30 Minute Vegan Mexican Chili. This vegan chili is the most amazing vegan chili ever and is made in 1 pot! SO much flavor, yet meatless, filling, hearty and made with red and black beans. It takes just 30 minutes and all made in one pot. Made with such easy simple ingredients.
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30 MINUTE VEGAN MEXICAN CHILI
Yummy stuff right here…and on the table in about 30 minutes. This vegan chili doesn’t need hours simmering, yet it’s loaded with flavor and hearty vegetables to fill you up and warm your body for the cool Fall weather. It’s a staple in my household and always a hit over the holidays with guests. A chili can be vegan and still be incredibly filling and delicious, such as this bowl right here. I promise you, and your guests, will not be missing the meat.
HOW DO YOU MAKE VEGAN CHILI?
You just need easy, simple ingredients and 1 pot!
- 1 cup chopped red onion (about half of a large onion)
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup low sodium tomato sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder (use less for a less spicy version)
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 tablespoon (20g) maple syrup
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt (adjust as desired)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 15oz cans of beans (I used 1 black beans and 1 red beans)
- 2/3 cup frozen corn
- Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic to a large pot with JUST 1/2 of the broth over medium heat. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring often, until they are starting to get tender, but not fully. Add just a tiny bit more broth if needed just to keep them cooking.
- Add the remaining ingredients, (except the corn and beans) including the remaining cup of broth and stir really well. Bring to a boil and once boiling, cover and turn to low simmer for 10-15 minutes until the veggies are tender.
- Drain and rinse the beans while the chili is cooking. Add the beans and corn. Bring back to a boil and then cover and simmer another 10 minutes. Depending on how thick or thin you want your chili, add more broth. Garnish with sliced avocado and any other toppings you like.
Feel free to top it with my Best Vegan Queso or Lemon Cream Sauce and some fresh green onions and tortilla chips. So good!
I hope you love this 30 Minute Vegan Mexican Chili, I’d love to hear your feedback below in the comments! Be sure to check out my other chili, Chipotle Pumpkin Chili, so different but a huge reader favorite!
Note: This recipe is one of my older ones from my former blog, The Healthy Flavor, (before I started this blog, The Vegan 8), so it is 11 ingredients and not 8, however, that is still a really low amount of ingredients and comes together quickly in just one pot! Enjoy!
30 Minute Vegan Mexican Chili
Ingredients
- 1 packed cup (160g) finely diced red onion
- 1 green or red bell pepper chopped
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup low sodium tomato sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons standard American chili powder (use store-bought or my homemade blend) use less for a less spicy version
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 tablespoon (20g) pure maple syrup
- 1 to 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt (adjust to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- two 15 oz cans of beans (I use a combo of black beans and red beans or pinto beans)
- 2/3 cup frozen corn
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic to a large pot with JUST 1/2 of the broth over medium heat. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring often, until they are starting to get tender, but not fully. Add just a tiny bit more broth if needed just to keep them cooking.
- Add the remaining ingredients, (except the corn and beans) including the remaining cup of broth and stir really well. Bring to a boil and once boiling, cover and turn to low simmer for 10-15 minutes until the veggies are tender.
Drain and rinse the beans while the chili is cooking. Add the beans and corn. Bring back to a boil and then cover and simmer another 10 minutes. Depending on how thick or thin you want your chili, add more broth. Feel free to top it with my Best Vegan Queso or Lemon Cream Sauce and some fresh green onions and tortilla chips. Avocado is also delicious!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition per serving: 293 calories, 2.6g fat, 55.9g carbs, 14.6g protein, 14.8g fiber, 9.5g sugar, 462mg sodium
Brandi, I love this! Looks great! and I love the sliced avocado on top, nice touch! I definitely have chili on the brain. . it’s gettin’ chilly over here! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Alice! Yes, I use it in place of cheese and it gives a nice creamy effect, similar to cheese! Yum! 🙂
I agree! Chili and Fall go hand in hand 🙂
Making this tonight!!!!
