For those of you who are following a vegan diet, a vegetarian diet, or just want to take a break from meat for lent, have I got a great recipe to tickle your taste buds! Drumroll please…enter my vegan chili recipe!
Move over traditional chili, and make room for this freshened-up version of one of my favorite comfort foods, perfect for your springtime menu.
I decided to pair three varieties of legumes with a pesto sauce to create a flavor combination like no other. By keeping kidney beans, tomatoes, and onions, this dish still has that “chili” feel, but it isn’t as heavy and is instead rather light and peppy. And while meat may be the “staple” in normal chili, this vegan chili recipe has tons of “belly-fill” and will leave you plenty satisfied.
Spring Vegan Chili Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp plus ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes
- 15.5-oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 15.5-oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- 15.5-oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 clove garlic
- 3 Tbsp pine nuts
- 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
Directions:
- Sweat onions and carrots in a saucepan with 1 Tbsp EVOO (or coconut oil) until tender.
- Stir in tomatoes and their liquid, 2 cups vegetable stock, and salt and pepper.
- Bring to a boil.
- Add chickpeas, cannellini, and kidney beans and cook until heated through.
- Combine garlic, pine nuts, parsley, remaining ¼ cup oil, and salt and pepper (to taste) in a small blender/mixer until well combined.
- Divide the chili among six individual bowls and top with equal amounts of pesto.
This is what the dish looks like once you have stirred the pesto into this vegan chili recipe….YUM-O!
So simple. So fresh. So tasty!
Nutrition Facts:
Yields 6 servings
- Calories: 398
- Fat: 16 g
- Carbs: 50 g
- Fiber: 13 g
- Sugar: 5.6 g
- Protein: 14 g