Mexican Spiced Vegetarian Chili

Fall to me means cozying up on my couch with a big bowl of soup. I guess it doesn’t really matter what kind of soup as long as it’s warm and spicy. One of my favorite recipes to make in the fall is chili. Chili is easy, spicy and highly customizable so you can make it your own with very little effort. I mean, if you think about it there’s all types of chili, green chili, red chili, beanless chili, pumpkin chili and so on. For my take on chili I try to incorporate all the spices and flavors of Mexico into the recipe to make it just that much more delicious. 

I can’t say that in Mexico people eat chili, pretty sure that’s just an American thing. Like who thought let’s take ground meat and make it into a a soup? And then there’s this whole thing of people putting chili on their hot dogs, burgers and fries like you know what goes well with this meat sandwich? More meat! But as a vegetarian y’all know I don’t put that kind of meat in my mouth, well at least not animal meat. So whenever I make my chili I use Morningstar Grillers Crumbles. 

When I first became a vegetarian over 10 years ago Morningstar was my go to for veggie burgers, corn dogs, chick’n nuggets and what not. I think Bocca was another brand that was available in the refrigerated sections, my options were very limited back then but now if you go to the grocery store you can find all kinds of meat alternatives and dairy alternatives. I’m glad to see the times have changed for the better and we are able to find other products that are less cruel to animals and sometimes even better for us. Now I’m not saying all veggie alternatives are better for us because some of them turn out to be just as bad if not even worse than the real thing so it’s all about really familiarizing yourself with nutrition labels and ingredients. 

To start the chili you need to find your ingredients of choice. I like use my Mexican trinity which is onions, tomatoes and peppers. I used green pepper, red pepper, and Serranos to add a little bit of a kick. Dice up your onions, garlic and peppers and set aside. For this recipe instead of using fresh tomatoes I used a combination of petite diced canned tomatoes and tomato paste.

In a medium pot over medium heat add a bit of cooking oil, about 1tbsp. Sauté the chopped onions until translucent. To your onions add your packet of veggie crumbles and cook until golden brown. Season with salt and pepper. 

Add a couple of chopped garlic cloves and  your peppers. You should probably brace yourself because depending on the heat of the peppers your eyes might start to water. 

Pour in your can tomatoes juice and all and your tomato paste and give it a good stir. Add your spices and chopped chipotle peppers. and stir again. Add a can of drained and rinsed black beans.

Let it cook for 30-40 minutes over medium low heat. You can probably cook it even longer and develop deeper flavors but I’m also a very impatient person. You’ll know it’s done because it’s going to to look like a middle school cafeteria slop. 

Serve in a bowl and garnish with shredded cheese, sour cream and cilantro microgreens! Bon appetit! 

Mexican Spiced Vegetarian Chili

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 tbsp oil

1/2 small yellow onion, diced

1/4 red onion, diced

1 bag of Morning Star Grillers Crumbles

Salt and pepper 

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 green bell pepper

1/2 red bell pepper

2 Serrano peppers

1 28oz can of petite diced tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp smoked paprika 

1/2 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp chopped chipotle peppers 

1 14oz can of black beans, drained

Over medium heat in a medium pot sauté onions until translucent. Add Morningstar crumbles and cook until golden brown. Season with salt and pepper. 

Add minced garlic and peppers. Cook for 3-5 minutes until fragrant and peppers are soft.

Toss in spices and stir until everything is well coated. 

Add canned tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir. Add a can of drained and rinsed black beans. 

Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. 

Add chopped chipotle peppers and let cook over medium low heat for 30-40 minutes. 

Serve with toppings of choice such as cheese, sour cream and greens.

Enjoy!