This easy to make & super flavorful vegan chili is loaded with beans, tempeh, butternut squash, vegetables & fire-roasted tomatoes! Everything you love about chili but with less prep work + it’s ready in under an hour!
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This is the best vegan chili recipe ever! You guys know that I’m all about easy vegan recipes with big flavor and that’s exactly what this chili is: super easy and super flavorful!
However, it’s not your typical chili recipe either. Why? Because this chili also has tempeh and butternut squash in it along with all of the traditional chili ingredients.
I’m always trying to find new ways to incorporate tempeh into our meals and it’s absolutely delicious in this chili. Tempeh takes the place of meat in this vegan bean chili and I think that you’re going to absolutely love it too!
What Makes This Vegan Chili Recipe Easy to Make?
- It calls for frozen vegetables (less prep work for you!).
- There’s very little chopping required (just the onion and garlic).
- Use canned beans (to save time, unless you want to make your own).
- It’s ready in less than 1 hour (I also included vegan chili slow cooker instructions if you want to set it and forget it)!
How To Make Vegan Chili
This vegan chili is almost a dump and go kind of recipe, it’s real close! I use a bunch of short cuts (like frozen veggies and canned beans) that cut prep work time (but don’t impact the flavor) to make it super easy for you!
Step #1 – Start by sauteeing the onions in olive oil over medium heat until translucent.
Step #2 – Next, add the tomato paste, minced garlic, and all of the dry seasonings. Mix it and let it cook for 2 minutes.
Step #3 – Then, add the rest of the chili ingredients, except for the lime juice, bring it to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover it, and let it cook for 30-35 minutes.
Step #4 – Lastly, squeeze fresh lime juice over the chili and serve! Top each bowl with your favorite toppings and enjoy.
Chili Topping Options
In my opinion, the toppings make the chili! My favorite chili toppings are:
- Pickled jalapenos
- Vegan sour cream (we use Kite Hill plain almond greek yogurt)
- Green onions
- Avocado slices
- Fresh cilantro
- Vegan cheese (We like Violife or Follow Your Heart shreds or nutritional yeast)
- Chili flakes
Can I Freeze It?
Yep, this tempeh butternut squash chili freezes perfectly! You can store the leftovers for up to 4-5 days in the fridge or you can put it directly into the freezer for 4-6 months (then the quality starts to decrease). When you’re ready to reheat the chili take it out of the freezer and let it thaw in the fridge overnight before transferring it to a pot and reheating it.
What Goes With It?
- Baked potatoes with vegan sour cream and chives
- Roasted baby red potatoes
- Vegan cornbread
- A big salad loaded with veggies
- Roasted brussels sprouts
Vegan Chili Slow Cooker Instructions
To make this healthy vegan chili in the slow cooker, put all of the chili ingredients into the slow cooker and mix it well. Depending on how much time you have you can set it to cook for 3-4 hours on high or 7-8 hours on low.
Notes & Substitutions
- Bean Variations: I prefer to use black beans and kidney beans in chili, but you could also use great northern beans or pinto beans.
- Tempeh Substitutions: I used tempeh because all you have to do is crumble it up right into the soup pot and let it cook with all of the other ingredients. However, if you don’t want to use tempeh, you could substitute tofu crumbles, quinoa, chopped walnuts, seitan, TVP, or bulgur.
- Tempeh Notes: If this is your first time using tempeh, you might be alarmed by the white or black film that is on the block of tempeh. This discoloration is completely normal and is a result of the fermentation process.
Success Tips
- Let the chili simmer at the end for the full 30 minutes, that’s where a lot of the flavor develops!
- You don’t have to cook the tempeh before you add it to the chili. Simply unwrap the block and break it up into crumbles with your fingers.
- I used frozen chunks of butternut squash because cutting a fresh squash can be difficult. If you can’t find frozen butternut squash chunks, chopped sweet potatoes would be a tasty substitute.
- Make sure you use chili powder and not chile powder because chile powder is very spicy!
- Store leftover chili in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days or freeze it for a future meal.
More Vegan Bean Recipes You’ll Love
Sweet Potato Black Bean Burritos
One-Pot Sweet Potato Lentil Chili
If you’ve made this homemade vegan chili, please rate the recipe and leave me a comment below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious vegan recipes!
Super Easy Vegan Chili
Equipment
- 6-quart Dutch Oven or a Large Soup Pot
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil (or vegetable broth)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (more to taste)
- 1/2 tsp Himalayan pink sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 4-5 drops liquid hickory smoke (optional)
- 28 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes (with the juice)
- 1/2 tbsp maple syrup (or agave)
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup water (optional - depends on how thick you like your chili to be)
- (2) 10 oz bags frozen butternut squash chunks
- 2 medium red bell pepper, diced
- (2) 15 oz cans black beans (rinsed and drained)
- (2) 15 oz cans kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
- 1 block tempeh, crumbled or chopped
- 10 oz bag frozen corn
- 1 tbsp lime juice (juice from about 1/2 a lime)
Instructions
- Saute the diced onion in olive oil over medium heat until it's translucent. Add the minced garlic, tomato paste, and all of the dry seasonings. You may need to add a splash of water or vegetable broth if it's too dry to mix. Let it cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, diced tomatoes with juice, maple syrup, vegetable broth, (optional) water, frozen butternut squash, red pepper, black beans, kidney beans, crumbled tempeh, and frozen corn. Stir it well to combine. Bring it to a simmer and then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover it, and let it simmer for 30-35 minutes.
- Squeeze 1/2 of a lime (or more to taste) over the chili and then top each bowl with vegan sour cream, green onions, cilantro, and pickled jalapenos!
Notes
- If you'd like to make your own beans using dried beans, use 1 cup of dried black beans and 1 cup of dried kidney beans instead of the canned beans.
- If you prefer a super strong tomato flavored chili, replace the 4 cups of vegetable broth with a second can of fire-roasted tomatoes + 1-2 cups of water.
- If you're not a fan of tempeh, use crumbled and baked tofu, chopped roasted walnuts, or bulgur instead.
- Let the chili simmer at the end for the full 30 minutes, that's where a lot of the flavor develops!
- I hope you will try the tempeh because it gives a lot of nutrients and a meaty texture to the chili but if you don't care for it (I know some people don't love it) then you could substitute baked tofu crumbles, quinoa, chopped roasted walnuts, bulgur or barley in it's place.
- I used frozen chunks of butternut squash because cutting a fresh squash can be difficult. If you can't find frozen butternut squash chunks, chopped sweet potatoes would be a tasty substitute.
- Make sure you use chili powder and not chile powder because chile powder is very spicy!
Yuuum! Best vegan chilli yet!
I almost gave up cooking chilli because they never had enough flavour or were just plain boring. But this is a game changer! I used Tofu instead of tempeh and it was so yummy
Thank you for the feedback! Using tofu is a great idea…yum! I’m so glad you liked it!
Easily one of the best vegan chili’s I’ve had in a long time! Paired it with some vegan cornbread and it brought back all the comforts of my childhood! Thanks for sharing an awesome recipe!
Thank you so much, Christen! I’m so glad you enjoyed the chili recipe <3