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close up of chili in a pot showing thick meaty texture.
My Quiet Kitchen
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45-Minute Lentil Chili (Vegan)

Are you ready for the BEST lentil chili? It's thick, rich, meaty, so flavorful and won't keep you in the kitchen all day! Adapted from an America's Test Kitchen recipe I've been making for years, this one keeps the select ingredients and methods critical for making the best vegan chili, while streamlining the process and removing unnecessary steps. The result is a vegan chili you'll return to again and again. Gluten-free and oil-free options.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 10 servings
Calories 280kcal
Author Lori Rasmussen, My Quiet Kitchen

Equipment

Ingredients

  • ½ cup raw walnut halves if allergic, omit and reduce water by about ¼ cup. TIP: another option for added thickening is to stir in half a can of refried beans at the end of cooking.
  • 1 large red or yellow onion, cut into chunks
  • 2 large jalapeno peppers, stems removed for mild chili remove the seeds; for spicier chili include all or some of the seeds.
  • 5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
  • 2 Tablespoons oil such as avocado, olive or grapeseed omit for oil-free.
  • 3 Tablespoons chili powder the blend, not a specific chili.
  • 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 2 teaspoons mushroom powder, optional
  • 1 teaspoon smoked sea salt flakes or ¾ tsp regular fine sea salt)
  • 1 (28 oz) can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
  • 2 Tablespoons soy sauce Sub tamari for GF.
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 ½ cups water
  • ⅔ cup red lentils
  • ⅔ cup bulgur For GF sub millet or quinoa; rinse and drain before adding to pot.
  • 1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained, optional Include if you like a lot of beans in your chili, otherwise, skip 'em.
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Tip: Once cooking begins in Step 4, things move quickly, so it helps to have all or most of the ingredients gathered and prepped.
  • Preheat a large soup pot over medium-low heat. Toast the walnuts until warm and fragrant, about 3 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Transfer walnuts to the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until finely ground. Transfer the ground walnuts to a bowl.
  • Add the onion, jalapenos, and garlic to the food processor (see Notes section). Blend until mostly pureed.
  • Note: If omitting oil, reverse the order of this step; add the blended onion/jalapeno mixture to the pot first, then add the spices. Otherwise, for the best flavor, bloom the spices in oil as described below.
    Return the pot to the stove, and increase the burner to medium heat. Add the oil to the pot. Add the spices (3 T chili powder, 1 T cumin, 2 tsp oregano, 2 tsp smoked paprika, and 2 tsp mushroom powder). Stirring frequently, cook for about 1 minute. Add the pureed onion mixture to the pot, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
  • Add the smoked salt, tomatoes, soy sauce, broth, and water. Bring to a boil. Add the lentils, bulgur, beans, and ground walnuts, and stir well. Return to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Once the lentils are done, turn off the heat, and give the chili another good stir. Taste and add a pinch more salt or a drizzle of soy sauce, if desired. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes. The chili will continue to thicken as it rests.

Notes

Note on prep: there are two ways to go about preparing the onion, jalapeno and garlic. You can hand-chop them or let the food processor turn them into a puree. I've prepared this chili both ways, and initially published the recipe with instructions to hand-chop the vegetables.
After another try I decided to change the instructions with a preference for using the food processor. Not only is it easier and faster than chopping by hand, it creates a more flavorful chili. But if you prefer chunkier chili with pieces of onion, jalapeno, and garlic, finely chop them and sauté in oil for about 5 minutes (step 3).
Storage: the flavor of the chili continues to improve as it sits. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. 
Chili can also be frozen for up to one month. 

Nutrition

Calories: 280kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1307IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 114mg | Iron: 5mg