I was invited to host a cooking class for UBC students in the Student Recovery Community (SRC). The SRC community is an inclusive peer-led space designed to support students who are in recovery or curious to explore their relationship with alcohol, drugs, eating disorders and/or addictive behaviors.
One of the nutrition topics I discuss with my eating disorder clients is the importance of variety and flexibility when it comes to eating. People with an eating disorder often suffers from black and white thinking, rigid rules and lack of variety in their diet. We decided to pick recipes that would hone in on the current theme of Eating disorder awareness week this year : Embracing Possibilities.
Since it is still winter, what is more suitable than a cozy pot of chili where students can build their own one pot meal based on the ingredients they have on hand and through the limitless chili toppings that we can add on the side. Through this cooking class, we demonstrated safe cooking skills, chopping techniques, plant-based eating, budget shopping, meal prep and batch cooking tips. We cooked up a balanced meal (chili, corn bread, fruit salad) that we all enjoyed eating together at the end of the session.
Chili is a classic comfort food for the cold and rainy weather in Fall and Winter. It is also a great way to incorporate more vegetarian protein for a plant-forward diet, by passing on the meat, this makes it a budget-friendly recipe – a serving is calculated at less than $2.15 cad per serving. This simple, one-pot meal delivers all the comfort of a classic chili full of flavor with very little time and effort – perfect to fit this into a easy cozy weekday dinner routine.
We made it vegetarian by using 2 kinds of beans (black beans, red kidney beans) and cooked up some ground beef on the side as well, you can further boost up the protein and fibre by adding in some crumbled tofu or veggie ground round.
What Ingredients Do I Need for this Vegetarian Chili Recipe?
It’s always helpful to read through the whole recipe, gather and prep all the ingredients in advance before you even start cooking!
For this recipe, you will need to chop all the vegetables up into bite-size pieces so that you don’t end up with a chunky chili texture. Chilis are very forgiving so don’t worry so much about the exact amounts of everything such as the oz in a can or how much vegetables to put. This is a general guideline to follow :
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 yellow onion diced (P.S. do not chop the onions into strips as pictured here as it didn’t go well with the chili texture)
- 1 large carrot diced
- Vegetables diced (ie. green peppers, zucchini – feel free to use whatever you have on hand)
- 1 cup mushrooms chopped (use cremini vs. white mushrooms here for a firmer more chewy texture that is similar to meat)
- 1 large sweet potato cubed
- 3 tbsp taco seasoning
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 3/4 cup vegetable broth
- 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 15 oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 4oz green chilies or 1 Jalapeno chopped
How Long is Vegetarian Chili Good for in the Fridge?
Vegetarian chili can be safely stored in the fridge for 3-4 days. Allow the chili to cool completely before transferring it to an airtight container or a sealable ziploc bag.
Can Vegetarian Chili be Frozen?
Yes, you can freeze this vegetarian chili and heat it up straight from the freezer. If you are planning to make a big batch for freezing, we would recommend not adding the toppings until just before eating. You can easily freeze this recipe once it is completely cooled in a large, freezer-safe ziploc bag.
What Goes with Vegetarian Chili?
We served this vegetarian chili with extra toppings on the side (salsa, greek yogurt, shredded cheese, cilantro, chopped jalapenos, tortilla chips, guacamole or avocado). We also love homemade corn bread with it and a fruit salad with honey lemon yogurt for a light dessert!
What are Chili Toppings?
Make it your own by adding in chili toppings of your choosing, chili toppings add flavors, texture and nutrition to make this chili even better!
Here are some chili topping ideas that you can try on the side:
- Ground beef, turkey, chicken or veggie ground round : Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the ground beef and cook until fully browned. Stir in the mushrooms and sauté for 5-7 minutes. Mix in the taco seasoning and combine well.
- Shredded cheese
- Jalapenos : sliced, de-seed if you want less heat
- Green onions : sliced
- Salsa : diced tomatoes diced, chopped onions, chopped cilantro, lemon juice, chopped jalapenos
- Black olives : sliced
- Avocado : diced or guacamole
- Red or yellow onion : minced
- Plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
- Fresh herbs – ie. cilantro, parsley, basil : chopped
- Tortilla chips
Can I Make this Chili Vegan?
This vegetarian is already a vegetarian recipe using 2 kinds of beans, cheese and Greek yogurt instead of the typical ground beef for protein. You can make this chili 100% vegan by omitting the yogurt and topping with nutritional yeast for the “cheesy flavor” instead of shredded cheddar cheese.
Creative Ways to Use Chili Leftovers
If you batch cooked and made too much chili and can’t imagine eating another bowl of chili for the week, don’t fret, there are so many different ways you can use up the leftover chili.
- Chili mac & cheese – cook up some macaroni noodles and se the chili for the pasta sauce, add in some of the cheese sauce or shredded cheese.
- Chili nachos – spread a layer of tortilla chips on a baking sheet and top it up with some leftover chili, toppings such as jalapenos, olives, ground meat or crumbled tofu, shredded cheese. Bake until cheese is melted and top it up with sour cream, guacamole and tomatoes.
- Chili salad – top your salad with leftover chili, shredded cheese, tomatoes and avocado
- Chili cheese dip – cook up leftover chili with cream cheese, shredded Cheese and salsa. Serve it with a side of tortilla chips.
One-Pot Easy Vegetarian Chili
Ingredients
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 large carrot diced
- 1 zucchini diced
- 1 cup mushrooms chopped
- 1 large sweet potato cubed
- 3 tbsp taco seasoning
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 3/4 cup vegetable broth
- 1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 15 oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 can 4oz green chilies or 1 Jalapeno chopped
Instructions
- . Place oil in a large pot and place over medium heat. Sauté onion and mushrooms for 5 minutes. Add in garlic, carrot, zucchini, sweet potatoes; sauté for another 5-7 minutes.
- Deglaze the pan by adding broth and scraping the browned bits. Next add in taco seasoning, chili powder, oregano, paprika, stir for about 30 seconds.
- Add in crushed tomatoes, broth, black beans, kidney beans, corn and green chilies. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes.
- (Optional) Use an immersion blender to puree some of the chili to enhance the flavor and texture. Alternatively, remove 2 cups chili to a food processor or blender; purée until smooth.
- Add pureed chili back into the large pot and heat it up. Makes 6 servings, about 1 1/2 cups each (without toppings).
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