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The heartiest meatless meal I know… Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili Recipe. This chili is jammed packed with three different kinds of beans, a bunch of vegetables, a ton of flavor. The perfect comfort food that couldn’t be easier to make in the crockpot. This is a vegetarian chili that could stand its own against any chili with meat!
3 Bean Vegetarian Chili
I love a good chili, I mean who doesn’t?
So today I am finally ready to share my vegetarian chili with you all!
This one took me a while before I deemed it ready for the blog because I wanted it absolutely perfect… I find a lot of vegetarian chili’s to be too sweet or depend on hard to find ingredients. That isn’t what I wanted, I wanted something that could be hardy and stand up to any other chili is a cookout but still remain wholesome with easy to find fresh ingredients. So this is what I made…
Growing up the chili my mom made never had meat in it, she filled it with a ton of vegetables and flavors, it wasn’t until I was older that I realized that a lot of people will typically make chili with meat.
So I relied on my memory of what my mom made along with what I thought would taste good, here is what happened:
Texture: I really wanted to make sure that my vegetarian chili had the right consistency, some (not all) tend to not have a lot of structure. So I ended up adding not 1 or 2 types of beans but 3. Three different beans to add to the texture I wanted.
and
Peppers: This chili ended up with quite a bit of peppers including jalapeños. I balanced out the sweet bell peppers with the jalapeño to get a flavorful mix!
These are what I built this chili around. Together it makes a wonderful yet filling meal!
Supplies
This recipe is an easy one:
- Typical Kitchenware such as knifes, measuring spoons, can opener. spoon
- Slow Cooker
See so easy right?!?
Ingredients
- onion – white or yellow works in the recipe
- bell peppers – I use a red and a yellow, you can really use any color you would like though
- jalapeños – the recipe calls for 3, if you remove the light colored middle and seeds this will stop your chili from being spicy, if you are really worried about it you could use only 2 jalapeños, if you want more spicy keep some of the light colored insides and seeds attached
- diced tomatoes – the large 28 ounce sized can, or two of the 15 ounce ones
- chickpeas – aka garbanzo beans drained and rinsed
- kidney beans – drained and rinsed
- black beans – drained and rinsed
- minced garlic – I opted for actually garlic instead of garlic powder like I have done in the past here for that fresh flavor
- chili powder – have to have this for chili right?
- kosher salt – I think kosher is the best salt for cooking but you could use seat salt here too
- cayenne pepper powder – Just a little bit, not enough to make the whole thing spicy, although you can add more if you wish…
- cumin – another classic chili spice
For a complete detailed list of the ingredients continue towards the bottom of the page.
How to Make Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili
I swear this has to be one of my easiest recipes, the hardest part is dicing up the peppers.
Dice the onion, bell peppers, and jalapeños. With the jalapeños ensure to remove the seeds and light colored insides, the easiest way to do this is to cut the jalapeño in half the long way and use a small spoon to scoop everything out, then you can dice the green part of the vegetable for the chili discarding the seeds and center part.
Once that is done add the diced vegetables, tomatoes, rinsed beans, garlic, chili powder, salt, cayenne, and cumin to the crock of a slow cooker stir to combine.
Cook on low 7-8 hours or high 3-4 hours. Serve with garnishes such as sour cream/greek yogurt, cheddar cheese, cilantro, green onions, or any of your favorite chili toppings.
Tips, Tricks, and Questions
- The spiciness of the jalapeño is all in the white insides and seeds, so if they are removed you get the jalapeño flavor without the spiciness (even my spicy sensitive kid will eat this). If you are making this for yourself and others that love spicy feel free to leave some of the insides/seeds attached to the jalapeños.
- This can easily be made on the stove top. Start by sautéing the diced vegetables until the start to become tender, then add everything to the pot and bring to a simmer. Simmer together until the vegetables are soft.
Is this Vegan?
Yes, If you do not add any animal products as garnishes such as cheese or sour cream.
You might also like:
- Secret Ingredient Turkey Chili
- Crockpot Creamy Pumpkin Chili
- Classic Crockpot Chili
- Slow Cooker Black Bean Tortilla Soup
- Slow Cooker Clam Chowder
3 Bean Vegetarian Chili
A hearty slow cooker vegetarian chili, made with three different beans and plenty of vegetables. This meatless meal is one that everyone will enjoy, it is full of bold flavors and textures plus it isn't too sweet like many vegetarian chilis.
