Easy Five-Bean Chili

This easy five-bean chili is a hearty one-pot meal that's packed with protein and super easy to make. It's also rich in flavour and perfect for meal prep, too!

If you love a good chili, this is the ultimate recipe to try. Featuring no less than five types of beans, this is a simple vegan chili that you can whip up with ingredients you may already have in the pantry.

You can serve this five-bean chili with your favourite vegan toppings such as tortilla chips, sliced avocado, lime wedges or sliced red onion.

Why you'll love this five bean chili recipe

• It's loaded with protein and fiber. Beans have over 20 grams of protein and 16 grams of fiber per 100 grams, so imagine what using five types will do to the nutritional content of this chili!
• It's warm and cosy. Besides being delicious, this chili will warm you up from the inside out. It's just the perfect one-pot meal to cook on a cold day.
• It's super quick to make with canned beans. You don't need much planning to make this veggie-loaded chili because it's simply great with canned beans.

Ingredients and substitutions

Olive oil — I like to sauté the onion, celery and bell pepper in a bit of extra virgin olive oil for extra flavour. If you don't cook with oil, you can sauté them in veggie stock or water instead.

Onion, celery and bell pepper — Dice your veggies on the small side so they cook quickly. You can use any colour bell pepper you want here.

Aromatics — A mix of garlic, red chili flakes, ground cumin and smoked paprika set the base for a super flavourful chili.

Chipotle paste — I used a smoked type of chipotle paste, but you can use your favourite here.

Vegetable stock — I used store-bought veggie stock for this chili, but you can definitely use homemade stock.

Passata — This is a kind of pureed and strained tomatoes that's known as tomato puree in the U.S. It has a smooth and uniform texture.

Beans — The five beans I used for this chili are black beans, red kidney beans, haricot beans, pinto beans, and cannellini beans. Feel free to use whichever type of canned beans you may have in the pantry.

Cocoa powder — A teaspoon of dark cocoa powder is the secret ingredient that gives depth to a chili and makes it taste truly amazing.

How to make 5 bean chili

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or large stockpot and sauté the onion, celery and bell pepper for 4-5 minutes over medium heat until slightly softened.

Stir in the garlic, red chili flakes, ground cumin and smoked paprika and continue to cook for another minute until fragrant.

Add the chipotle paste and stir to combine.

Next, add the vegetable stock, passata and all beans. Stir to combine, then add the cocoa powder and apple cider vinegar. Give the chili another stir and simmer for 30 minutes until thickened.

Season to taste and serve over cilantro lime rice or brown rice, topped with fresh coriander and nacho chips, if you like.

Leftovers and storage

• Leftovers will keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
• Reheat the chili in the microwave or on the stovetop until piping hot.
• This five-bean chili is perfect for freezing. It's best to freeze it in individual portions so they thaw quickly. The chili will keep well for 2-3 months in the freezer.

Recipe notes and tips

• This chili is not very spicy as written — if you want it fiery, add a green chili pepper (jalapeño) with the garlic. Alternatively, use 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
• The chili will taste even better the next days as the flavour develop the longer it sits. Make a double batch and that's lunch sorted for a couple of days.
• If you want to use dried beans, you'll need to soak them overnight and then pre-cook them until tender before adding them to the chili.

If you liked this easy five-bean chili, you might also like some of my other vegan one-pot recipes:

• One-Pot Vegan Jambalaya
• Vegan Spanish White Bean Stew
• Creamy Vegan Gnocchi Soup
• Vegan Goulash with Mushrooms and Potatoes
• Easy One-Pot Vegan Chili Mac

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