This slow cooker vegan chili recipe will delight your taste buds. It's not only wholesome but delicious and easy to make. A vegan twist on this classic comfort food for those chilly days ahead makes for a healthy dinner packed with nutrients brimming with flavor!
This post was originally published on Oct 15, 2017 and updated on Jan 27, 2020 by Elena Szeliga.
It's hard to believe that this wholesome slow cooker chili is vegan! Combining a winning grain mix, two kinds of beans, corn, bell peppers, onions and lots of tomatoes make it a hearty, nutritious and comforting meal to enjoy this fall.
The best thing about this easy vegan chili is that it's basically self-cooking.
Toss all the ingredients into the slow cooker, set it on high and wait for 6-8 hours.
Just let it cook while you are at work and arrive to a home that smells like heaven!
An added bonus to this recipe is that this vegan chili freezes like a pro.
Make a large batch and store what you don't eat in the freezer, then you will have a bunch of quick and easy meals ready at your fingertips.
Can you believe October is coming to an end? I can't either.
I've managed to catch the tail end of summer last weekend. I was in Rome meeting my best friend and enjoying lots of pizza, pasta, lasagna and cappuccino as well as T-shirt weather!
However, when I came back, real October was already in full force. To kick off the chilly weather and rain, I immediately made this comforting chili!
I am always amazed by the power of sharing food that brings people closer. But there is something special about having vegan chili for dinner. To me, it brings the "homey" feeling of comfort, warmth and coziness.
Making this chili (or my perfect vegan sloppy joes) for dinner is a great way to enjoy the presence of your loved ones and bask in the delightful feelings of comfort and peace.
You'll find more ideas for vegan comfort food recipes (think pasta dishes, soups, casseroles, etc) in my recent post.
Why Make Vegan Chili in a Slow Cooker
You don't have to be a vegan to enjoy this chili! Here is why I love it and you will too:
- It's full of flavor and super delicious;
- It's packed with nutrients and protein;
- It's healthy and low in calories;
- You can customize it depending on what you like and have in your fridge;
- Having a slow cooker makes it incredibly easy and quick to make but you can also make it on the stove, or even in an Instant Pot;
- Adjust the spiciness to your taste and make it kid-friendly;
- It makes a great vegan packed lunch - just fill a mason jar with it and take it to work (my husband's colleagues are always envious!);
- It feeds a crowd of at least 8 people;
- And my favorite - freeze it in zipper bags for up to 3 months to enjoy whenever you feel like it!
Chili is one of those foods that tastes even better the next day, just like ratatouille, grain stew with sweet potatoes or vegan minestrone soup.
Another hearty, heart warming vegan meal that you should be sure to check out is this Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese. It's 100% plant based and made with one of my new favorite ingredients: Tempeh!
This easy vegan chili recipe is a delicious and comforting meal that comes together within minutes. Throw is into your slow cooker and let the magic happen.
Ingredients for the Chili
For this slow cooker chili you'll need:
- Beans (I use black and navy beans, but feel free to use your favorite ones);
- Grain mix that I usually use for my healthy wholemeal bread, a combo of wheat berries, rye, spelt, millet and barley. You can also use any combination of the above-mentioned grains, as well as quinoa to save time (see notes below);
- Onions and garlic;
- Red and green bell peppers;
- Sweet corn;
- Diced tomatoes and tomato sauce;
- Vegetable stock;
- Jalapenos or red chilies;
- Spices;
- Vegan yogurt, avocados, lime and tortilla chips to serve.
How to Make This Chili
Start with soaking your beans and grains in water overnight.
Are you pressed for time?
Here is a great shortcut: just use canned beans and quinoa.
Once the beans and grains are ready, dice the onion and bell peppers. Here is a life changing trick that will make chopping bell peppers so much easier!
Mince the garlic and chili peppers (I used two but if you like it hot, add more).
Put all the prepared ingredients in your slow cooker. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and vegetable broth, as well as cumin, sweet paprika, bay leaves, salt and black pepper. Stir everything well to combine.
Cook on high for 6-8 hours or until cooked through. Adjust the seasoning to your taste. Serve hot with a spoonful of vegan yogurt, chopped avocados, jalapenos, lime and tortilla chips.
If you're not cooking for a crowd, let it cool and freeze in zipper bags for up to 3 months.