It rocks my taste buds! What is allspice???
Thanks Sophie! It’s a ground spice from the evergreen fruit Pimenta Dioica. It’s like a Jamaican spice (think Jamiacan jerk) or its also used in pumpkin pies. Has a ginger cinnamon flavor which some people mistakenly think that’s what it’s made of.
It gives the chili a warm sweet “touch”. 🙂
Thanks so much for explaining it so well to me! 🙂 xxx
Hi Brandi, just made this recipe tonight and we loved it. Although I must admit I changed it slightly for a few reasons like I avoid adding oils and sugar to my cooking… Just one question. Is 1 1/2 Tablespoons on chilli powder correct ? It was super hot, but edible, like I said we enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing. If you are interested I post recipes too on my blog.. have a splendid weekend….
Oh I’m so glad you loved it!! Yes, that is correct on the chili powder. I’m
from Texas and we love a nice kick to our food. 🙂 Everybody who has tried it has loved it and hasn’t found it too hot, but of course I understand we all have different taste buds. I’ll add to the recipe “adjust to desired liking of heat”. Also, it’s such a small amount of sugar but you could certainly use maple syrup if you prefer..chili is complimented so well with a slight hint of sweet, so that’s why I add it. Also, if you want to avoid oil you could just throw the onion and bell pepper to cook after adding the broth. That would work too I’m sure. Thank you so much for trying the recipe! I really appreciate it. And I’m glad y’all enjoyed it, even with it being a bit spicy for you! We looove a good kick, haha! I will definitely check yours out!
Thank you Crista!! Yes, it has and we all devour it around here! 🙂
Whoa, haha! Well no wonder they were too hot! That is not the standard chili powder here…I would use half that amount I guess next time and hopefully it will be less hot for you. 🙂
Brandi, I have made a dozen of your recipes and they are all excellent. You have a gift for cooking and I appreciate that your recipes are well tested and written down accurately.
Now comes the ingredient: chili powder. It’s commonly used in recipes and I never know what it means. I have a New Mexican chili powder which is milder but can sometimes have a kick which I use in my chili. But what does it mean when a recipe calls for “chili powder”. The commercial chili powders in the store such as Gebhardt’s are a mixture of spices. Help!
Thank you so very much for such a kind compliment! It is the blend of spices that is the chili powder that you will use. It is not the ones that are soley peppers or super spicy. The chili powders at the grocery store have more of a strong warmth and mild spiciness versus super hot like chipotle pepper for instance. Hope that helps!!
Thank you so much! I just ate some for lunch, it’s probably my favorite recipe for fall!! 🙂
My family and I LOVE chill! It is great to make a huge batch as leftovers always taste amazing! I will add meat to mine when I make your recipes or I will hear complaints from the carnivores in my house lol For me though, this is PERFECT as is 🙂
I’m posting a chili recipe so close to this soon! I made a healthy Cowboy Chili last night and it was amazing- it’s hard to beat chili in the winter:) Have a lovely day!
Thank you! Can’t wait to see yours 🙂
HI Brandi, I made this for a 3rd last weekend… its a great dish 🙂
Awesome Thom! I’m so glad to hear that :). Thank you!
Wow Brandi you completely just made me hungry!
Ha! Thanks Heather!
i love quick meals. and the giant carvings of avocado!
nice recipe 🙂
Thank you! Me too…the quick ones are the best!
Made this last night and it was a hit. It made 6 servings for the 4 of us. I usually make a very similar recipe with canned tomatoes. This recipe was favored by my family over my previous one. I think the combo of spicey and sweet was the difference maker.
Great recipe that is now part of our rotation. Thanks Brandi!
Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback!! I’m thrilled it was such a hit! And yes, the combo of sweet and spicy definitely is so exciting to the palate and a necessity in chili for me. Thank you so much 🙂
This dish was one of my favorite chili dishes since becoming vegan 5 years ago! So simple, but still so tasty. Such a perfect combo of sweet and heat. Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes! Can’t wait to make everything else from your blog
Thank you so much Travis! I’m so thrilled you loved it so much!! Thank you for the feedback!
