Today I am sharing a recipe I actually made a couple weeks ago, because Chuck and Monica both requested my vegetarian protein recipe this week not be a packaged item, like the Morningstar products I am so fond of. It was inspired by a fabulous bowl of vegetarian chili I had at a restaurant in Boulder and tried to recreate at home. I also wanted to try cooking dried beans, since they are so cheap and I’ve heard so many people say they come out better than canned. I loved it, and can’t wait until I’m eating chili and beans again!
But the beans….well I think I’ll go with canned next time actually. I couldn’t tell the difference. And even after boiling the beans for what seemed like forever, I thought they didn’t seem cooked enough, a little too tough. I would use 2 cans of beans and just put everything in a pot at once and simmer until the carrots are very soft and the chili is thick. It would take so much less time and I’m sure taste just as good.
Vegetarian Black Bean Chili
1 lb. black beans (dry) (or 2 cans of beans)
4 cups water 1 yellow onion, chopped 1 red pepper, chopped 1 carrot, chopped fine 6 cloves garlic, crushed 2 tablespoons regular chili powder 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (reduce to 1 tsp if using canned beans)
1 teaspoon ancho chile powder 1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder 1/4 cup tomato paste
1. Soak black beans overnight by putting in a large pot and covering with water by a few inches. Drain and rinse well before using.
2. In a large soup pot, combine soaked beans with 4 cups water and simmer for 60 minutes. Then add everything else. (easy, right?) Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 60-90 minutes more. Serve with avocado and cilantro.
Serves 8: 224 calories, 1 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 cholesterol, 42 g carbohydrate, 10 g fiber, 13 g protein
What did you eat on Meatless Monday? Do you like beans? (And do they hurt your tummy?)
Chuck December 13, 2010 at 9:48 pm
This recipe sounds great! Thanks for posting it- I like the use of black beans as the main bean. I usually try to mix in way too many types of beans and mask the flavor of the ingredients too much. I’ll let you how this comes out for me! And the avocado on top? A perfect addition of “goodness”!
Amy December 14, 2010 at 1:35 am
I have IBS and have had to follow low residue style diets from time to time (the longest was about 6 months of no dairy, no fibre, no red meat and low fat. I’m also allergic to soy, bananas and avocados and intolerant to brussels sprouts and beans so no I can’t eat them which makes me sad, I can tolerate about 1/4 cup of beans per meal, no more than once a week).
I hope you’re feeling better soon.
admin December 14, 2010 at 8:16 am
Thanks Amy for sharing your experience – that sound like a very difficult experience! but I guess we all do the best we can! I would like to be able to figure out any specific problem foods for me, maybe when I start adding them back it will be clearer.
Georgie
Monica December 14, 2010 at 9:25 am
I’ll definitely try this soon! I’ve been trying to introduce myself to beans – my favorite so far are Great Northern. This sounds super easy aside from the chopping, and I’ve got a bunch of the ingredients on hand. I might add in a cooked grain… and I’ll have to halve the recipe (maybe even quarter it), but I’ll be sure to report back. Thanks for posting this even though you can’t eat it!
I hope you get to add things back into your diet soon.
Meatless Mondays are going great for us! I find that I’m relying pretty heavily on soup… I had ribollita for lunch and an orzo soup for dinner. (It might work for your diet with some modifications – I used about 1/2 cube vegetable bouillon for about 4 cups of water, 3/4 cup orzo or other small pasta, cook for about 10 minutes. Add about a cup of shredded spinach – I added it at the end, but you could put it in in the beginning so that you get it cooked enough for your diet. Right before you eat it, whisk in 1 or 2 egg whites, they should come out ribbon-y. I topped with crushed red pepper-spiced fire roasted tomatoes and grated Parmesan, but you can skip the tomatoes, it will be different but good. The original recipe is on 101cookbooks.com.)
And one more bean tip, I do a quick soak (bring to a boil, let sit for 2 hours) and then use a pressure cooker. It’s a lot faster! And I’ve been cooking a whole pound at a time – whatever I don’t use, I pack in some bean-cooking liquid and put in the freezer for another time.
Nicole, RD December 14, 2010 at 10:59 am
That sounds wonderful and I love that it can be made in the crock pot. I LOVE beans, especially black beans…and they do cause me some GI *issues* but nothing out of the ordinary, I don’t think…
Trish December 14, 2010 at 9:42 pm
Hey Georgie,
Hope you are managing okay on your low fiber/ low residue diet. Please keep us posted on your status – fingers crossed. The veggie chili looks so delicious. I could really go for a delicious veggie chili one of these days. The avocado slices on top are genius.
Dustin Baier December 20, 2010 at 11:51 am
What a nice picture. You should share this over at http://www.dishfolio.com it would be a great addition.
Sophia December 22, 2010 at 9:08 am
I love chili! Perfect for a cold night! You should really consider submitting this to Recipe4Living’s Champion Chili Recipe Contest! It looks delicious!
Monica February 2, 2011 at 6:49 pm
I just made this for dinner today and thought I’d share to help others out. I used 2 cans of beans, which I rinsed prior to adding them to the pot. I think 3 cans would be too many beans, but that’s a personal preference. Because I used canned beans, I used about 1 tsp of salt. I also used less water – 3 cups instead of 4. On the spice front, I ended up using 4 teaspoons of the regular chili powder (followed the recipe amounts for the other types of chili powder) and thought that was spicy enough, but my other taste tester could barely detect the heat (another matter of personal preference). I also added in 1 cup of frozen corn, because I had some and I like it in chili. I think the canned beans worked just fine! Very tasty.
admin February 2, 2011 at 7:16 pm
Monica- Thanks so much for adding your thoughts!!!!
Biz April 8, 2011 at 10:43 am
I made this for my co-workers today for lunch and it was a big hit – the only thing I did different was added a package of boca crumbles – thanks for the recipe!!
Kathleen February 27, 2012 at 7:48 am
Hello Georgie,
I’m on Kate’s LE team and we had to do a vegetarian meal this last week. I used this recipe but I have to say it was WAY too hot. Shame on me for not adding a bit and then testing. I’ll add a bit of Greek yogurt and see if I can cool it down.