Spicy Vegetarian Chili

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You didn’t think I’d show you how to make those delicious Jalapeno Pepper Jack Scones and not show you how to rock them out with some chili, did you!?

Yea… you’ve got some cooking to do.

I’ll leave you to it… besides,  I’m totally busy shopping for cheek stain online.

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I manage to throw, darn near, the entire contents of my fridge in my chili.

Beer, barbecue sauce, every vegetable trying to half rot in my crisper, loads of beans and spices by the handful.

The spice below is a steak seasoning.  I know… I’m a cheater.  But it’s so good!  Steak seasoning is full of coarse sea salt, black pepper, garlic bits, sometimes some red chili flakes, and some secret goodness that they don’t list in the ingredients.  I love the little boost this seasoning adds to chili powder and cumin.

Oh… and you can totally put it on steak too.  Duh.

Make some chili.  Make some scones.  Smell up your house.  Warm up your insides.

Rock Your Socks Off Turkey Chili

Spicy Vegetarian Chili

makes a big pot, serves eight

Print this Recipe!

3 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 zucchini, diced

3 small cloves of garlic, diced

1 medium jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and diced

1 cup beer (or vegetable stock if you like)

3 heaping tablespoons steak seasoning

2 heaping tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon coriander

1/3 cup barbecue sauce

1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed

1 15-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed

1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed

1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes

2 or 3 cups vegetable stock, depending on how soupy you want it.

1 cup corn kernels, frozen

In a large pan over medium flame, heat olive oil.  Add onions and saute until translucent and slightly browned.  Add the bell peppers and zucchini and cook for four or five minutes, until they begin to soften.  Add garlic, jalapeno and all of the spices into the cooking vegetables.  Cook for two minutes.

Deglaze the pan by adding one cup of beer to the hot pan and scraping the bits off the bottom of the pan.  There’s lots of flavor there.  Once the beer has stopped sizzling, add the barbecue sauce, beans, diced tomatoes and vegetable stock.  Bring to a low boil and cook for about 15 minutes.  Add the frozen corn and cook for another 5 minutes.  Serve warm topped with pepper jack cheese.  This chili is delicious the next day… and the day after that too.  Lasts up to six days.

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149 Responses

  1. FYI i have been making this chili for years for veggie and non veggie friends alike and it is ALWAYS a hit. I don’t usually do the beer because my family is Muslim, but i have in the past. It’s great either way. I love how comforting and full of veg it is.

      1. Hello! Sorry about the scone recipe disappearing, but it is inspired by this recipe from Suzanne at NY Magazine. I’ll link it for you here.

  2. It’s 2017 and this is still the best chili I’ve ever found. Thank you, Past Joy for providing this wonderful recipe :)

  3. Really good chili! I didn’t use the bbq sauce but added: 2 oz bittersweet chocolate, dash cinnamon, 3 tablespoons tomato paste and 1 small can tomato juice. Nice complex flavor for vegetarian chili!

      1. Hello! I’m so sorry you’re right, it seems the link isn’t working. The recipe is inspired by a NY Magazine recipe so I will link it for you here

  4. Dear Joy,
    Have I told you how utterly happy this recipe makes me? Not only is it delicious and adored by all members of my family (which is only 3, but still), but it makes my life so much easier, and consequently relaxing and more enjoyable. Once a pot of this is made—I make half of it with turkey to satisfy my carnivorous husband and daughter—I can relax for the rest of the day knowing dinner is a mere reheat away.
    The recipe makes enough for two dinners, one the day I make it and one for the freezer, plus a lunch or two. So really, one little batch of this chili makes my life better for at least two whole days. Thank you, thank you, for my new favorite chili recipe.

  5. I’ve had this on my “Recipes to Try” Pinterest board for a while now. Finally got around to making it yesterday and I LOVE it! I made mine slightly less-spicy, to be kid friendly. Also, I added sauteed ground turkey to half the batch, for the carnivores in my family. So good, I think it’s the steak seasoning that really puts it over the top for goodness.
    Thanks Joy!

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  7. I made this tonight and it is my favorite meatless main TO DATE! I added shredded carrot because I needed to use it and some paprika. I think I might use a touch less steak seasoning next time because we like our chili with Fritos and cheese and it was a little salty. But still SO good and I can’t wait for leftovers. Thanks for the great recipes!

  8. I make this dish twice a month. I freeze half of it and eat a cup of it every day for lunch during the week. It’s warm and filling and healthy. I love it!

