This healthy no bean chili recipe is a delicious gluten free, high protein, low carb dinner recipe that vegans and carnivores alike will want to grab seconds of!
So winter has always been a real doozy here. I’m sure if you’re reading this from your balcony in LA you’re probably like “WTF is this chick talking about?” but for the rest of us east coasters or Canadians, the struggle is REAL. Honestly, sometimes the only thing that gets me through the cold nights is a warm meal (sorry salad, you’re out). This is where this delicious no bean chili recipe comes into play.
Table of contents
Why This Recipe Works
While a lot of vegan chili recipes rely on beans to bulk it up, this is a no bean chili recipe as I know some people aren’t a fan of beans or can’t have too much beans in their diet. So this no bean chili recipe helps hit that craving without sacrificing that thick, hearty texture.
There is so much flavour in this beanless chili. You’ll never even guess that this is vegan. It tastes even better than a traditional chili.
This recipe also makes for the best leftovers. Some recipes tastes even better when reheated and this is definitely one of them.
Key Ingredients
Flavour boosters – We’ve got garlic, cinnamon, chili powder, ground cumin, smoked paprika, chipotle in adobo, and unsweetened cocoa powder to make this the most flavourful no bean chili recipe you’ll ever have!
Vegetables – In this vegan chili, we use celery, zucchini, green bell peppers, mushrooms, and diced tomatoes. These extra vegetables really help bulk up the chili and give them that hearty and thick texture. Plus, tomatoes and bell peppers are rich in lycopene which is an amazing antioxidant.
Soy Meat – Soy meat is another ingredient to give our chili that cozy hearty feel to it. Your meat loving family or friends won’t even taste a difference!
Walnuts – Walnuts are such a heart healthy ingredient, since they have about twice as many antioxidants as other nuts, and they pack both monounsaturated fats and omega 3s. When crushed really fine, walnuts actually have a similar texture as ground beef but without the saturated fat!
How To Make This Recipe
Step 1: Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the celery and cook for 4 minutes. Add in the garlic, cinnamon, chili powder, cumin, and paprika and stir until fragrant, about another 2 minutes.
Step 2: Add the bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes.
Step 3: Add the chipotle, tomato paste, tomatoes, water, coconut milk, soy meat, walnuts, and cocoa powder. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 20-25 minutes until thick and the vegetables are soft.
Step 4: Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Top the no bean chili with avocado, radishes, and cilantro.
Expert Tips
Adding chocolate to chili might be an odd thought at first but it actually adds a lot of depth and richness to our no bean chili recipe, making it both more savoury.
This chili has 10 grams of net carbs, 28 grams of fat, and 353 calories per serving making it the perfect high protein low carb vegetarian keto recipe. If you’re looking to substitute any ingredients, keep in mind that it’ll change up the end result.
This chili tastes amazing when reheated, making it great for meal prepping. When reheating the chili, due to how thick it is, I recommend giving it a stir at the halfway mark to help the chili reheat evenly.
A heavy bottomed pot such as a Dutch oven is my go-to for making chili in as it distributes heat evenly.
Recipe FAQs
I use avocado, radishes, and cilantro. You can also add tortilla chips, shredded (vegan) cheese, (vegan) sour cream, red onions, jalapeno peppers, and more!
You can! Simply let the no bean chili cool and then transfer to an airtight freezer safe container before freezing. When ready to eat, allow the chili to fully thaw in the fridge before reheating it in the microwave or stovetop.
You can serve chili with whatever you please! Typically chili is served with a starch, like quinoa, rice, cornbread, or tortilla chips but you can also serve it with a hearty salad such as a healthy lentil salad or tofu.
You can either make a double batch (one to enjoy now and one to enjoy throughout the week for lunch) and store the extra in meal prep containers in the fridge for the next 4 days or just make a single batch for the week!
More Recipes You May Like
If you liked this no bean chili recipe, you may like:
- HEALTHY PIZZA SOUP
- VEGAN ROASTED CAULIFLOWER SOUP WITH PARSNIPS
- VEGAN YELLOW BEET COCONUT CURRY SOUP
- VEGAN ROASTED FENNEL TOMATO SOUP
What’s your favourite meal for staying warm this winter?
No Bean Chili Recipe (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive Oil
- 5 stalks celery finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 4 tsp ground cumin
- 1 ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 2 peppers large chipotle in adobo minced
- 2 green bell peppers finely diced
- 2 zucchini diced
- 8 oz cremini mushrooms minced in a food processor
- 1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
- 3 cups water
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 2 1/2 cups soy meat crumbled
- 1 cup raw walnuts minced
- 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
To serve:
- 2 tbsp Fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 Avocado sliced
- 2 tbsp Sliced radishes
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the celery and cook for 4 minutes. Add in the garlic, cinnamon, chili powder, cumin and paprika and stir until fragrant, about another 2 minutes.
- Add the bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the chipotle, tomato paste, tomatoes, water, coconut milk, soy meat, walnuts and cocoa powder. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 20-25 minutes until thick and the vegetables are soft.
- Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Top with avocado, radishes, and cilantro.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Abbey Sharp is a Registered Dietitian (RD), regulated by the Ontario College of Dietitians. She is a mom, YouTuber, Blogger, award winning cookbook author, media coach specializing in food and nutrition influencers, and a frequent contributor to national publications like Healthline and on national broadcast TV shows.
Ronda says
Such a delicious idea Lauren! I’ve never seen a mole inspired chili before and it looks so wonderfully rich and hearty.
Karlene says
This recipe looks delicious! Can it be made ahead of time & frozen? Maybe add the walnuts when heating it up, so they don’t get soft?
Thanks
Abbey Sharp says
Hi Karlene. Thanks for the rating! Yes you can certainly do that if you prefer a a crunchier texture but it also works just fine if you freeze everything all together as the walnuts should take on a softer texture similar to ground meat.
