flavors: we have the smokiness from the chili powder and smoked paprika, the sweet-and-salty notes from the roasted walnuts, and a splash of red wine vinegar bring forth more of umami and slightly sweet flavor profile to the chili.

Basically, this recipe is fancy as hell. But, I used canned beans – so that maybe brings down the bougie factor in this chili. Right?

One’s thing for sure: this chili is simmering with a smack and bite.

Smoky, Vegan Bean Chili Recipe

Recipe Notes:

• Adding brown sugar is optional, however, it will add a boost of flavor to your chili and it’ll reduce the acidity of your chili. The choice of adding this ingredient is totally up to you.
• If you don’t have smoked paprika, you can also skip this. However, the smoked paprika will bring a nice hint of smokiness to your chili. It’s so good!
• If you want more thickness to your chili, feel free to use a little bit of flour. Or, just use less water.

Ingredients:

• ½ sweet onion, diced
• ½ green bell pepper, diced
• ¼ cup walnuts, crushed
• 8 oz tomato sauce
• 1 can red kidney beans, keep liquid
• 1 can white kidney beans, drained + rinsed
• ¼ cup chili powder
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• Water
• 1 tbsp sugar (optional)

Directions:

1. Chop onion and bell pepper.
2. In a pot over medium heat, saute the onion and bell pepper in a little bit of water until soft.
3. While the onion and bell peppers are cooking, crush your walnuts.
4. Next, toast the crushed walnuts in the toaster oven at 350 F degrees for 5 minutes.
5. In the pot, add the tomato sauce, chili powder, garlic powder, red wine vinegar, smoked paprika, and salt. Mix well.
6. Then add the crushed, toasted walnuts, white kidney beans, red kidney beans. Stir well.
7. Add 1 cup of water and stir.
8. Stir in sugar (optional).
9. Reduce heat to low and allow the chili to simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
10. Serve with your favorite sides. Mine is a warm piece of cornbread.

Want more stew-y type recipes? Check these out!

Easy Red Lentil Coconut Curry Recipe

Easy Red Lentil Stew Recipe

How To Make A Tomato-Based Soup