Brandi, just made this chili. It is delish. Now I can stop searching for the perfect chili recipe. I shared this with a couple vegan groups I’m in. I’m sure they will love it too. Thank you, thank you.
Awesome Billie! So glad to hear that! It is my absolute favorite chili and is always a big hit with everybody, regardless of diet. I make it every holiday for all my guests and they ask for the recipe. I really appreciate you sharing my recipe with your groups, thank you so much! So glad this is perfect for you!
This is probably our favorite dish right now. I made this twice this week and doubled the recipe the second time. I have no idea why these flavors work so well but it’s like crack. I’m sure my hubby will request this again this week as he’s always talking about how wonderful this dish is. I use a can of mixed beans and a can of kidney beans and it’s just perfect with that variation of beans. Thanks again for your wonderful gift of recipe making.
So so happy to hear that Estee, thank you so much for the wonderful feedback!!
Do you think chipotle chili powder would work or make this too spicy.? I love the smoky flavor of chipotle.
Hi Paula! I love chipotle powder too but that would definitely be way too hot for this. Regular chili powder is important for the standard chili flavor. You could try doing less of the regular chili powder and then adding some of the chipotle at the end, to taste, being careful not to add too much so it doesn’t get too spicy. Let me know how it turns out!
This is perfect!! Quick, easy, and hardy. Love your recipes! Thank you!
Thank you so much Melanie! So glad you loved this, I really appreciate the feedback!
Literally the BEST soup I’ve EVER had! I cannot stop making it! My mouth is watering as I type this. Thank you so much for this recipe!!! In addition to the avocado, I also added the flavored tortilla strips that were mentioned in the other Mexican soup recipe. Simply AMAZING! 🙂
Yay Kenya!! I’m so thrilled you love this chili so much! Thank you so much for letting me know, I love hearing the feedback!
Absolutely fantastic!!! Couldn’t have imagined chilli without meat being so good. Thank you for the recipe.
Thank you so much for the amazing feedback Ronnie, so happy you loved it!!
Do you drain the corn?
How many cups total does this make?
Thank you 🙂
Hi Ido! No, there is no draining of the corn. I just used frozen. I believe it makes about 6 cups.
We’ve arevird at the end of the line and I have what I need!
Hi Brandi
I just made this for my vegan wife and (fussy,5) children they all loved it! I varied the chilli and cumin amounts as I didn’t want to freak out the kids – it was a huge hit with 4 out of 5 eating it all – this is a major result and we will add it to our regular list. We are planning to have a healthy January and will be drawing heavily on your website for ideas/inspiration. Thanks for posting.
This is just wonderful feedback Paul! Thank you so much for letting me know, so glad it was a hit! Especially with the kids! I also reduce the chili powder for my daughter too 🙂
Really good chili! I love the unique, complex flavor. It’s filling and so perfect. (and really easy to make too).
Awesome recipe.
On day two of the vegan journey and I’m a very happy camper 😀
Yay Allie! So happy to hear that! Thank you so much for making it and congrats on your new vegan journey!!
I made this for the first time the other night and everyone LOVED it!
For someone who has always been an avid meat eater, I was surprised at how much flavor it had even though there was no meat! I will definitely be making it again!
We are new to the plant based food lifestyle so having so many recipes to choose from on your site is awesome!!
We really liked this! I doubled the recipe, went light on the chili (those of us who like heat added some later) and added a couple of chopped carrots at the beginning and some frozen chopped (minced, really) spinach towards the end to up the veggie content — if I have one complaint about the awesome 8-ingredient idea in general it’s that it sometimes doesn’t leave room for a big variety of veggies — maybe ideas about additional veggies to add (and approximate times to add them) would be a nice touch. I’m definitely not complaining, though! Everybody really enjoyed the dish (like the great majority of others we’ve had from your site) and I’ll probably make this again! My favorite two aspects are (1) how much it’s possible to do without starting with an oil, and (2) how easily and quickly this comes together. We paired it with the cornbread – yum!
