Pierce Street Vegetarian Chili
The best pot of chili I've made in years. A vegetarian chili recipe Inspired by a bunch of little bags of remnant grains and pulses collected in my cupboards - bulgur, farro, and lentils, join chile peppers, crushed tomatoes, some chickpeas, and a secret ingredient.
I think its safe to say, we are long overdue for a good vegetarian chili recipe. I kept waiting until I had a pot in front of me that I was giddy about, the kind of chili that has you leaning over the pot, spoon in hand, shaking your head once or twice, saying mmm-hmm. And believe me, I never thought the best pot of chili I'd made (in years) would be inspired by a bunch of little bags of remnant grains and pulses collected in my cupboards. But that’s what happened. This chili is made with bulgur, farro, lentils, chile peppers, crushed tomatoes and the chickpeas I had hanging around. Beyond that, you've got chili powder, and the wildcard - a bit of grated ginger.
What To Do With Leftover Chili
Like most chili, or stews, this vegetarian chili is even better the day after! This makes an XXL pot of the stuff, so you'll have plenty left over. If you are feeling adventurous, you can ladle some of it into a shallow baking dish, make a few indentations with the back of a large spoon, crack eggs into the hollows, drizzle generously with olive oil, and toss it into a 375F degree oven until the eggs set up - a twist on baked eggs.
To Freeze Chili
This chili freezes brilliantly. Allow it to cool completely before ladling into freezer safe containers. I like to divide the chili into meal-sized allocations which will be different depending on your family size.
Variations:
I should also note, you can swap in other grains if you like. That said, I think part of the success here was choosing grains that held their structure. And shoot for grains that cook in roughly the same amount of time as the lentils. Pearled grains cook much more quickly than whole farro or barley, although certain brown rices, perhaps a basmati, could work well. There are countless great ideas in the comments as well. For example someone swapped in hominy in place of the chickpeas and said it was the best part. Brilliant! French lentils pictured above, and pearled farro pictured below.
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Pierce Street Vegetarian Chili
A few notes related to this chili recipe. The chili powder I used was very ancho-centric. I think the earthiness of ancho and lentils works nicely together, but feel free to use your favorite chili powder. This recipe makes a pot of chili with a bit of a kick to it - if you're nervous about heat, scale back a bit on the powder and peppers, wait until you get to the simmer stage and add more a bit at a time tasting all the while. As far as broth goes - I really dislike many of the pre-made vegetable broths out there, making your own homemade bouillon is simple and great to have on hand. I'd actually prefer you use water if you can't find a vegetable broth/stock good enough to heat up and drink on its own. I should also mention I used a blend of two types of lentils here - black and French green lentils - 1 1/2 cups black lentils, 3/4 cup French green lentils. And lastly, this makes a huge pot of chili, so get out your largest pasta pot. If you stick with vegan toppings, the chili base is vegan.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 8 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and grated
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 serrano pepper, seeded and finely chopped
- 1 chipotle pepper (from can or rehydrate), minced
- 1 28- ounce can of crushed tomatoes
- 10 cups vegetable broth
- 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (canned is fine)
- 2 1/4 cups black, brown, or green lentils (or combo), rinsed and picked over
- 2/3 cup pearled barley or pearled farro
- 2/3 cup bulgur wheat
- 1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt (plus more to taste)
- toppings (opt): a bit of chopped serranos, a bit of feta or dollop of thinned out salted yogurt, a drizzle of equal parts chopped fresh oregano and olive oil, chopped onion
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In a large stockpot pot over medium heat add the olive oil, onion, and shallots. When the onions soften up and get a bit translucent, add the garlic, ginger, chili powder and cumin. Stir well and cook for another minute of so, until everything gets quite fragrant. Stir in the serrano pepper and chipotle pepper, tomatoes, and 8 cups of the broth. Now add the chickpeas, lentils, barley/farro, and bulgur - stirring between each addition. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer.
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Simmer away for 45 minutes or until the lentils and grains are cooked through. You will likely need to add the rest of the water, a cup at a time, if the chili thickens up too much. Stir in the salt.
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When everything is cooked and tender, take a taste of the broth. Make adjustments for salt here. If you're using water in place of broth, you can add another teaspoon of salt for starters and add more, a bit at a time, if needed.
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Before serving do your final adjustments - add more chipotle, salt, or whatever you think it needs and enjoy! I love this chili with a bit of feta or goat cheese on top and a big drizzle of olive oil, but I listed off a few other topping ideas up above.
