Bean and vegetable chilli: an easy vegetarian recipe with serving suggestions
Vegetarian chilli makes a great main course and can be served with a variety of accompaniments to suit all tastes. This recipe is very tasty, simple to make, and also provides a good source of protein for both vegetarians and vegans.
Cook Time
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Ready in: 1 hour
Yields: Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 onion, medium
- one or two red and green sweet peppers, deseeded and chopped
- 2 zucchini (or courgettes), sliced
- 8 oz button mushrooms, washed and halved
- 2 or 3 fresh chilli peppers, deseeded and chopped
- 2 cloves fresh garlic, crushed
- 4 oz french green beans, topped, tailed and sliced
- 8 oz can chopped tomatoes
- 8 oz can cooked beans, kidney, borlotti, pinto, blackeyed - or a mixture
- 1 teaspoon dried basil, (or 2 tsp fresh chopped basil)
- half to one teaspoon chilli powder, according to taste
- half teaspoon ground cumin
- half teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/4 pint vegetable stock
- 1 small can cooked sweetcorn
- In a large saucepan, fry the onion and garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil until tender.
- Add all the fresh vegetables - the chopped peppers, chillis, zucchini, green beans and mushrooms, and cook over a gentle heat for another five to ten minutes
- Once all the fresh vegetables are tender add the vegetable stock, the tomatoes and the herbs and spices and bring to the boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Add the canned beans and sweetcorn. Test the sauce for temperature and flavour - if you like it extra hot, now is the time to add a little more chilli powder, according to your taste. You may also wish to adjust the seasoning.
- Cook for a further five minutes to make sure everything is cooked and heated through properly. The chilli is now ready to serve, but improves with being left to stand for a while - I like to cook it a few hours in advance and then warm it up when I need it.
Serving suggestions
Serve the chilli with any of the following which will make it a complete, filling and nutritional main course:
- Cooked rice, quinoa or cous-cous
- Jacket potatoes
- Potato wedges
- Pasta twists or spaghetti
- Mashed potato
- Tortillas or tacos
Serving with a fresh green side salad is recommended - it makes a good antedote to cool your mouth if the chilli is quite hot! A natural yogurt or sour cream dip can also be served alongside as a cooling agent, and a little grated cheese on top of the chilli is also delicious.
