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Best Vegetarian Chili Recipe

What you need

1 1/2 cups dried kidney beans
3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 medium yellow onions
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 small chili pepper (optional)
1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) whole roma (plum) tomatoes
4 cups water
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
1/3 teaspoon sea salt
Pepper to taste

Method

Beans

1. In a large bowl, cover beans by 3 inches with cold water, cover and set aside at room temperature for 8 hours or overnight.
2. Drain soaked beans and transfer to a large pot. Cover by 2 inches with cold water and bring to a boil (skim off and discard any foam on the surface). Reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until beans are tender, approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Drain beans and set aside.

Chili

1. Cook onions in large saucepan on medium heat until tender, approximately 10 minutes. Add in green pepper and garlic, cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add chili powder and cook 1 minute, stirring.
2.  Add in tomatoes, water, oregano leaves and salt and bring to boil.
3. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
4. Add cooked beans and simmer 20-30 minutes longer to blend flavors.

Nutrition
(makes 8 servings)

Calories 190
Total fat 1g,  saturated fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 210mg
Carbohydrate 36g
Dietary fiber 12g
Sugar 7g
Protein 10g

Join the discussion 17 Comments

  • Rumiana says:

    Love beans! My body is sensitive to travel changes too, I know what you mean 😉 I use also peas to regulate my fiber intakes and peas contain 20% protein.

  • Doreen says:

    yummy….
    thank you Flavia.
    waiting for more recipes…:) 😉

  • debbie says:

    Looks Yummy, buti have 2 questions. One can I use canned beans instead of dry and two, you suggested serving over rice, isn’t that alot of carbs.

  • Angela says:

    Sounds delicious, but my gut is also sensitive, but perhaps not in the way yours is. Beans and brown rice go straight through me and it is not fun.

    • Flavia says:

      No that isn’t fun. Stay away from foods you are sensitive too. For me it’s all white flour and table sugar.

  • Anna says:

    Hey Flavia,
    looks like a YUMMY recipe, I really like eating beans, I’ll try this recipe soon, thanks! I had a quick question. I want to gain some more muscle so I am currently following Vince’s advice that he shared in the recent live large episode about building muscle. I am eating 1,900 cal and 200 carbs a day. I was wondering if it would be ok to go to a mexican restaurant and order the chicken fajitas (I think thats what its called) So it would be rice, beans, chicken, peppers, tomatoes and onions. I wouldn’t eat any chips or the tortillas, so would this still be a fairly healthy meal? Is there anything I should tell/ask the waitor to or not to do? Thanks so much for your help!

    • Flavia says:

      Hey Anna, please let me know how it goes. I am up to 200 g of carbs right now too as I am adding muscle currently. Fajitas are a great choice….The only part I usually opt out of is the shells. These shells are often filled with bleaced flour. I usually just eat the mix with the rice and have them around my workout.

  • Anna says:

    thanks Flavia, I’ll keep you updated. I have been doing Your Six Pack Quest 3 day metabolic boost, for about 4 weeks (before that I did FBL for about 6 months and before that P90X for a year) it’s not quit as challenging any more so I was thinking of starting the 4 day metabolic boost tomorrow. I mainly want to gain muscle in my arms and boost my butt a bit more :D, is this the best program for me to be doing and should I be doing anything extra?

    • Flavia says:

      That is a great program, mainly for fat loss though. The program will stimulate muscle growth but if ALL you are interested in is muscle building, you should aim for 6-8 reps (meaning heavy weights). I switch things up from a metabolic boost type workout a few days and usually 1-2 muscle building days are the areas I want to build. Try to use heavy weights on the areas you want to add muscle to and only do 6-8 reps (so these will be quite heavy sets)

  • Anna says:

    Ok, thanks so much, I’ll try to heavy up my weights 🙂

  • michelle says:

    This looks fantastic! I have a question regarding the skinnylicious receipes….I am looking for the Southwestern Egg receipe but am unable to find it in the book nor on the website…
    Michelle

  • Clara says:

    Hi im doing your recipe at the Moment and i was just wondering where the carrots are? Do I need carrots now? And when? Thx for replying as quickly as possible.

    • Anna says:

      Hi Clara,
      I have made this without the carrots and it is very good, I would assume you add the carrots during step 2 of the chili though if you want them. 🙂
      All the best!
      Anna, CPT, FF Specialist

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