Name: Vegan Chilli Con Carne
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 onion (finely chopped); 4 cloves garlic (crushed or minced); 400 g vegan mince (store-bought, see recipe notes for substitutions); 1 red pepper (de-stemmed, de-seeded and roughly chopped); 2 tbsp tomato puree; 1 tsp chipotle paste (OR ½ tsp chilli powder); 1 tsp smoked paprika; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp dried oregano; ¼ tsp ground coriander; Pinch cinnamon; 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce; 1 tsp marmite; 1 tsp dark soy sauce; 1 shot espresso (OR 30ml strong coffee OR 1 heaped tsp instant espresso); 400 g peeled plum tomatoes (from a can); 400 ml boiling water; 1 vegetable stock cube; 400 g kidney beans (from a can, drained); 20 g dark chocolate; Cooked long-grain rice; Vegan sour cream; Fresh coriander

Publised on 23/08/2022. Last Updated on 24/08/2022 by Richard

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4.9 from 71 votes

Rich, spicy vegan chilli con carne with a subtle smoky kick. Easy and quick to make for a mid-week dinner or slow-cooker supper!

Finally, a vegan chilli con carne with your name on it! This guy packs a meaty punch and omg just wait until you taste that rich umami sauce. It's also packed with protein and fibre, if you care about that stuff, so it's a rewarding din din all round!

We're using a combo of vegan mince and red kidney beans to keep things meaty and chunky in our vegan chilli but we're adding a whole host of other meaty flavoured ingredients to bring that big bold bite! Ready for it? let's do this!!

This vegan chilli is right up there with my fave school night vegan dinners, like my one pot red lentil dal or my vegan mushroom stroganoff! It's so easy to make and can be on the table so quickly, I can't tell you how often you'll be making this!

To recap - an easy vegan chilli, a quick vegan chilli AND a super meaty vegan chilli, packed with flavour! What could be better??

Potential Substitutions

I'm hoping that most of my vegan chilli ingredients are easy to find, but if they're not, here are my suggestions for potential subs and swaps!

The Vegan Mince

My vegan chilli uses vegan mince - also known as "ground", I think in the US. There are a whole bunch of amazing brands of vegan mince out there, my favourite is this one from Meatless Farm (pictured below). You can also use frozen vegan mince like this one, or even TVP dehydrated mince - just make sure you rehydrate it in boiling water before use.

If you're more into a whole-foods style vegan chilli, this recipe also works best with just a drained can of brown or green lentils. Grated tofu is also a great, high-protein option. Finally, if you've recently made a batch of my vegan roast beef, you could use this in place of the mince too!

So, how do I make perfect vegan chilli con carne!?

This is honestly one of the easiest recipes on this blog. It's what me and SNV assistant Lillie call a "chuck-it-in" recipe, for obvious reasons. As always, the FULL RECIPE is at the bottom of the page - scroll on down if you're in a hurry. If you've got time or want some extra pro-level tips on getting the perfect vegan chilli con carne, keep readin!

1. Fry off the onions and garlic!

First step for a perfect vegan chilli con carne is to fry off those onions baby! We don't want them to brown but we need them to soften and begin to turn translucent. Once done, add your garlic and cook for another minute. If things start to catch to the bottom of the pan, add a little extra oil, or just a splash of water to loosen things up.

I like to use brown onions for this recipe, just because of their size, but use whichever you like. Red onions are also a very welcome addition to a vegan chilli!

2. Add the vegan mince!

I've put some notes on this step above under "potential substitutions" because I'm aware that not everyone has access to the kind of vegan mince pictured above. There are loads of options for a mince replacement out there, so give a few a try and see which if your flavourite.

I like to use this vegan mince, but whatever you use, my recommendation is to make sure you brown off your vegan mince before moving onto the next step. It just adds so much more flavour to the finished dish.

3. Add ALL the remaining vegan chilli con carne ingredients!

Literally, that's it! We're just going to add all the rest of the ingredients. It sort of doesn't even matter what order you add them, just chuck em in! The real key to this step is in allowing the vegan chilli to simmer and cook for a while.

In the recipe I recommend simmering for at least 35 minutes. This is your bottom point! Keep in mind that you can simmer this for up to an hour or even more and you will notice the difference in flavour. Tomatoes take a notoriously long time to cook, so give them the opportunity to break down properly.

4. Serve up your vegan chilli con carne

This is a matter of choice - I'm sure this is one of those recipes we all like to plate up differently. For me, vegan chilli con carne has to be served with long-grain rice, a little vegan creme fraiche (or even plain yoghurt) and a handful of tortilla chips! Just for that extra crunch.

This chilli works equally well served in a jacket potato or with cornbread! The choice is yours!

And that's it! Your vegan chilli con carne awaits! If you fancy a jackfruit chilli instead, after reading this entire recipe, then good for you!

As always, it helps me MASSIVELY if you can rate and review this recipe below. This blog only exists because people like you actually use it and cook these recipes, so it would mean a massive amount to me if you could let others know that you rate this recipe or that you're just excited to make it!

Alternatively, take a picture and pop it on instagram! Be sure to tag me though - I can't wait to see how you use this recipe!