Six Bean Chilli [Vegan]

This season calls for hearty comfort foods, and today’s recipe sure does fit the bill. Packed full of beautiful warming flavours, colours and textures, this Six Bean Chilli is a feast for the eyes and the belly. It’s really easy to make and super cheap too. I calculated that it cost me £3.03, which works out at just 78p per portion!

We love to serve it with chunks of fluffy home-made corn bread which bake in the oven while the chilli is simmering (the recipe is on p54 of the Bit of the Good Stuff cookbook). It’s so good!! The chilli is also delicious served with brown or wild rice or as a topping for jacket potatoes.

Beans are the star of this dish and thanks to Aldi’s cans of mixed beans, we’ve been able to fit SIX different beans into this dish…

– black beans
– haricot beans
– pinto beans
– chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans)
– red kidney beans
– and aduki beans!

If you’re on a budget, low-cost supermarkets are a great place to stock up on canned beans. At Aldi, the mixed beans currently cost 45p while the kidney beans cost even less – just 30p per can!

This chilli is packed to the brim with nutritional goodness! It’s rich in a whole array of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients. It also contains plenty of protein, complex carbohydrates and dietary fibre which not only promote good health, but also keep us feeling full for longer. 

Did you know that legumes (ie. beans, peas and lentils) straddle both the protein and vegetable groups? Here’s what Dr Greger has to say about these little nutrition powerhouses…

“They’re loaded with protein, iron and zinc, as you might expect from other protein sources like meat, but legumes also contain nutrients that are concentrated in the vegetable kingdom, including fibre, folate and potassium. You get the best of both worlds with beans, all the while enjoying foods that are naturally low in saturated fat and sodium and free of cholesterol” How Not To Die, p276

Inspired by a recipe I spotted in this month’s Vegan Life magazine, I decided to add two ingredients that I’ve never tried before in a chilli – almond butter and cocoa powder! The nut butter added a lovely smooth texture while the cocoa added a touch of richness to the flavour. If you have them on hand, I highly recommend giving them a try next time you make a chilli.

For this Six Bean Chilli, I prefer to have the veggies very finely diced, rather than chunky. Not only does it give the chilli a better texture (in my opinion) but it also means they cook quicker. To save time, sometimes I whizz the veggies in my little Kenwood mini chopper. I’ve had this gadget since Lucien was a toddler (when I needed to cut onions and mushrooms super tiny otherwise he’d pick them out) and it’s still going strong! If you have a mini food processor attachment with your stick blenders, this could work well too for blitzing the veggies.

Six Bean Chilli {Vegan}

Packed full of beautiful flavours, colours and textures, this Six Bean Chilli is a feast for the eyes and the belly. It’s really easy to make, budget-friendly and perfect for batch cooking. I’ve made this dish mild enough for children, so feel free to crank up the heat by adding more chilli powder or some fresh chilli.
Hands-on Time 25 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • ½ TBSP olive oil
  • 1 onion finely diced
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 medium carrot finely grated
  • 1 sweet romano or red bell pepper deseeded and finely diced
  • 125 g / 1½ cups chestnut (or crimini) mushrooms finely diced
  • 2 tsp ground cumin and dried oregano
  • 1 tsp smoked sweet paprika
  • ½ tsp chilli powder (I use mild)
  • 3 TBSP tomato puree (paste)
  • 2 x 400g / 14 oz cans of mixed beans* rinsed and drained
  • 400 g / 14 oz can chopped tomatoes
  • 240 ml / 1 cup vegetable stock (broth)
  • 85 g / ½ cup canned sweet corn
  • 2 TBSP almond butter (or you can substitute with tahini)
  • 1 tsp cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp unrefined sugar
  • ½ tsp salt

Instructions
 

  • Gently heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and cook until it starts to soften (about 4 minutes).
  • Prepare the remaining vegetables, then add them to the pan. Sprinkle in the ground cumin, dried oregano, smoked paprika and chilli powder.** Stir through, then cover with a lid, and leave to sweat on medium-low heat for five minutes.
  • Add all the remaining ingredients (tomato puree, beans, chopped tomatoes, vegetable stock, sweet corn, almond butter, cocoa powder, sugar and salt) to the pan, and stir through. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the carrot is cooked through and the flavours have melded. Taste test, and add a touch more salt, chilli or sweetener, if desired.
  • This chilli is delicious served with home-made corn bread, brown or wild rice, creamy polenta or as a topping for jacket potatoes. Any leftover chilli will keep in the fridge for three days. It is also freezable.

Notes

* I used Aldi mixed beans (which includes black beans, haricot beans, pinto beans, chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), red kidney beans and aduki beans).
** If serving to children, omit the chilli powder at this stage and add it to the pan once the children’s portions have been served.
Keyword Budget Vegan Meals, Easy Vegan Meals, Family Friendly, Gluten-Free, Plant-Based, Student Vegan Meals, Vegan Dinners

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If you make this Six Bean Chilli (or any other recipes on my blog), I’d love to hear your feedback and any suggestions for adaptations! Tag your photos with #bitofthegoodstuff on social media and they’ll find their way to me. You can also connect with me on my social media channels here:
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With love,

2 thoughts on “Six Bean Chilli [Vegan]

  1. Wow, i’ve only ever made chilli with two or three beans at the most, but never six. Will do so when i have a crowd to feed.

    1. I cheat and use a can of mixed beans, rather than cooking them from dry. The cans of Aldi mixed beans have six different varieties in them, which I thought was impressive until I spotted the Waitrose mixed beans, which has NINE different varieties! 😲

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