Cook's Tips
- You can store this chili for up to 5 days in the fridge.
- This chili is perfect for meal prep. Freeze it for up to 3 months in freezer bags and reheat on the stove or in the microwave. Add a bit of water or vegetable stock if it's too thick.
- Use leftover cooked beans for this chili for a quick and nutritious meal. Just throw the rest of the ingredients in your crockpot and cook on high for 3-4 hours.
Recipe Variations
- Use other types of beans that you like in place of black and navy beans.
- If you don't have time for soaking, just use canned or cooked beans. In this case the cooking time reduces to 3-4 hours (on high).
- You can use any combination of the above-mentioned grains like uncooked quinoa or skip the grains and add lentils.
- Cook this vegan chili on the stovetop for around 1 hour instead of using the slow cooker.
Here is the full recipe for you, hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did! If you did, I would appreciate you giving it a 5-star rating! 😉
The Best Slow Cooker Vegan Chili
Ingredients
- 2 cups navy beans soaked overnight or two 14 oz cans cooked beans
- 2 cups black beans soaked overnight or two 14 oz cans cooked beans
- 1 cup grain mix a combo of wheat berries, rye, spelt, millet and barley (see notes below), soaked overnight
- 1 big yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 cup or 14 oz can sweet corn
- 2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
- 2 14 oz cans tomato sauce
- 5-6 cups vegetable stock
- 2 red chili peppers or jalapenos, adjust the hoteness to your liking
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 2 bay leaves
- salt and freshly ground bell pepper to taste
- Vegan yogurt, avocados, lime and tortilla chips to serve
Instructions
- Start with soaking your beans and grains in water overnight. If you don't have time for that, just use canned beans and quinoa.
- Dice the onion and bell peppers. Mince the garlic and chili peppers (I used two but if you like it hot, add more).
- Put all the prepared ingredients in your slow cooker. Add sweet corn, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and vegetable broth, as well as cumin, sweet paprika, bay leaves, salt and black pepper. Stir everything well to combine.
- Cook on high for 6-8 hours or until cooked through. Adjust the seasoning to your taste. Serve hot with a spoonful of vegan yogurt, chopped avocados, jalapenos, lime and tortilla chips. Let cool and freeze in zipper bags for up to 3 months if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
Cook’s Tips
- You can store this chili for up to 5 days in the fridge.
- This chili is perfect for meal prep. Freeze it for up to 3 months in freezer bags and reheat on the stove or in the microwave. Add a bit of water or vegetable stock if it's too thick.
- Use leftover cooked beans for this chili for a quick and nutritious meal. Just throw the rest of the ingredients in your crockpot and cook on high for 3-4 hours.
Recipe Variations
- Use other types of beans that you like in place of black and navy beans.
- If you don't have time for soaking, just use canned or cooked beans. In this case the cooking time reduces to 3-4 hours (on high).
- You can use any combination of the above-mentioned grains like uncooked quinoa or skip the grains and add lentils.
- Cook this vegan chili on the stovetop for around 1 hour instead of using the slow cooker.
Mark says
The dried beans, its this 2 cups of each once they are soaked or 2 cups dried?
Elena Szeliga says
@Mark, I used 2 cups dried, but if you have a smaller slow cooker, that might be too much. 1 cup each is OK too. Hope you enjoy the chili!
Michelle says
Just wondering if this recipe is also gluten free?
Michelle says
I haven't made it yet, but this looks absolutely delicious! Is it possible to use tomato paste instead of tomato sauce? I have a lot of tomato paste, but no tomato sauce. They should really sell tomato paste by the tablespoon. Lol. Thank you!
Elena Szeliga says
Hi Michelle, you can absolutely do it, just add some water to thin it up 🙂 Hope you enjoy the chili!
Fran J says
@Michelle,
I can't remember where I saw it, but take your tomato paste and place 1 Tbsp on a piece of parchment paper and flatten it. Keep doing this w/ the rest of the paste, pile them up and place in freezer baggie and freeze! Voila, you have it pre measured and it thaws quickly!
