Vegan Chili (Slow Cooker)
This Vegan Chili is hearty and cozy and takes only 10 minutes of prep! It goes right into your slow cooker and is perfect for meal prepping. It results in a thick, and delicious chili that is so filling!
Thanks to Crockpot™ for sponsoring this blog post! Thanks so much to you my readers for supporting the brands who support Jessica in the Kitchen! All texts and opinions are my own.
I’ve been making this chili for my family from before I even went vegan, and that in and of itself is a testament to how delicious (and requested!) it is! Time and time again, after a single spoonful when it’s done, I hear a satisfying “ahh”. This Vegan Chili uses some simple pantry ingredients to make a hearty and delightful meal that you and your family will also be looking forward to. And if it’s just you, this freezes so beautifully too! Read on for more on that. It’s also an incredible option for serving at Thanksgiving or any holiday occasion this year.
Speaking of holiday occasions – how is that looking for you this year? I know things look a bit different for everyone this year. If you’re participating in a virtual Friendsgiving/Zoomsgiving (I am for one of them!) this is such a cool option to show up with! Let me know how you’re adjusting this year!
You may remember me mentioning Crockpot MyTime™ 6-QT. Programmable Slow Cooker in my Mushroom Wild Rice Soup recipe last month. Firstly, you guys LOVED that dish and I love seeing all your photos to this day about it! I’m using that Crockpot MyTime™ 6-QT. Programmable Slow Cooker today again for this Vegan Chili!
I’ve been using it for a while and on a few different recipes, and needless to say, I’m in love. Not only do I love the size, I love the fact that it fits into your lifestyle. If you love prepping dinner in advance (AGAIN, teach me your ways!) – YOU tell it what time you want to have dinner, and your Crockpot™ does the rest. This is so ingenious for meal prepping or if you have specific meal times that you want to fit into. If you want to be able to set a manual cooking time though, no worries, your Crockpot™ also easily caters to the traditional “HIGH” or “LOW” settings.
For this Chili, either option is up to you. Which is pretty much the way life should be right?!
Notes on the Ingredients:
Uncooked Quinoa – be sure to use uncooked quinoa since it’ll soak up your veggie broth and add to the texture
Black Beans – feel free to swap this for pinto or kidney beans, or any of your favourite kind of beans
Diced Tomatoes – I prefer using canned tomatoes here because it’s way easier, but you can use regular tomatoes. I would recommend juicy and fresh tomatoes, so they have a similar amount of liquid as canned diced tomatoes.
How to Make Easy Vegan Chili (Step by Step Instructions)
Add the vegetable broth, uncooked quinoa, black beans and tomatoes to the slow cooker. Stir to combine.
Next add the peppers, carrot, corn, onion and garlic, and stir.
Then add the rest of the seasonings and stir a few times to combine.
Cover your Crockpot™ and set to high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or on low for 5-6 hours (for high, monitor the last 30 minutes and for low, monitor the last hour). If you like a chili with more liquid, do the 2 1/2 on high, and 5 on low. If you like thicker and just a little bit it liquid, go with the higher number for each option. Taste when finished, and add any more salt or heat if needed.
After your soup is finished cooking, serve and top with your favourite toppings such as vegan sour cream, avocado, scallion and vegan cheese or shredded carrots. Enjoy!
Expert Tips & FAQ
- Dice the veggies into similar sizes so that everything cooks evenly. That’ll give you the best texture for the vegetables in the chili.
- Be sure to stir everything together well. Since you want to let your Crockpot™ do its thing without disturbing it, you want to ensure all your veggies and seasonings are properly mixed so they all cook together perfectly.
- If you want an extra creamy chili, you can blend a cup of it at the end in a blender, then stir it back in. This is a method I love to do in many of my soups, and it works well with chili too!
- I often get asked “does this freeze well? This one does! Freeze, then thaw overnight in your fridge when ready to enjoy, then reheat.
- Feel free to make this your OWN! You can leave the corn out, try two different types of beans – the options are endless!
How to Serve – I would suggest trying to my vegan sour cream to serve on top with a few slices of avocado!
More Crockpot Recipes
Enjoy friends! If you make this Easy Vegan Chili Recipe, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!
Easy Vegan Chili Recipe (Slow Cooker)
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
- 15 oz black beans, (1 can of black beans) drained and rinsed
- 14 oz canned diced tomatoes, do not drain
- 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
- 1 medium carrot, diced
- 1/2 cup corn kernels
- 1/2 onion , chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 small chili pepper
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
Instructions
- Add the vegetable broth, uncooked quinoa, black beans and tomatoes to the slow cooker. Stir to combine.
- Next add the peppers, carrot, corn, onion and garlic, and stir, then add the rest of the seasonings and stir a few times to combine.
- Cover your Crockpot™ and set to high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or on low for 5-6 hours (for high, monitor the last 30 minutes and for low, monitor the last hour). If you like a chili with more liquid, do the 2 1/2 on high, and 5 on low. If you like thicker and just a little bit it liquid, go with the higher number for each option.
- Taste when finished, and add any more salt or heat if needed. Feel free to add more veggie broth too if you want it more liquid.
- After your soup is finished cooking, serve and top with your favourite toppings such as vegan sour cream, avocado, scallion and vegan cheese or shredded carrots. Enjoy!
Notes
- Dice the veggies into similar sizes so that everything cooks evenly. That’ll give you the best texture for the vegetables in the chili.
- Be sure to stir everything together well. Since you want to let your Crockpot™ do its thing without disturbing it, you want to ensure all your veggies and seasonings are properly mixed so they all cook together perfectly.
- If you want an extra creamy chili, you can blend a cup of it at the end in a blender, then stir it back in. This is a method I love to do in many of my soups, and it works well with chili too!