So glad to you enjoyed this Thera, thank you! This is actually one of my oldest recipes from my other website that I carried over to this 8 ingredient one, so it’s not even technically 8 ingredients. Classic chilis don’t tend to use a lot of veggies other than onion, garlic, bell peppers so spinach and carrots is not something we ever had in chili growing up in here in Texas but you can always add whatever veggies you like. I have to post my recipes though as I create them and feel which way they work best. If I do have additional options for veggies/subs (like in my pasta dishes) I do mention those in the recipes usually. But I only list what I test, so I’m not giving false times or results. Hope that makes sense.
Silly question, I assume I have to cook the corn first since you don’t specify frozen?
Hi! Yes, use cooked corn. I always use frozen. Sorry for the confusion, I just edited the recipe!
So you pre-cook the frozen corn before adding it in, or do you add in the corn frozen?
No, you just add it straight from the package. The frozen corn bags are already cooked.
How do I make the one pot Mexican Vegan chili if I want to use dried beans? My family does not like the canned ones. Thank you!
Hi Kristen, just use the same amount of beans after you’ve cooked your dry beans, so for this recipe, you will need 1 1/2 cups red beans and 1 1/2 cups black beans.
Wow this chili is amazing!! I forgot to bring an avocado to work for my leftovers so I put a spoonful of baba gannouj in it, IT WAS AWESOME!
Thank you so much Emily for the awesome feedback!
Made the vegetarian chili yesterday and it is amazing! I tossed everything in the crock pot and let it simmer on low/warm all day while we did other stuff and the entire family loved it. Will be in rotation during our Michigan winter this year! Thank you.
SO wonderful Angie! Great idea to do it in the crockpot, I’m so happy you loved this chili! Thank you for taking a moment to leave the review!
Excuse my language
But after making this it’s safe to say
BEST.DAMN.CHILI. EVER
Brandi you never fail to amaze me
Your recipes are so simple YET the best I’ve ever tasted
THANK YOU.
Haha, I love this review!! Thank you so much Jessica, I’m so thrilled you loved it so much!
This chili has the best flavor!! It tastes like it has been on the stove all day!! This is a definite remake recipe!! 😍
Thank you so much Jennifer! I’m so glad you loved this chili!
Hi Brandi, could you explain the ‘tomato sauce’ used in this recipe please? In Australia we call your tomato ketchup, tomato sauce. We also have tomato passata and tomato paste. Could i use any of these in this recipe please?
Hi Julie, it would be tomato passata for you! Thank you!
Thank you. I made your recipe tonight using the passata and it was amazing. I also made your Lemon Cream sauce to go with it…OMG so delish! Added the spring onions, avocado and some fresh tomatoes. This recipes is definitely a keeper, my husband and I loved it. Thank you Brandi for another amazing recipe.
Thank you. I made your recipe tonight using the passata and it was amazing. I also made your Lemon Cream sauce to go with it…OMG so delish! Added the spring onions, avocado and some fresh tomatoes. This recipes is definitely a keeper, my husband and I loved it. Thank you Brandi for another amazing recipe.
Yay, thrilled to hear it was such a hit Julie, thank you for the awesome feedback!
Great chili! I love all of your recipes and your cookbook is my current favorite! Thank you for doing what you do. 🙂
Delicious and easy! Was really hot for me but fine for my hubby. I made the lemon cream sauce, reducing the pepper a bit, and it also was so delicious and perfect with the chili. Another home run, thank you!
I added more maple syrup than called for, but let me tell ya…….this recipe was so delicious. I’m going shopping today, and I’m buying some of the ingredients to make this chili again. I could definitely seeing this recipe winning a chili cook off
SO happy to hear you love this chili so much Katelyn, thank you!
I tried this today with mushrooms. It was great! The whole family loved it.
Thank you so much.