Chelsea says
Tastes amazing but I have had the hardest time cooking it every time! The slow cooker option on my instant pot did not cook the beans at all so I tried cooking it on the stove and the beans would not cook so I pressure cooked it in batches and that finally worked. Then this time I went straight to pressure cooking in the instant pot (in 2 batches because the instant pot is too small for this giant recipe) and no matter what I change I keep getting a burn message!! This is all the more frustrating because it is a truly delicious chili that freezes really well.
Elena Szeliga says
Hi Chelsea, thanks for your feedback! You can also use canned beans or cooked beans. That would save you time. I'm happy that this recipe works with pressure cooker as well - I haven;t test it myself yet.
Anais says
Oh wow, I totally didn't see that your slow cooker is much bigger than mine. I've used mine for years and never had a problem with recipes before but now that I'm about to add the tomato sauce, there is just absolutely no room for it and things are about to spill over! So...as strange as it felt to have to do this, I took cups of ingredients out. 🙁 I'll try to cook them later?
Elena Szeliga says
Hi Anais, I'm so sorry it didn't work for you! What size is your slow cooker? You can scale the ingredients next time (this recipe makes 8 generous servings). And of course you can take part of the mixture out and cook it later. It's great for freezing. Hope you still enjoyed the chili!
Laura says
Hi there,
Thank you for the recipe. This looks amazing! I'm concerned about the previous comment because I'm using an instant pot with the slow cooker option. How big of a crockpot do you need so I can make sure my instant pot will work?
Thank you!
Elena Szeliga says
Hi Laura, what size is it? My slow cooker is 4 qt. If you feel like it's not too big, maybe scale down the recipe? You can go to "servings", click on "8" and pull the slider to the left. I would opt for 4 portions if you aren't sure. Hope that helps!
Cathy says
Hi, can this be done in a slow cooker on high for 4 hours rather than slow?
Elena Szeliga says
Hi Cathy, absolutely! 4 hours on high would be enough for this chili. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Megan says
First time trying this recipe. I used canned beans and quinoa (thank you for including that option!!) because I have a toddler and a newborn so time is precious. I used a can each of navy, white, red & black beans. Also, I cooked it in the instant pot on soup/stew mode for 30 minutes, came out perfect! So happy to add a delicious freezer friendly recipe to the book!
Elena Szeliga says
I'm so happy you enjoyed this chili recipe, Megan! My toddler loves it if I make it without jalapenos
Helena says
The fact that this chili is freezable makes it a truly amazing dinner recipe. Such a comforting meal!
Elena Szeliga says
Yes, this chili is perfect for meal prep and it serves a crowd! Hope you enjoy it Helena 🙂
Michael McLaughlin says
I made your recipe last month, entered a chili cook off contest and won first prize in the Vegan category! Thank you!!
Elena Szeliga says
Wow! Congratulations Michael! SO happy for you! I'm glad my recipe helped you win!
Rebecca Wilson says
Wow, I made this chili last night and it was the most yummiest vegan chili ever! I soaked my red and black beans the night before, then that morning put everything together. The only thing I did differently was, I used TVP because we had vegan tacos the night before so I had left over "taco meat" in the fridge. I just dumped that in about 1 hour before we ate. I also made vegan corn bread. Thank you for the recipe it's my knew favorite vegan chili recipe!
Elena Szeliga says
Hi Rebecca, thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your feedback! I'm so happy you loved the chili! It's my favorite vegan chili as well 😉
Elena Szeliga says
Hi Caitlin, you don't have to cook quinoa beforehand, just make sure you add it to your slow cooker at least 2 hours before the end.
Caitlin says
If I use quinoa does it need to be cooked first?
Jenni says
This looks like such a great chili! I doubt anyone would even know that it was vegan! I love that it has so many great beans and grains in there! That would make it so hearty!
Elena Szeliga says
Thank you so much Jenni! True that, non-vegans love this chili too!
Anya says
Hi, your chili looks delicious! I plan to make it this weekend. But, how do you freeze it? After it's been cooked or before? Thank you!
Elena Szeliga says
Hi Anya, great that you plan to make it this weekend! Hope you'll enjoy it! You want to freeze it after yo make it and let it cool down. You can use freezer plastic bags or containers. That way all you have to do is to thaw it before you want to eat it. I usually move a bag from the freezer to the fridge in the evening and next day I have a dinner ready! Just warm it up in the microwave/stove and garnish as you wish. Hope it helps!