Vegetarian Chili — Niina's Kitchen

We finally had a first fall like weekend around here! While the afternoon temperatures still reached past 70F, the mornings and nights were nice and crisp. So what do we crave? Something warm and comforting.

For years I have been looking for a good vegetarian chili recipe, experimenting with mixing different recipes and trying to find something that I could really enjoy. I think I finally found/came up with one that is a keeper. The original recipe that I modified is The Best Vegetarian Chili from ambitiouskitchen.com. It adds a sweet potato and corn to the chili, which make it more fulfilling. I think I will be further experimenting with different veggies.

The recipe makes about 6 servings, but it heats up well and while eating it as such on the first day, for the second dinner I baked a potato and used this chili as topper for it (pictured at the bottom). I could also see it served as a dip with tortilla chips.

Hope you will enjoy it as much as I did!

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion (or two small ones) chopped

4 garlic cloves, grated

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 (4 oz) can mild green chiles

2-3 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)

Salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes (diced work too)

3/4 cup vegetarian broth (or water)

1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup frozen corn

For garnish you can use fresh cilantro, avocado, jalapenos, shredded cheese, sour cream/greek yogurt

STEPS:

Heat up the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, carrot, bell peppers, sweet potato and green chiles and saute for 5-7 minutes.
Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper and stir
Add the crushed tomatoes, broth/water, beans and corn. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes until the flavors come together
Enjoy!