Hearty Veggie Chili
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Who doesn’t love a big ole bowl of comfort? Especially one packed with all your veg for the day!
Living in the midwest means insanely long and crazy cold winters. When it snows 6… sometimes 7, or maybe even 8 months out of the year, you’ve got no choice but to adapt!
Good snow boots, a resilient state of mind, and warm hearty comfort food.
Anyways, back to chili! Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good meaty chili just as much as the next person, but I promise, you won’t miss it. Inspired by Jamie Oliver’s recipe, I made a few additions and tweaks each time I’ve made it and am now convinced it is the holy grail of veggie chili. I can even get my toddler to take a few bites now and then:)T
I like to keep the spice level pretty mild on the off chance my kid will actually try something I made for dinner for once. But if you’re like Jamie and you love a little heat, feel free to add a few chilis like he does! I also threw in some extra veg, because we could all use it.
Hearty Veggie Chili
This chili is super easy to throw together and super adaptable to whatever you’ve got in your pantry! I like to serve it with sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese:) I’m sure avocado or a quick homemade pico de gallo would also be delicious if that’s your thing!
Ingredients:
- Olive oil
- 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 yellow bell pepper (really any color works, I just think a variety looks pretty
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (you can leave it out if you’re weary, but trust me, it adds a great warmth to the chili, thank you Jamie Oliver!)
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- Cilantro, chopped (including the stems)
- 2-4 cups vegetable broth depending on how thick you like your chili (could also use beef broth as well, like I normally do, if you’re not worried about it actually being vegetarian)
- 2 cans diced tomatoes (extra points if you can find the ones called “chili ready”, you could also substitute one of the cans with Ro-Tel, or add in a can of green chilis)
- 3 cans of beans, drained & rinsed – any kind works, black, pinto, kidney, whatever you’ve got on hand (I prefer to do a variety)
- 1 zucchini, diced
Method:
- Preheat oven to 400Β° F
- Peel & chop sweet potatoes, toss in olive oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, cumin, and cinnamon
- Place in a single layer on baking sheet & bake for roughly 35 minutes, or until just tender
- Chop all the other veggies (I like my chili chunky so I do a larger chop versus a small dice)
- Throw a few tablespoons of olive oil in a real big pot, I use my Dutch oven because I’m obsessed with it. I linked it here if you’re looking for a great one! Add the garlic and all the chopped veggies, minus the zucchini, that goes in later so it doesn’t turn to mush!
- Saute the veggies for about 5 minutes until they just start to get soft.
- Add all the spices and the cilantro stalks, give it a stir, and cook it for another couple minutes.
- Stir in about half the broth, diced tomatoes with their juices, the rinsed beans, and diced zucchini.
- Bring everything to a boil, reduce the heat, and let it simmer for 30ish minutes, until its reduced and thickened up. If it gets too thick add a little more broth to loosen it up.
- Stir in chopped cilantro leaves and baked sweet potatoes. Give it a taste and add more spices if necessary!
- ENJOY and let me know in the comments if you tried it and what you think!
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