Oil-free Vegan Chile Bean Chili
A mix of sweet & piquant peppers, fresh & dried chiles, this naturally oil-free vegan chili is all about the bright fresh red peppers and deep flavored dried chiles.
Peppers take the front stage for this oil-free vegan chili. A mix of sweet and piquant peppers, fresh and dried, this chili is all about the chile peppers. Chili is one of our favorite dishes and I make it year round in many ways with an variety of ingredients depending on what’s in season and what is available.
Fresh and Dried Peppers for Oil-free Vegan Chile Bean Chili
During late summer and early fall, I like to focus on using the fresh ripe red peppers in dishes. Ripe red peppers give a fresh brightness and is complimented by the depth of the dried chiles. It is really fun to experiment with all the wonderful ripe red peppers available at this time of year. This oil-free vegan chili recipe is kept simple using just two kinds of fresh ripe red peppers and only the anchos for the dried chile peppers. Anchos are the dried version poblano peppers typically used for Chile Relleno. Once the poblano peppers are fully ripe they are harvested and dried. Anchos are very flavorful, usually fairly mild with a sweetness, spiciness and a little kick.
Fun Toppings for Chile Bean Chili
This Chili lends itself to fun toppings and garnishes. It is really good garnished with diced red onions, lime wedges, cilantro, diced avocado and tangy bites ,a homemade treat reminiscent of queso fresco. The garden salsa fresca is a natural salsa choice as it is a refreshing topping to this somewhat piquante Chile Bean Chili. For a nice crispy topping addition, enjoy this bowl of Chile Bean Chili with our Light & Crispy Oil-free Tortilla Chips.
Flavor-building Oil-free Technique
The Chile Bean Chili, which is an oil-free vegan chili recipe, uses an effective and easy oil-free technique for building flavor that can be applied to many other sauces and dishes. The video below shows all of the steps in about a minute. Below the video are step by step photos followed by corresponding detailed written instructional steps.
Tools Used in this Recipe
- Cutting Board
- kitchen scissors
- 1 cup jar with lid
- hand blender and blender cup (immersion blender)
- heavy bottom braiser pan or Dutch oven, tri-clad and enameled cast iron cookware work great for this type of dish
- flat wood spatula
- flexible spatula
- soup ladle to serve
Ingredients
- 2 ancho chiles
- 2 red bell peppers
- 2 red jalapeno
- 1 onion diced
- 2 tbls garlic grated (4–6 cloves)
- 1 tbls ground cumin
- 1 tbls ground coriander
- 1 tbls paprika
- 2 tbls tomato paste
- 3 cups vegetable stock or store bought preferably with no added salt, or water
- 1 tbls miso optional
- 4 cups cooked black beans (3 cans black beans rinsed and drained) or homemade from dried beans
- 2 cups cooked kidney beans (1 can kidney beans drained and rinsed until water runs clear) or homemade from dried beans
Optional Garnishes
- 1 cup Garden Salsa Fresca
- 1/2 cup Vegan Feta Bites
Instructions
- Rinse the ancho peppers, then remove the stem and seeds. Cut the ancho peppers vertically, then cut the membrane, the seeds will usually all fall off with the membrane.
- Cut the ancho peppers into smaller pieces, place in a jar and add hot water to cover. Set aside and continue with the next step.The anchos will soften enough to blend in about 10–20 minutes.
- Remove the stem and seeds from the ripe red bell peppers and jalapenos, then cut them up into pieces about 1in x 1in so the blender can easily break them up.
- Place the red bell and jalapeno peppers in the blender cup or blender. If using a blender cup, wrap a paper towel around the top so the liquid doesn’t spatter out. Continue blending until you get a pretty smooth consistency. Set aside.
- Heat the braising pan to medium with 2 or 3 tablespoons of water. When the water starts to boil (about 3–5 minutes), add the sliced onions (don't let the water evaporate before adding the onions). Stir, then leave to brown a bit, about 3 minutes, stir again and brown a bit more.
- Make a space in the center of the pan and add the grated garlic. Using the edge of the spatula push the garlic down to make a layer. As with the onions, cook until it picks up a little color and starts to stick to the bottom of the pan so that it caramelizes a little and becomes fragrant (about 1–2 minutes).
- Clear an area in the pan and sprinkle in the coriander and cumin until they just start to smoke and become fragrant. This step brings out a toasty, smoky flavor especially in the cumin. Sprinkle the paprika next on the onions.
- Add in the tomato paste and stir around the pan jut until it starts to change color. (1– 2 minutes)
- Pour in the fresh red bell and jalapeno pepper mixture into the pan and stir. The onion and garlic that stuck to the pan earlier should lift easily, if not rub a little more with the spatula.
- Put the ancho peppers and liquid in the blender or blender cup and blend until smooth. No need to clean the blender cup before adding the ancho peppers.
- Add a tablespoon or so of the ancho paste to the pan and stir. Taste the mixture and continue to add more ancho and spices to your taste. Add the miso or salt if using. If using miso, mix with about a 1/4 cup of vegetable stock in a small bowl first to make a slurry then mix in with the rest of the sauce. Just adding in, miso sometimes just stays in a single clump.
- Slowly pour in the vegetable stock, stir well, put the lid on and simmer for at least 20–30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add in the drained cooked beans, stir to coat.
- Simmer with the lid on for another 10–30 minutes to heat through, stirring occasionally.
- Garnish with your favorite chili toppings. Limes, onions, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, salsa, vegan feta bites, red onions
