Meatless Mondays – Vegan Chili

I found this recipe on the C’est La Vegan site (one of my all-time favorite Vegan Recipe sites)..and let me tell you, this is now one of my FAVORITES DISHES!

It will be a staple meal in our house!!

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup chopped white onion
• 1 lb. defrosted veggie burger crumbles (optional)
• Red pepper flakes, to taste
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 2 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 28-oz. can diced Mexican-style tomatoes (I used regular diced tomatoes – 2 cans of 14-oz.)
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
• 6 oz. tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 16-oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 28-oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed [I used 1 can red kidney beans, 1 can white – you could also use 1 can black beans)
  
• Vegan Cheese (optional)

For the record, I cooked the majority of the chili in my crock pot because I wanted to prepare it early in the day. I only cooked the veggie crumbles separately because I wanted them browned before tossing them in the pot. If I weren’t using the veggie crumbles, I would’ve just dumped everything into the crock pot and let it cook there. You can, however, cook it all in a large pot (as described below) and have it ready in less than an hour.

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the garlic and onion and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the veggie burger crumbles (if using them), red pepper flakes, chili powder, and cumin and cook for an additional 2 minutes, or until fragrant.

(From here, I dumped this veggie crumble mixture and everything else into the crock pot and mixed it all together. Then I cooked it all on low for 2 hours, and then put it on warm until I was ready to serve it – the directions below describe how you would prepare it all in one pot as done in the recipe on C’est La Vegan site)

3. Add the oregano, bay leaf, tomatoes, soy sauce, stock, tomato paste, and vinegar, then bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Add the beans and simmer 15 minutes longer to heat through and blend flavors.  Add more water, if necessary, or cook longer to reach desired consistency.

When I served the chili, I did add some shredded veggie cheese on top of each bowl – tasty, but not necessary as the chili was super incredible on its own.

I, seriously, will be making this dish at least once a month. It was that DELISH! The perfect dish for a chilly winter evening.

I served it with some corn bread made from the Trader Joe’s cornbread mix – YUM!

Happy Meatless Monday everyone!
~ Lita