  9. I made this for dinner tonight, it was soooo good! I was too lazy to do the scones, but I can only imagine. Can you please have a cookbook so I don’t have to greasy up my phone whilst cooking and following the recipe :)

  10. Between the chili and the scones, I’m ready to make supper this weekend. Thanks for making it easy, and delicious for me. Yum! :)

  11. Just made this tonight for my meat-eater parents and we all loved it. I didn’t have jalapenos so I used these horribly mean peppers they keep in the freezer, my fingers (and mouth) still tingle… also, used more peppers, an old eggplant and no zucchini. And less beans (only 2 cans). I also added oregano, more cumin, paprika, around half a cup of tomato juice that was waiting in the fridge, and some crumbled tofu. And more beer instead of stock. It was delicious, comforting, thick and just plain winner. Thank you for sharing your recipe. I’ll make the scones next time (didn’t have the ingredients needed). They look like they’d go perfectly with this chili.
    Also, thank you for making me laugh. I love the way you write, the way you think… you’re funny and interesting and your posts often make my day. Thank you. Have a good day!

  12. Hey
    been frequenting your site quite abit for the past few days.
    i must say, its amazing!!
    theres just ONE thing missing from your site though… :)
    and i LIKE and i LOVE button!!! :D
    superb stuff!!

  13. nice one – i think veggies kinda need more spices and stuff to give that depth of flavour you get with meat so bet this totally works. i sometimes add bulghur wheat for a bit of added texture and much more natural than fake mince ;) definitely gonna try this, thanks!

  14. Wow just made this on my limited student budget, changing amounts so it only made enough for two and added homemade roti and it was the best dinner I’ve had in awhile. Thanks for sharing it!

  15. went to whole foods to attempt to buy a nonalcoholic beer for this baby, apparently if you are under 21 you can’t even buy nonalcoholic beer…

    HOWEVER

    they helped me think of a lovely alternative ‘ginger beer’ (ginger ale by the ginger people)
    added it. t’was simply lovely.

    my family loved this chili :-) Thanks joy!!

  16. Oh, my. I made this for Christmas Eve, with great success. So I made it again for New Year’s Eve for a group of friends, and they loved it – one of the guys didn’t believe it didn’t have meat in it because it was so hearty. And now I’m planning on taking it to a work party next weekend since there will be vegans and vegetarians there, and I need something that will please a variety of palates – thanks for this great recipe!

  17. I just made this chili for my sister who is a vegetarian and she loved it! My boyfriend liked it too. I made it spicier by adding Serranos instead of jalapeños and keeping some of the seeds.

    Thanks for the recipe Joy!!

  18. Yumm!!! Love the veggie chili, it’s cold here in the Midwest. Mine has a shredded carrot , along with an extra can of beans and tomatoes. While I was rummaging I found some shredded cooking chocolate and threw that in too. Going with the Martha Stewart skillet cornbread for dinner.

    Great Recipe, Joy

  19. so my green pepper had a mealworm it in. i properly freaked out before burying it in the trash. my zucchini was also bad on the inside. i need a new grocer. i used the juice from the beans too. i’ve never done that. i’m afraid of the bean juice usually (maybe because i call it bean juice), but it gave the chili a nice thickness.

    even with those hiccups, this turned out spectacular. less veggies was not necessarily a bad thing. this made 7 . . . 7! two-cup servings. holy bananas. i am up to my ears in chili, but my roommate is happy.

    i used Spike seasoning (to reduce the sodium cause it’s salt free). they make great stuff. i also added a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, cause i’m adventurous. that turned out nicely. i used only vegetable broth, though i had a Guinness in the fridge (i was just too scared to cook with beer, also, i save the Guinness for my irish car bomb cupcakes).

    excellent recipe. lots of spice. lots of protein (yay beans!). lots of love. the scones are a perfect complement. joy, you are my apron-wearing hero.

  20. This chili is amazing! It is a nice change from traditional chili recipes. I served it over rice, which was really delicious. I will be making this again and again!

  21. WOW!! Just made this for my family and it’s awesome :D I adjusted it for my mom’s sensitive stomach; didn’t put the jalapeño in it and, turned out great!! Put a dollop of sour cream in it and it’s pretty tasty as well. Awesome recipe! num num :)

  22. Making it right now for our Christmas Even dinner. With the pepperjack scones, of course!
    thanks so much for the delicious recipe.

  23. i made both last night and it was so tasty. i added carrots omitted the zucchini because of what i had in the house. the scones were fab-u-lous! thanks joy!

  24. I’m definitely going to try this recipe. I make a mean turkey chili with pumpkin puree in it, but I’ve never been able to find a great vegetarian option…thanks! I like thick chili, so maybe I’ll add the pumpkin puree to your recipe??

  25. Love the veggie chili. Mine has one sweet potato chopped up, and I add root veggies–parsnip, rutabaga, turnip (one of each), as well as a couple of carrots. For broth, I like to use “Better than Bullion,” which comes in veggie, chicken or beef flavor. It’s a bit salty, but if you don’t use too much, it’s chock-full of good stuff.

  26. I totally admire this chili – ’tis the season for a dish like this and I love all the ingredients that you incorporated.

