This delicious, easy slow cooker vegetarian chili recipe is perfect for busy weeknights. This set-it-and-forget-it meal is packed with hearty beans, tender vegetables, and bold spices for rich, slow-simmered flavor with minimal effort.
Jessica’s Recipe Science
- The crockpot slowly infuses the flavor of the pre-cooked onions, peppers, and garlic, enhancing sweetness and balancing acidity.
- Blooming spices like chili powder and cumin in oil releases fat-soluble flavors for a deeper, more complex taste.
- Slow cooking gives beans time to release starches that naturally thicken the chili, creating a rich texture without added thickeners.
Why It Works
Slow cooking is one of my favorite techniques for developing deep, layered flavors, especially in my stovetop vegetarian chili recipe, where you’re not relying on meat for richness. As the ingredients gently simmer for several hours, the beans soften and release starches that naturally thicken the chili.
Gentle and consistent heat breaks down onions, garlic, and peppers, releasing natural sugars that balance the tomato’s acidity. Blooming the spices in oil helps their fat-soluble flavor compounds fully infuse into the dish for a bold, balanced flavor.
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Ingredients You’ll Need
- Beans: I use a combination of canned red kidney beans, pinto beans, and black beans. This adds a variety of colors, shapes, and textures.
- Vegetables: Finely diced yellow onions, bell pepper, spicy jalapeños, and garlic cloves all provide a hint of spiciness, freshness, and dimension.
- Seasoning: Chili powder, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, black pepper, chipotle, salt, and black pepper add earthiness and a charred flavor.
- Corn: I used sweet canned corn for convenience, but frozen or fresh kernels work too.
- Tomatoes: Canned fire-roasted tomatoes have already been charred, adding a smoky flavor to the chili. The pre-diced tomatoes add a chunkier texture. Adding canned tomato sauce thins out the chili without diluting its flavor.
- Oil: The vegetables and spices are microwaved in fruity olive oil to soften the texture and reduce the harsh sulfurous notes.
See the recipe card below for all ingredients and measurements (US and metric).
Ingredient Substitutions
This is the best vegetarian chili, and it’s super easy to customize! Try these delicious options:
- Bean Swaps: Use various types of beans for this easy vegan chili recipe, like chickpeas or even lentils.
- Thicker Chili: Add crushed tortilla chips, tomato paste, masa harina, cornmeal, flour, or cornstarch slurry. You can even add some of the starchy bean liquid from the canned beans.
- Herbs and Spices: I use my homemade chili seasoning for a quick addition! Cinnamon and nutmeg enhance the sweet taste. Add herbs like oregano, thyme, rosemary, basil, or Italian seasoning.
- Grains: Farro or bulgur adds a nutty element and ancient grains to each bowl. Cooked white or brown rice makes it thicker.
- Vegetarian Protein: Add crumbled firm tofu, tempeh, meatless crumbles, or cooked quinoa for extra plant protein, all vegan options.
- Add Vegetables: Make a pumpkin chili or add diced sweet potato, carrots, or butternut squash.
- Add Umami: Add soy sauce, tamari, or Worcestershire sauce to boost the savory taste of the meatless chili and veggies. Add 1 teaspoon at a time to taste.
- Add Sweetness: If the canned tomatoes are on the acidic side, add a small amount of honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, or granulated sugar.
How to Make Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili
Step 1: Prepare the Beans
Rinsing canned beans removes excess sodium and the starchy, sometimes metallic-tasting liquid they’re packed in. Draining them also gives you more control over the dish’s texture and seasoning, allowing the beans to absorb the chili’s flavorful sauce as they simmer.
Experimentation Encouraged: For a thicker chili, reserve some of the starchy liquid to mix in, about ¼ to ½ cup. However, it is salty, so be careful with the amount of salt you add.
