Vegetarian Chili

Chili is an easy meal to make and freezes well for future quick meals. Just serve with some fresh bread – or even better, garlic bread. The base is tomatoes, beans, vegetables and some spices but you can choose varying amounts and different beans and vegetables to make it your own!

Ingredients

2 tbsp oil
1 large onion diced
4 cloves of garlic finely minced or ½ teaspoon garlic powder
1-3 tablespoons chili powder more will be spicier
2 tablespoons of cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 – 2 teaspoons of chili flakes the more chili flakes the spicier it will be
2 bell peppers diced
2 medium carrots diced
3 celery stalks diced
2 – 28oz cans of whole tomatoes crushed by you or diced tomatoes and their juice
2 – 15-ounce cans of beans drained and rinsed: kidney and black beans work great!
2 cup of frozen or fresh corn you could use fresh but frozen is easy and works great
Salt to taste

Instructions

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté for about 3 minutes. Add spices and sauté for 1 minute more.
Add the peppers, carrots, and celery and cook for about 5 minutes, or until they just start to soften. Add tomatoes and their juice and bring to a simmer. Once the chili begins to simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low with the lid off.
Continue to cook the chili, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Add beans and corn and let the chili return to a simmer. Cook for 5 more minutes or until the corn and beans have heated through.
Generously salt to taste.
Serve on its own or with brown rice or whole grain pasta.

Recipe Notes

*If you have a slow cooker or crock pot, this is even easier! Just toss everything in the slow cooker, stir, and cook on high for 4 hours or 6 – 8 on low heat!