Y’all I am reveling in my full Texas vibes right now. Yes, I know true Texans never put beans in their chili, but when you’re vegetarian or vegan you will find any opportunity to sneak in some extra protein and nutrients. My dad tries his best to maintain a low carb diet. He was frustrated of feeling like he only ate the same 5-6 dishes on repeat. So, he tasked me with making a high protein, fiery as hell dish that would make him feel full and maybe sweat a bit. The spicy peppers and ghost pepper flakes are completely optional! Feel free to sub out a pepper of your choice or omit them entirely.
This is a great weeknight meal to make if you’re short on time. For all of the prep work, I use my handy dandy chopper, it makes this whole meal so quick and easy. I got through all of my veggies in 5 minutes or so and was ready to go in a flash!
When developing the recipe, I tried to treat this meal like I would an Indian vegetable dish. I added the garlic paste and veggies to get a nice cohesive mixture. After a few minutes I added all of my dried spices to get a “bhaji” like consistency. You want to cook everything down to the point that it looks like its frying in its own juices.
Another pro tip I have learned over the years is to cook down your tomato paste because it often still has a really metallic taste from the can. It really helps develop flavor if you can cook down the tomato paste until it gets a really nice, deep color. You want to cook out all of that raw, metallic taste. I achieve this by moving all of my veggies to one side and cooking the tomato paste in the empty space. This is why its super important to make this in the biggest skillet you can find! The larger surface area helps get everything cooked down quickly.
Next up add in the veggie crumbles and all of your canned goods. Keep stirring it around until you have something resembling a stew. If you want a thinner consistency you can definitely add in some vegetable stock or water.
I love this to be piping hot, almost like molten lava hot. I want the cheese to melt as soon as you sprinkle it! Feel free to top this however you would like. We get this AMAZING ghost pepper and habanero monterey jack cheese at our local grocery store, and we use it in everything! Pour it over some Fritos for an easy Frito Pie, or over seasoned fries for chili cheese fries! The world is your oyster. Have fun and let me know what else you do to get the perfect chili!
Spicy Vegan Chili
Ingredients
- 2 cups veggie crumbles I use Morning Star brand!
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1/2 onion diced
- 1/2 bell pepper diced
- 2 jalapeños diced
- 2 serranos diced
- 2 tbsp garlic paste
- 1 tsp ghost chili flakes optional
- 1 can chili pinto beans
- 1 can chili kidney beans
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 2 tbsp Taco seasoning
- 2 tsp Kashmiri Lal March
- 1½ tsp ground cumin
Instructions
- Dice all vegetables and keep aside. Thaw the veggie crumbles as well if you can, you can put them in straight from the freezer but it will splutter.
- Add enough oil to coat the bottom of a large skillet, and heat it up on medium-heat. Sauté the vegetables with the garlic paste until the veggies are softened. Add the dry spices until you get a great combined mixture.
- Move all the veggies to the side, and add the tomato paste to the empty side. Roast/pan fry the tomato paste and stir it into the veggies once you get a deeper red color on the tomato paste.
- Add veggie crumbles and mix to combine. Add the beans and diced tomatoes continuously mix and heat through for 10-15 minutes until its all mixed thoroughly and piping hot. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, diced onions, or any other fixings you like!