    I also totally admire you for shopping for cheek stain online – I would never be able to decide.

    Thanks for the post and recipe!

  27. yummm, one question, where did the stevens section go???? come back, stevens! are you too busy chasing a (possibly imaginary) moth?

  28. my boyfriend wanted to make dinner for my family last night so i suggested that he make the chili and scones. they came out amazing! thanks for the inspiration!

  29. McCormick steak seasoning is literally my favorite thing ever…it’s good on everything: toast with cream cheese, vegetables, eggs. I could probably eat it by the spoonful if I wanted to.

    These two recipes look delish…I’ll definitely be making them in the next week or so :)

  30. Dear Joy, what kind of beer would you recommend putting in the chili? The only beer I normally have on hand is a few bottles of Dos Equis.

      1. Smoked beer is the best for chili! I recommend “Rauchbier Schlenkerla Heller Bamberg”. Its a German beer you can find at most large liquor stores.

  31. Why Thank you, Joy. This looks amazing indeed! Nom nom! Perfect for a chilly night. Forecast says -20 degrees Celsius here, better start cooking!

  32. I’ve read and loved your blog for awhile, Joy. Just a suggestion for another chili night – another delicious thing to put in veggie chili is mole sauce (although probably instead of bbq sauce, otherwise too many flavours, maybe?).
    Proof that chocolate makes everything better. :)

  33. Chili is my favorite food EVER…. and cheek stain is pretty awesome too- have you ever tried Tarte cheek stain from Sephora? It’s fancy and the colors are gorgeous :)

  34. So I misread “cheek stain” to be “cheek satin” and I interpreted that to be you telling the internets that you were doing some online underwear shopping! What kind of mind goes there?!? (Apparently mine does) oops. I use benefit benetint cheek stain but when I put it on my lips it barely lasts an hour so I wouldn’t recommend it for that. But otherwise I like it.

  35. Warm up?! Bah! You want cold, baby? I’ve seen cold! lol North of 55 man, that’s cold… South of 49, you got nothin on this! ^_^ GIMME POUTINE

  36. Looks wonderful, Joy! I’ve never made chili with beer before, but I’ve been meaning to try it. Hmmmm…I wonder what kind of beer would work best? Since we eat a lot of chili in the winter, I guess I’ll just make it with a different beer each time and see which one gives the chili the best flavor. :)

  37. yummmm. Looks perfect for a cold, dreary winter day. Love that it’s vegetarian too – hard to find good, hearty veggie chili.

    as for the cheek stain: ok, so I’m more of a lip stain girl, but most of the cheek stains double as lip stains and I’ve tried a lot of them out (Tarte, Benefit’s Benetint, Josie Maran, Vincent Longo, Hard Candy, DuWop). Several of them are sticky/would prob feel weird on cheeks, several of them fade within an hour of application, and several of them just did not appear on my cheeks without heavy application (this might be my fault, I have dark skin :)). Best out of the bunch was Vincent Longo, by far.

  38. I honestly have never made chili before because I thought it took HOURS to make… I think I might try this now… :)

  39. Confession: Despite being a vegetarian for the past 6 years, I still keep a bottle of steak seasoning on hand…and I use it liberally when needed :) Who ever got the idea that seasoning that good had to be reserved for meat only?!

    Your soup recipe looks fantastic–every time I make a big ol’ pot of vegetarian chili it seems like I throw in new and different ingredients, but I have yet to use beer…definintely need to add that to the list :)

  40. Thanks this looks yummy!
    P.s if you are still looking for cheek stain I highly recommend one of the tarte ones – they are like push-pops! I have had a pink one for years and it is still going strong!

  41. Oooh… I love all the veggies and spices you’ve used (and the beer – inspired)!

    (How did you keep from picking off and eating all those crispy cheesy bits from the scones? That’s my favorite part!)

  42. Great minds think alike – I just made portobello & black bean chili today with avocado sour cream. Perfect for the chilly rainy weather moving in this week. I did not however, make those divine looking scones! Nor have I figured out how to use my new camera yet – your pictures are exquisite.

  43. Dear Joy,

    Thanks for throwing the entire contents of your fridge into your chili; it validates my existence…because I do the same thing when I make soup. I feel like I can add a plethora of things to a pot and it can turn out magical (*disclaimer* MOST of the time).

    Also, I’m REALLY glad you made this chili because I didn’t put two-and-two together about eating the scones with a savory dish; I was still stuck on what kind of tea I was going to pair with them because I am a dweeb.

    Affectionately,
    Amy

  44. I am such a sucker for any type of chili. It doesn’t even have to be cold outside–I’ve been known to make chili in the middle of July. It’s just so good!! Your version is definitely gonna have to be added to the chili lineup. :D

  45. VEGGIE CHILI! Thanks so much, Joy, for thinking about us non-animal eaters! Definitely trying the recipe out sometime.

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