A large pot of chili - serves 12 or more.
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Comments
It looks really nice and hardy and earthy. I am an ancho fan too. I always add a bit of kelp to my chilis and any bean or grain dish. It really helps to make it more digestible and adds some good for you trace minerals.
Love, love, love the baked eggs idea!
WOW that looks so incredible - That is comfort food at its finest!!! What a great blend of flavors!!
I've been looking for some time for a vegie chili recipe to replace our much loved chicken/vegie chili (no beans) & just haven't found one we like. We actually went the entire past winter without chili. I believe this just may be the one. And yet another recipe that I'm copying for my daughter to take with her to college this fall. She did get into the Scholarship Halls (yay!) where she will have the opportunity to share in the cooking for the resident women. I've been collecting healthy, appealing & quick recipes for her...many of which are yours. Plus they have become favorites for us. The Chunky Celery Soup made with wild rice is simply wonderful!!! Thanks once again for sharing with us.
I love the idea of a grain and lentil chili....I can just imagine the taste by looking at the lovely photos. You never cease to amaze me with your creations....
This looks delicious! This is a great variation from the standard "veggie chili" with tvp and kidney beans.
RE: GF grains. There are a variety of rices out there, if you are in a larger market and/or with ethnic stores available. I used to use whole wheatberries in chili, cabbage rolls, etc. There is a short grain reddish rice that has great texture, sorry I cannot remember the name, that cooks very much like whole wheatberries. Try also Japonica, a black rice or another red rice, Himilayan, both provide texture and flavor not found in most rices.
Wow - how refreshing and healthy. Love the ginger idea and serrano's are one of my favs!
Yum! Looks great, thanks. A couple of things: * I think I will add adzuki beans to this. Like lentils, they require no soaking, and they cook up faster than other beans. * I will use whole barley, because pearl barley is not wholegrain. But I'll have to cook it for 45 minutes or so first. I think it'll be worth it. :)
I love a good vegi chili. I will be trying this soon!
YES! i've been awaiting a vegetarian chili recipe on this site (my favorite veggie chili thus far is the eatingwell.com sweet potato chipotle black bean chili) but i am very excited to give this more complex recipe a try! heidi, you've never let me down- i can't wait!
I'm up for chili any time of year. Though I think of it as a fall/winter dish, these spring days, alternately cool and damp, are really just perfect. Plus, the spring cleaning of the pantry is a nice bonus. I made a Moroccan stew with a miscellany of leftovers from my cupboard not long ago. Serendipitous cooking is happy cooking!
Ordinarily I'd just file this away till fall, but it's still so cool and rainy here in the northeast that I'll probably be making this over the weekend. Love the addition of the grains as well!
I've been looking for a new vegetarian chili recipe. Thank you! Sounds particularly delicious with the egg on top. I've been cracking an egg over just about everything these days. Thanks also for the beautiful pictures of the lentils and the grains.
Another chili addition that I love is a tablespoon or so of masa harina - the ground corn flour that is used in making tortillas. It adds a wonderful, earthy richness, and pairs so well with chipotle, chocolate and other southwest flavours. It also thickens somewhat (if you find your chili 'watery')
Looks intriguing - I've never had a chili with legumes other than beans before. My hands-down favourite for a long time has been from The Vegan Gourmet, chili with tempeh and dried apricots - this looks like an interesting option to switch it up.
Awesome. Will definitely try this, even though am not a veggie. Thanks! Am likely to add sweet paprika & bitter dark chocolate....
So, with Celiac eliminating both the farro and the barley for me.... and me not knowing much about comparable grains.... What would best be substituted so that it still turns out ok?? Because this sounds fantastic and I want to eat it! HS: Do they sell celiac-safe oat groats, or cracked oats? That might be one direction to explore.
Hi Heidi, I love eating all of these whole grains, but I am concerned about weight gain. Do you have any experience or expertise to add on this? I am wondering if the addition of all of these whole grains (which are also carbohydrates) are going to cause weight gain. HS: Hi Phoebe, I like to shoot for a balance - grains, lots of vegetables, some proteins, some fats... throughout the day. I find the less processed grains keep me from getting hungry right away.
That does look good! But it makes me feel more like winter than the plant-the-garden-as-fast-as-we-can weather we've been having. When I make chili, I've taken to adding a couple squares of dark, dark chocolate to the pot---even if you can't really taste the chocolate, it makes me feel exotic to be able to say it's chili with chocolate. It's the small pleasures....