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 2 bell peppers (red & yellow)
- 3 jalapeños
- 1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (15oz) can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
- 1 (15oz) can kidney beans, drained & rinsed
- 1 (15oz) can black beans, drained & rinsed
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon cumin
Instructions
- Dice the onion, bell peppers, and jalapeños. With the jalapeños ensure to remove the seeds and light colored insides, the easiest way to remove the insides and seeds is to cut the jalapeño in half the long way and use a small spoon to scoop everything out, from there dice the green part of the vegetable.
- Add the diced vegetables, tomatoes, chickpeas, kidney beans, black beans, garlic, chili powder, salt, cayenne, and cumin to the crock of a slow cooker stir to combine.
- Cook on low 7-8 hours or high 3-4 hours. Serve with garnishes such are sour cream/greek yogurt, cheddar cheese, cilanto, green onions, or any of your favorite chili toppings.
Notes
The spiciness of the jalapeño is all in the white insides and seeds, so if they are removed you get the jalapeño flavor without the spiciness (even my spicy sensitive kid will eat this). If you are making this for yourself and others that love spicy feel free to leave some of the insides/seeds attached to the jalapeños.
This can easily be made on the stove top. Start by sautéing the diced vegetables until the start to become tender, then add everything to the pot and bring to a simmer. Simmer together until the vegetables are soft.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
2 cupsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 233Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 706mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 13gSugar: 7gProtein: 13g
Nutritional data is automated, final nutritional information will depend on ingredients used and any changes made. (Includes no garnishes)
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Lauren, The Schmidty Wife
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This is now my go to meatless Monday Chili!!! The entire family loves it. The jalapeños seemed like a lot, but chili was not too hot!! Thank you!
Thanks so much Julie! I was nervous that people would think that about the jalapeños but I felt it really needed them all! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment! 🙂
No liquid?
You do not need to add liquid, as the vegetables all cook they will break down and release liquid. As it cooks more liquid will form in the chili than when you first put the ingredients together. Since traditionally chili is supposed to be thick I did not add any additional liquids, if you like your chili more like a soup consistency I would recommend adding 1 or 2 cups of tomato juice.
If I make a double batch would the cook time be the same?
Hi Krissy, with a recipe like this I do think that the cook time would remain the same. If you double it let me know how it turns out!
@Lauren Schmidt, thank you abd I will let you know if I do end up doubling it.
Could I freeze this? If so what would I do?
Yes! You can freeze it both before you cook it or freeze the cooked chili. For freezing before you cook simply add all of the prepared ingredients to a freezer gallon ziplock bag instead go the crockpot (make sure you label the bag) and freeze, when ready to eat simply defrost and add to your crockpot. For freezing after it is cooked, simply freeze in a container or freezer bag until ready to be rewarmed back up for eating!
You forgot to mention the corn I think?
There is not corn in the recipe (although adding some would probably be really good), the yellow in the photos is just a diced yellow bell pepper! If you add corn let me know what you think!
is there a way to make this recipe with dried beans instead of canned
@Michelle,
Just soak your beans the day before in water until they are softer
My new favorite chili recipe! So yummy🤤
Thank You!
This was so easy to make and so good! It made enough so that I can freeze it and have another meal. I served it in a homemade tortilla bowl and added some sour cream and green onions as a garnish. Delicious!!
Oh the tortilla bowl sounds so delicious! Thanks for taking time to leave a comment!
Thank you for this recipe. This has become a family favorite!
Oh yay! That makes me so happy to hear! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment.
In my crockpot at the present time! I also added a cut up carrot and a bit of celery. I did not add jalapeños as I am not a fan of very hot spicy food! At the next of cooking time, if I think it needs some kick to it, I’ll add a pinch of chili flakes! Can’t wait for dinner!
I really hope you enjoyed it Darlene!
I love this recipe. I have it in the slow cooker At the moment. I have to mush up the gabanzo beans, so my husband can’t see them. 😆 I serve it on fluffy mashed potatoes with sour cream and avocado. Love being able to freeze the leftovers for another day. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Love how you serve it, that sounds delicious!!
I love your recipe. It is in my regular monthly meal plan. The veggies and beans are a perfect balance. The simplicity of the recipe is amazing. I am not a great cook but this turns out perfect every time! I like making two batches and freezing one for later. Awesome chili recipe!!
Aww thanks so much, I am so happy you enjoy it! This is a personal go-to for me as well!