Easy Black Bean Chili

This Black Bean Chili Recipe is easy to make and packed with flavor! It’s cozy and hearty, the ideal idea for a vegetarian dinner.

Can you have too many chili recipes? We don’t think. Introducing our new favorite easy ride…this black bean chili Recipe! It’s more than easy to make, and the taste is unusual. (We hope you agree.) It has hints of smoke to bring out the flavorful tomatoes and hearty black beans. Top it with your favorite toppings, and it’s so filling and flavorful you’ll forget it’s healthy, too.

Ingredients for this black bean chili recipe

This vegetarian black bean chili recipe was inspired by open flame cooking. In fact, we first did it around our fireplace during a kitchen renovation! We’ve adapted our healthy chili recipe to be even easier, making it super easy to cook over the fire. This is the stovetop version, and it’s packed with ingredients to deliver massive flavor with little effort:

• Onion
• Garlic
• olive oil and butter
• Andean millet
• Black beans
• Canned tomatoes
• Corn
• Mustard, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce
• Chili powder, oregano, garlic powder, cumin, smoked paprika and salt

The taste secrets here? Butter adds the richness you need in a veggie chili. Mustard, ketchup and Worcestershire add tart and salty notes. The bang at the end? Add a bit of smoked paprika powder to help mimic the campfire chili pepper smoke we drew inspiration from.

Chili side dishes: treat yourself!

This vegetarian black bean chili is simple and elegant. All you have to do is dice an onion and some garlic and let your pan do the rest of the work for you! Once that’s done, decorate with the toppings of your choice. Here are our top picks, followed by a few more creative ideas:

• sour cream and cheese: Just a little goes a long way! We consider these necessary. For vegans, use cashew cream or vegan queso.
• Green Onion: Thinly sliced ​​spring onions are the best fresh accessory.
• Coriander: Fresh coriander leaves are a great addition.
• Hot sauce: Naturally! A favorite is a Mexican hot sauce like cholula.
• Roasted Salted Pepitas: This unique option adds a salty crunch.
• Jalapenos or Pickled Onions: Pickled jalapeños add spice! If you think ahead, pickled onions are our favorite: they add bright color and zesty flavor.

store leftovers

This black bean chili recipe keeps well and is great for leftovers! Here are some notes on the remaining disk space:

• Refrigerate up to 3 days. It can get very thick, you may need to add some water when reheating.
• Freeze up to 3 months. This recipe works well frozen in a freezer-safe container.

Make It A Meal: Ways to Serve Chili with Black Beans

There are so many ways to serve this black bean chili recipe – right in a bowl or with more creative options! Here are some ways to outfit it:

Variant: cook over an open flame

Of course, you probably won’t be doing this every day! But this black bean chili recipe also makes an ideal campfire chili. We first made this over an open fire when renovating our kitchen and it worked like a charm! The fire imparts an incredible smoke to the taste. Here are some notes:

• Use a hard wood like oak or cherry for the fire. These woods have the best flavor for cooking food.
• Follow the recipe but omit the smoked paprika. You don’t need it as the fire imparts a smoky flavor.
• Advanced preparation for camping: If you are taking it camping, prepare the chopped onion and garlic and place in an airtight container. In another large airtight container, place the kosher saltwater ingredients (keep the quinoa dry and add while cooking).

Let us know if you try it in the comments below! This is a fun twist, although we usually make these on the stovetop.

More chili recipes

This black bean chili is our new favorite, but we have plenty more chili recipes for the season! Here are a few to try:

This Black Bean Chili Recipe is…

Vegetarian and gluten free. For vegan, plant-based, and non-dairy items, substitute the butter as directed in the recipe below.