- I often get asked “does this freeze well? This one does! Freeze, then thaw overnight in your fridge when ready to enjoy, then reheat.
- Feel free to make this your OWN! You can leave the corn out, try two different types of beans – the options are endless!
If you try this Vegan Chili with Quinoa and Black Beans please let me know in the comment section below, or tag me on instagram with the hashtag #jessicainthekitchen! For more exclusive recipes follow me on Instagram AND on Snapchat: jessinkitchen.Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
YUM! I used this recipe as a blueprint , and i was very pleased with how it came out. I tweaked a couple things , such as adding pea’s , cilantro , eye-ing the seasonings & using a quinoa/barley blend and the only thing i’ll do different next time is add a little less veggie broth as mine came out a bit too watery. What a delicious dish , Thanks for sharing !
Hi Christina,
SO glad you enjoyed!! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback! 🙂
Hi Jessica, This looks delicious. I have been looking for a crockpot recipe for our teachers’ luncheon to satisfy the variety of food preferences. This fits the bill. Would it work out okay if I doubled all the ingredients? Should I increase the cooking time?
Hi Elaine!
Sorry I’m just seeing your comment. You could definitely double it! I would cook it for the same amount of time. If it isn’t fully cooked, I noted how to increase the time until everything is cooked.
I made this chili for my work’s “Chili-Cook Off” event. After the chili is judged, the chili is served to everyone, and I wanted to ensure that vegans and vegetarians could enjoy the event, too. It was a hit! Even some brave non-vegans/vegetarians that decided to try the crock pot that was marked like a warning “VEGAN VEGAN,” informed me it was the best chili that they have ever had. That says a lot when coming from the Midwest! Thanks for the recipe!
Oh wow!! So glad to hear Samantha! You’re so welcome and thanks for your feedback!!
Having a big party next weekend and need to feed a big group with mixed food preferences / requirements. One of the mains we want to serve is a vegetarian or vegan crock pot chili. We tested this recipe last night. I doubled the ingredients, cut the salt by half and the broth by about 10% and didn’t have the red chili pepper. Left it in the crock pot on low for 10 hours (maybe because I doubled it?). It was a hit with our whole family of high performance athletes and carnivores and very easy because there was no meat prep and clean up was easier than usual. This will go into our regular meal rotation. Thanks very much!
Hi Murray,
SO glad to hear that everyone enjoyed!! Also, isn’t it great when clean up is easy?! Thanks so much for your feedback and comments and I hope you party goes really well!
Hi Jessica,
The party was a success! And your chili was a big hit! Many were curious, tried it and were very impressed. Thanks again!
You’re very welcome!! So happy to hear!
Hi Jessica,
We’ve had this chili many times since November 2016 and I just wanted to let you know we have had another very successful party including this chili. It keeps getting rave reviews and I end up directing people to this site.
Thanks again for posting this recipe!
Hey Murray,
Wow that is AMAZING! I am so happy to hear that and that you guys have been enjoying this for THAT long!! Thank you a million for continuing to make this and referring people to the site! I really appreciate it, and of course you’re so very welcome!
Hi Jessica,
I made this last night and thought it was a little flat in flavor. Do you have any recommendations on how to jazz it up a bit? I love bold in your mouth flavors.
Hi Heather,
Oh wow, I’ve never heard that re this recipe! Did you measure everything out and use all fresh ingredients (including the tomatoes for example but minus the beans)? If yes, we love to add in some more fresh pepper. We add up to 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes into it (that makes it very spicy). Maybe mix in 1/2 teaspoon salt at a time to your taste? That’ll definitely brighten everything up. I hope that helps!
I stumbled across this recipe while transitioning to a healthier diet and made it today! Super easy instructions to follow.. but I made it too thick. ( I had went to the gym and left it on high for a bit too long). I added some more vegetable broth to see if it would thin out but to no prevail. Any suggestions on how to improve for next time!
Hi Taleeka,
If you’re not necessarily going to be home, I would cook it on the low heat suggestion instead. Low and slow and definitely more forgivable. It’s a bit hard to give you suggestions for an improvement if the recipe has been overcooked, but that would definitely help for next time.
Made this chili tonight…YUM!! I’ve been making vegan chili for quite some time, it’s always ended up being more like a soup and I never thought of adding quinoa. Made it with the whole can of corn (I love corn), half a jalapeño (I love spice), and substituted chili sauce because I didn’t have a fresh chili pepper. LOVED the thick texture! Thank you for helping me perfect my chili recipe!!
Oh and I added mushrooms for extra protein…perfection!
Oh wow I’m so happy you enjoyed Jayme!! I LOVE your additions/changes!! You’re so very welcome and thanks so much for your feedback!!
I made it today! Outstanding! Since I had a load of mushrooms that needed to be cooked, I chopped up andded probably at least a cups worth if not more,and added it to the pot. You can’t even tell. I will admit to notmaking your cashew sour cream, I used a tiny bit of greek yogurt, which I rarely use, but it worked for me today. Being a 6 week mostly plant life rookie, I thoroughly enjoyed making this. I’m following you!
Hi Cathy,
I’m SO happy to hear!! Loved your additions/changes. Thanks so much for following me, and for your feedback!!
That looks great! I’m going to try it.Love the recipe
Omg! Thank you SO much! I made this at home and it was delicious! A lot of other vegan chili recipes seem very complicated. This one is easy peasy and SO worth it. It also was VERY inexpensive and will last a few days
thanku
You’re so welcome Sohani!! So glad you enjoyed!!!
wow so amazing i like the chili stuff a lot and everyone also in my house. I’ll definitely try tonight. Just make it good as like you, please God give this power that i can make it good. And everyone will like it.
Thank you