Happy Meatless Monday, friends!
Since soup season seems to be in full swing lately, I thought it would be apropos to kick the week off with one of my favorite recipes that just so happens to be meatless, vegan, gluten-free, super-easy to make, and wonderfully warm and comforting for chilly fall nights — my Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili!
This recipe is admittedly a riff on my Slow Cooker Chili recipe that’s usually made with ground beef. But I’ve been making it meatless for my vegetarian and vegan friends for years, adding in some farro (not gluten-free) or quinoa (gluten-free) for extra protein. And let’s just say, it is always a hit with vegetarians, vegans and meat-lovers alike. My friends love this chili!!!
If you’re in a hurry, it’s easy to whip up in about 30-ish minutes on the stove (see instructions below). But for anyone who loves coming home to a delicious meal simmering in the Crock Pot, I think it’s hard to beat the ease of letting your slow cooker do all of the work with this one. Whatever method you choose, I think you’re going to love this one too. :)
As I said before, I love adding in some extra grains to this vegetarian chili recipe to thicken it up and add some extra protein. About half the time I go with quinoa, which is a great gluten-free option that people seem to enjoy. But my favorite option is to actually use farro, which isn’t gluten-free but does add a deliciously chewy texture and nutty flavor to the chili. That said, you could also sub in barley or rice or other grains that you’d like, or just nix adding extra grains entirely. The choice is yours.
To make the chili in the slow cooker, simply toss all of your ingredients in the Crock Pot and stir to combine. Then cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours until everything is cooked through. So easy!
Or, if you’d like to make this chili on the stovetop, saute your onions in a tablespoon of oil until soft. Then add all of your remaining ingredients (minus the vegetable stock and quinoa or farro) and cook on high until the chili reaches a simmer. Meanwhile in a separate pot, simmer the quinoa or farro in the vegetable stock until it is cooked through. Then add that entire pot (including the extra broth) to the chili mixture, and stir to combine.
Then it’s time to ladle up that chili!
You can either serve it plain…
…or load it up with any of your desired toppings. I went with (vegan) avocado, cilantro, green and red onions. But you could also add in some shredded cheese and/or sour cream if you’re making this vegetarian. Whatever sounds good to you sounds good to me. :)
Hope that you enjoy, and have a happy chili season!
Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 240 minutes
- Total Time: 250 minutes
- Yield: 6 -8 servings 1x
Description
This Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili recipe is hearty, delicious, easy to make, and naturally vegan and gluten-free (if using quinoa).
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked farro* or quinoa**
- 1 medium red or yellow onion, peeled and diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce***, chopped
- 2 (15 ounce) cans dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained (**see below for substitution ideas)
- 2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
- 2 (14 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
- 1 (15 ounce) can light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 1 cup beer (or you can just add extra vegetable broth)
- 2 Tablespoons chili powder
- 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- (Optional toppings: shredded cheddar cheese, crushed tortilla chips or strips, thinly-sliced green onions, sour cream, salsa, etc.)
Instructions
Slow Cooker Method:
- Add all ingredients to a slow cooker and stir thoroughly to combine. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours until the chili is cooked through. Taste, and season with additional salt and pepper or seasonings if need be.
- Serve immediately, garnished with extra toppings if desired. Or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Stovetop Method:
- In a small pot, cook the farro or quinoa in the vegetable stock according to package directions until it is cooked through. (There will be extra vegetable stock — don’t worry, you’ll add everything to the chili once the farro/quinoa is cooked.)
- Meanwhile as the farro/quinoa are cooking,heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a separate large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add your diced onions and saute for 4-5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add all of your remaining ingredients minus the vegetable stock and farro (or quinoa), and stir to combine. Continue cooking until the chili reaches a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. Once the quinoa/farro is cooked, add it (along with any extra vegetable stock) to the chili and stir to combine. Taste, and season with additional salt and pepper or seasonings if need be.
- Serve immediately, garnished with extra toppings if desired. Or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
*Farro = not gluten-free
**Quinoa = gluten-free (feel free to use any color of quinoa)
***I used about 3 chipotle peppers, but did not add any extra adobo sauce.
Feel free to also substitute your favorite kind of beans (such as black or Great Northern beans) if you do not like kidney beans.
If you love chili, be sure to also check out these other favorite chili recipes on the blog!
This is sitting in the crockpot right now and smells so yummy! I feel like I used too much liquid though. I actually didn’t add the beer because it was at the top of the crock after I added the veggie stock and I ended up taking some of the liquid out so it wouldn’t overflow. Did I miss something with the liquid? What size is your crockpot?
Still smells amazing and the prelim taste tests are Yum! Can’t wait to get it all together in front of the Super Bowl! :-) Thank you for this unique recipe! We make Veggie Chili a lot and I’m loving the use of quinoa!
Hi Alicia! It sounds like your crockpot may be too small. We used a 6-qt size slow cooker. You might want to cut the recipe in half next time, but hopefully this will work out! Let us know – we hope you enjoyed it! :)
Making this today and there is a ton of it…..can’t wait to try it! :) Do you know if this chili freezes well? Thanks for letting me know!
Awesome, we hope you love it Natalie! And yes, it freezes great! :)
Can I use chicken stop or is vegetable broth work better? Also I have a place nearby that sells that sells single beers – Can you suggest one on to use? Guinness Stout? The recipe sounds awesome! I will have my Mom here recovering from surgery in a few weeks and I will trick her into trying – somehow I do believe she will like it!
Hi Karen! Honestly either one works great, but chicken stock does tend to have more flavor. For beers, we like Negra Modelo or Tecate! :) We hope your mom’s surgery goes well, and that she enjoys this!
I am not a huge fan of Farro or Quinoa. Is there a way to add rice or do without these completely?
If I want to make it without the grains, how much less liquid do I use? Thanks!
Hi Mel! We would probably try 3 cups of stock, instead of 4. We hope you enjoy!
made this tonight and it was great! The entire family loved it (including a 1 year old). The adults mayyyy have added some Fritos as toppings. So good!
Awesome Katie, we’re so happy you and your family enjoyed this (especially the 1 year-old)! :D And we say great call on the Fritos too! :D
it looks very good, but, Is this one very hot?
because I could not eat much spicy food
Thanks Rita! We find it has just the right kick, but it all just depends on what your spice tolerance is. If you’re concerned about it being too hot, you could always use half the chipotle pepper (or skip it altogether). We hope this helps!
Do you know the nutrition information for this recipe? (PRO, FAT, CHO, salt etc)
Hi Melissa! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
It looks delicious ?
Yes! Another dish to use Quinoa in! Love it! :)
Thanks Sara, we hope you enjoy this!