Vegan Chili

This is one I have been working on for a while. It’s the perfect winter warming dish! It’s got just the right amount of spice, perfectly balanced to create a nutritious, filling dish.

Why does this recipe work?

There are a lot of vegan chili recipes out there, and some of them are pretty good. But some of them are not nearly rich enough for my tastes. I like my chili to be spicy yet balanced. It should be filling but not heavy. This one has it all!

Like all good things, it takes a while to make. But trust me, this one is worth the wait. It also keeps really well, so if you have a big enough pan, you can always use this for meal prep, make a double batch and store it for when you need it most.

What is vegan chili?

Traditional chili is just a spicy stew with Mexican inspired flavours. The earliest potential iterations of chili date back to the 16th century. However, it’s more likely that what we know as chili today originated in the early 1800s in the areas that was soon to become Texas [1].

That version is probably a far cry from what I am making today. But it’s inspired by the same idea. A spicy stew that is packed with beans and sometimes meat. It goes without saying that there will be no meat in this version. But my tofu crumble fits perfectly here!

It’s supposed to be a cheap and hearty dish that will keep you full for hours. That is exactly what we will be making here!

Ingredient notes

Beans: You can use whatever type of beans that you like. Personally I like to use a tin of kidney beans and a tin of black beans. I find that having two types mixed in help to create a little bit of variety and, as Adam Ragusea likes to say, it adds heterogeneity.

Chilies: I think to make a really good chili you need to use a mixture of different chilis. I like to use some fresh, and some dried.

The fresh chilies: Unlike our US counterparts, here in the UK we get packs of “Mixed chilies”. These often contain jalapeños or Fresno chilis, but in reality they are whatever mid-level spice chili the supermarket has access to, and are in season. I think the ones I have are Fresno chilies. These add a mild, sweet heat to the chili.

I also use a birds eye chilies. These add a more powerful spice, with a deep flavour that cuts through the rest of the dish.

The dried chilies: For the dried chilies I use a mixture of Kashmiri chili flakes which provide a medium heat with a wonderfully rich flavour. These are normally my go to for Indian curries. I also love to use one of my absolute favourite chilies; Aleppo chili flakes. These are a mild but have an almost citrusy flavour to them. They are traditionally used in a lot of middle eastern cuisine, but I put them in almost everything!

The chili paste: I like to add some chipotle paste. If you have easy access to chipotle peppers where you are, then by all means use them, but they are not very common here in the UK. This one helps to add a smokey depth that the others are missing.

Tofu: You don’t need a huge amount here, but I think it’s important to use the firmest one you have available. I use this smoked one from Aldi when they have it, but any firm tofu will do.

MSG: I recognise that this can be a contentious issue, but there is no strong evidence to indicate that it is more harmful than any other food we regularly eat. It is also naturally present in a lot of foods [2] . It helps to add a really rich umami flavour, as such I use it in quite a few of my dishes. If you don’t want to use it, then leave it out.

Chocolate: It may seem like a bit of a strange ingredient, but in fact it works perfectly! It helps to marry the spicy flavours with the sweet from the maple syrup and caramelised veg. It also adds a subtle, deep savoury note. I use 70% dark cocoa chocolate, which here in the UK is usually vegan, just make sure to double check yours. I wouldn’t recommend using anything lower than that as its the deep complexity that really works here.

How to make my vegan chili

1. Start by preparing your veg. Dice the pepper, onion and carrot. Then add it to a large pan on a medium-low heat, with two tablespoons of oil and season with salt and pepper. Stir regularly.

2. While that is cooking. Mince the garlic and fresh chilies. Set these aside until later.

3. Crumble the tofu with a fork until you have lots of small chunks like below.

3. To another pan, add 3 tablespoons of oil. It seems like a lot, but there is no fat in the tofu and this will create the richer mouth feel. Add the tofu and let it develop some colour on each side before turning.

4. Repeat this until it’s crispy and almost looks too dry.

5. Now take the pan off the heat, and turn your extractor fan on if it’s not already. This is going to sizzle! Splash over the soy sauce, it will caramelise almost instantly, pushing flavour into the tofu. Now sprinkle over the MSG and mix in. This is your tofu crumble. Set it aside until the end. I put it in the switched off oven, otherwise I’ll eat it all! 😀

6. When the veg is softened and has developed some colour on it add the garlic and chilies to the mix. Cook for a couple of minutes, but watch it closely. Don’t let the garlic burn!

7. Now add the dried herbs and spices and bloom in the oil. If it’s looking a little dry then add some more oil. It’s crucial that the spices are allowed to awaken in the fat. Cook for a minute or so until they are fragrant.

8. Add the tomato puree and cook out the raw flavour. This is going to add an extra layer of umami to the final dish. Now we have a super potent flavour bomb that when it dissipates into the beans and tomatoes will carry so much flavour!

9. It’s time to add the tinned tomatoes and beans as well as the liquid from all the tins. Also add an extra tin of water along with the stock cube and square of chocolate.

10. Let it simmer on the lowest heat you can for at least an hour and a half, occasionally stirring so it doesn’t stick to the bottom.
    • An hour and a half really is a minimum here. If you can let it go for two or two and a half hours, it will be even better. Just keep an eye on it to make sure it does get too dry. Just add some more liquid if it does.

11. You can see how much mine has reduced below. All that flavour has concentrated and it should taste amazing. But we can make it better! Add the chopped coriander, maple syrup, the zest from the lime and 3/4 of it’s juice.

12. Add the umami tofu we made earlier.

13. Server over rice with some sour cream and avocado slices. You could even sprinkle a little of my parmesan over the top.

Tips for success!

Make sure you let it cook long enough! It seems like a long time, but trust me, it really makes a difference. To make a killer vegan chili, it needs to simmer for a long time. The longer it cooks, the better it will taste. This recipe makes enough for leftovers, and it will taste even better the next day when everything has mellowed and melded together.

Potential variations

Frequently asked questions

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