Hungry for chili? For the last few months, I’ve been trying to incorporate more whole food, plant-based ingredients into my cooking. Now people, I already cook plant-based, vegan meals–for practically every meal. But let’s face it. I love vegan junk food–processed vegan meats, cheeses, and pastries are my absolute fav. BUT sometimes, all those delicious vegan processed products– vegan meats, vegan cheeses, vegan sour creams–while compassionate–can be just as unhealthy as other non-vegan food items.
So for this recipe, I chose to use a slightly healthier alternative to the usual texturized soy or gluten protein crumbles that make up the base of most other vegetarian chili recipes.
Mushrooms
The cremini mushroom (also known as Baby Bella mushroom) is the star of this flavorful chili.
Cremini mushrooms are low in fat, cholesterol-free, and rich in B vitamins and other nutrients. And thankfully, they’re also fairly inexpensive and easy to prepare. For this recipe, we are mincing cremini mushrooms by pulsing them in small batches in a food processor. If you don’t have a food processor, you can also finely chop the mushrooms with a knife on a cutting board.
Once they’re minced, sauté the mushrooms with your chopped onions and peppers.
Once your mushrooms are cooked down to a ground beef-like texture, add your remaining ingredients–beans, tomato sauce, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, and cilantro.
Simmer it all together for a few minutes. Then, top with a vegan avocado sour cream and freshly chopped cilantro to garnish.
Build a Meal!
Want to build a meal around this tasty chili? You’ll need some delicious vegan cornbread by Vegan Blueberry, a tasty southwest kale salad by Cookie and Kate (leave off the feta to keep it vegan), and of course, strawberry ice-cream for dessert.
Vegan Mushroom Chili
Ingredients
- 16 ounces whole cremini mushrooms also known as baby bella mushrooms, minced
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1/2 bell pepper chopped
- 2 jalapeño peppers minced (with seeds removed)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt or more to taste
- 2 1/2 tablespoons cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 3 cans (15.5 ounces each) dark kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 cans (15 ounces each) tomato sauce
- 1 can (14.5 ounces) fire-roasted diced tomatoes with juice
- 1/2 bunch cilantro finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Mince Baby Bella mushrooms with knife and cutting board, or by briefly pulsing in food processor in small batches.
- Heat oil in large pot on medium-high heat x 15-20 seconds, then add minced mushrooms, chopped onion, chopped bell pepper, minced jalapeño, and minced garlic.
- Saute for 15-20 minutes on medium-high heat until mushrooms are well-cooked with no visible water collections on the bottom of the pot.
- Add remaining ingredients–beans, tomato sauce, fire-roasted tomatoes, cumin, chili powder, sugar, and salt.
- Simmer for another 15 minutes on medium heat.
- Add chopped cilantro just prior to serving, saving a small amount of cilantro for garnishing individual bowls.
This looks SO GOOD! And mushrooms… that’s absolutely brilliant. I’m regretting I skipped supper tonight, because now I want to go make a big batch of this right now!! Thanks Lindsay! Can’t wait to try it! :)
Delicious! Even my non-vegan kids loved it.
Yay! So glad you loved it!
Looks awesome! How much is 1 serving? 1cup?
THIS SOUNDS AMAZING BUT IF YOU ARE USING 3 CANS OF KIDNEY BEANS THE CALORIES ARE WAY OFF.
1 CAN OF DARK KIDNEY BEANS ARE 130 CAL PER SERVING @ 3.5 SERVING PER CAN EACH ACN IS 455 CALORIES.
3 CANS OF BEANS EQUAL 1365 CALORIES ALONE WITHOUT ANY OF THE OTHER INGREDIANTS.
THE BEANS ALONE DIVIDED ITO 6 SERVINGS AS STATED IN THIS RECIPE EQUAL 227.50 CALORIES
Thanks for the feedback, Cindy! I will definitely have to go back and double check the accuracy on my nutrition facts creator. Thanks for pointing that out.
This was so good. I don’t typically love chili but had to use up my mushrooms so I took a chance on this recipe and OMG it did not disappoint. I had my doubts when I started because of the strong mushroom smell and honestly thought I would end up tossing the whole thing and resort to making Tuna melts. Not only did I not toss it, but I actually loved it!! I could not tell at all that it was made with mushrooms and neither did my daughter.
I had to feed my kid so I left out the jalepeno’s and 1/2 Tbsp of the cumin and it was perfect. I also used the whole pepper and some chopped celery which I added just before the simmer stage. I actually finished this in the pressure cooker under the chili setting so I could run out and get my daughter and have it ready by the time I got home. I served it with homemade bread courtesy of my bread maker and voila! Dinner made easy!
This made a huge batch that will come in handy on busy weeknights. Thanks for the great recipe.