Elizabeth says
Hi! I am allergic to mushrooms (and eggplant!) – is there another vegetable that you could recommend to sub-in instead? Thanks a bunch, can’t wait to try!
Abbey Sharp says
ah damn i was going to say eggplant. maybe you can just add more of any other veg or more meat
Angelica says
Love this recipe, followed it precisely. I just have one question, in the ingredients section, you state the walnuts should be minced, but in the picture it looks like they are whole/halved? And some other users also made it seem like they were not minced. Could you kindly clarify? I am, unfortunately, a stickler.
Abbey Sharp says
I used minced walnuts in the chili and then garnished the chili with a few walnut halves
Veronica L @ Sharktank says
This Walnut chili is the perfect amount of spicy that makes your taste buds tingle without really hurting I simply loved the burst of flavor the chili provides!
Abbey Sharp says
Amazing! Thank you 🙂
Dianne Cooper says
Just made this chilli from the updated recipe but swapped soya meat for crumbled tofu (didn’t have any soya meat). My tomatoes were sugar free so no worries there. It is absolutely delicious. Thank you for taking time to share this recipe for free. I will definitely make it again. Have a great day x
Abbey Sharp says
Amazing! Thanks for sharing Dianne
Michelle says
Sorry to reply to this comment, but I don’t see anywhere else to leave a comment. My question is about beans. The pic looks like the chili has beans, but I don’t see beans listed in the ingredients. Are there supppsed to be beans?
Abbey Sharp says
Hey Michelle. We actually had to edit the recipe to make it more keto friendly, so we had to remove the beans. If you’re not looking for a keto recipe, you can add a can of your favourite beans and it should work just fine.
Leslie Matteoli says
What’s the nutritional values and serving size
Abbey Sharp says
The nutrition is listed in the recipe and it serves 6-8 people.
Tony says
Hello,
Just a quick question when do we add the 2 tsp chili powder?
It’s in the ingredients list but not in the recipe.
Thank you
Abbey Sharp says
Sorry Tony, you can add the chili powder when you add the other spices in the first step of the recipe. Enjoy!
Claire says
Is the original recipe anywhere, before it was updated for the complainers? I really liked it but didn’t save it and now wish I had.
Abbey Sharp says
I can try to dig around for it.
Tina Ramirez says
Please do! I did it off of memory since I printed it and practiced making it 3 different times. I’m sorry everyone was being mean about it being “misleading “ I think it was perfect before! I lost my printed recipe for the old one. Me and my husband and even family members who were not vegan loved it!
Corinna says
My favorite comfort food before going vegan-keto was chili cheese and rice. I know, I know.
I’ve been looking for a meat free chili that is keto and you’d be surprised how hard that is to find! Thank you for this recipe. I’m looking at some of the comments and like “whoa”, but I figure if I’m not eating Hormel Chili with a butt-load of cheese and a pack of Uncle Ben’s rice, this is going to serve me nutritiously fine!
Ordering Miracle Noodles Rice now, going to make a big pot of this (and maybe can some?) and going to get my favorite dish back!
Thank you for this!!
Abbey Sharp says
Enjoy!
Carolyn says
Can you sub other mushrooms in place of cremeni?
Abbey Sharp says
Yup, for sure
jasmin olpinski kopiec says
Hello. How keto friendly are soy chunks? Is there any replacement for them?
Abbey Sharp says
Soy meat is a great source of protein in a keto diet.
Em says
Hello, I just wanted to leave a comment to all of those people seeing soy beans and tomatoes in the recipe and losing their minds over it. As Abbey says, these things CAN be keto in moderation. Just because something has 0 carbs does not mean you should be eating 10 pounds of it, for instance. That said, I was curious enough about this recipe (as someone who has been on a ketogenic diet for over 6 years now), and put it through a recipe analyzer. Here are the nutrition results if you divide the recipe up into 6 servings:
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 221
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 12.8g 16%
Saturated Fat 2.1g 11%
Cholesterol 2mg 1%
Sodium 211mg 9%
Total Carbohydrate 19.8g 7%
Dietary Fiber 6.5g 23%
Total Sugars 4.8g
Protein 9.6g
So, that’s about 13.5 carbs per bowl of chili. Not GREAT, but certainly not keto-breaking. Especially if you’re also even moderately active or you eat this on a workout day.
My critiques about the recipe would be, the % of dark chocolate is not mentioned. For my recipe analysis I assumed 70% dark chocolate, but you could get less carbs if you went with something like 80% or higher. I tend to use unsweetened cocoa powder in my chili, as it has far fewer carbs and also acts as a thickener of sorts. I would also point out that while this chili is low calorie, it only has 10 grams of protein and around 13 grams of fat. Not great macros for keto, but you can boost those by adding avocado and sour cream or plain, full-fat Greek yogurt as toppers.
Abbey Sharp says
Thanks so much for sharing!
Ronda Martens says
8 don’t understand how you can qualify this as no carb/low carb when it has beans and carrots. Those are high in carbs so your recioe is very very misleading!!
Please explain
Abbey Sharp says
Hi Ronda, the black soy beans are low in carbs.
Jen says
Sounds delicious, absolutely not keto tho
Greg says
I made this recipe for myself and vegan girlfriend. We both love it! However, it’s extremely spicy and I’m wondering if I read the ingredients wrong. Is “2 large chipotle in adobo, minced” supposed to mean “2 large cans chipotle in adobo, minced”? If not, I put way too many peppers in it. lol
Abbey Sharp says
just 2 adobo peppers. Sorry about that. That would be wayyy too spicy
Tiffany says
So… to clarify… is it two cans of chipotle in adobo?
Abbey Sharp says
no, only two adobo peppers.