Step 2: Cook the Aromatics
Cooking the aromatics first helps unlock the full flavor potential of the chili. Heating the onions, peppers, and garlic breaks down their cell walls, releasing natural sugars for sweetness, while warming the spices in oil “blooms” their fat-soluble flavor compounds.
This quick step jump-starts flavor development before everything goes into the slow cooker, ensuring the chili tastes rich and complex. If this step is skipped, it will just taste like a boring bean soup.
Quick Substitution: Cook the veggies and spices on the stove in a skillet over medium-low heat until softened, about 5 minutes.
Step 3: Add the Ingredients to the Slow Cooker
Combining all the ingredients in the slow cooker allows the flavors to meld gradually. The gentle heat helps the tomatoes break down and release natural glutamates, enhancing the chili’s umami, while the beans and corn absorb the seasoned liquid, creating a rich, cohesive flavor.
Step 4: Slow Cook the Chili
Slow cooking gives the ingredients time to fully hydrate, soften, and disperse flavors. The gentle, steady heat breaks down plant fibers and starches, thickening the chili naturally while allowing the spices and aromatics to infuse. The process takes 3 to 4 hours on “high” setting or 5 to 6 hours on “low” setting.
Step 5: To Serve
I like to top bowls of chili with a variety of garnishes. A dollop of sour cream, slices of hot peppers, sliced green onion, cheddar cheese, lime, red onion, and creamy avocado are my favorites. It’s delicious served with crunchy homemade crostini, tortilla chips, or sweet cornbread!
Frequently Asked Questions
Using canned beans, it takes 3 to 4 hours on “high” setting or 5 to 6 hours on “low” setting in the crockpot. The slow cooker stays on the warm setting after the cook time ends, so it will remain hot until serving.
Add cooked quinoa, crumbled tofu, meatless crumbles, seitan, or tempeh to the vegetarian chili.
This is the best slow cooker vegetarian chili recipe because it can be made in advance for those busy weeks! It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
More Chili Recipes
If you tried this Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili
Ingredients
- 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 1 cup red bell pepper, ¼" dice
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced jalapeno
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 19 ounces diced fire-roasted tomatoes, plus juice
- 16 ounces canned tomato sauce
- 15 ounces canned red kidney beans
- 15 ounces canned pinto beans
- 15 ounces canned black beans
- 1 cup canned corn kernels
Instructions
- Prepare the Beans – Place the beans in a colander and rinse them with water. Drain thoroughly and set them aside.
- Cook the Aromatics – In a medium microwave-safe bowl, add onions, bell pepper, garlic, jalapeno, chili powder, cumin, paprika, coriander, salt, pepper, chipotle powder, and olive oil. Stir to combine. Microwave for 3 minutes. Stir and microwave for another 2 minutes. Set aside.Alternatively, saute over medium-low heat until the onions are softened, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the Ingredients to the Slow Cooker – To a 6-quart slow cooker, add the fire-roasted tomatoes, tomato sauce, kidney beans, pinto beans, black beans, corn, and the onion and spice mixture. Stir to combine.
- Slow Cook the Chili – Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours, or on low for 5 to 6 hours.
- To Serve – Taste the chili and add more salt and pepper as needed. Serve with desired toppings.
Notes
- Recipe Yield: About 8 cups
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Make it Sweeter: Add sugar, maple syrup, brown sugar, or honey. Add 1 teaspoon at a time until the desired sweetness is reached.
- Add Soy Sauce: For a stronger umami and savory taste, add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, increasing as needed. Alternatively, use gluten-free tamari or coconut aminos.
- Topping Suggestions: Sliced chili peppers, green onions, cilantro, cheese, sour cream, or avocado.
- Storing: Cool and store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Freeze in a resealable bag for up to 3 months, and defrost before using.
- Reheating: Cover and microwave on high in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until hot. Alternatively, reheat on the stovetop over medium heat.
Nutrition Facts
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet. All nutritional information is based on estimated third-party calculations. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.
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