Easy Homemade Crockpot Vegetarian Chili
A recipe for easy homemade crockpot vegetarian chili (or in the slow cooker). This veggie chili recipe is made with black beans, kidney beans, and lots of vegetables. It’s thick, easy, homemade, and gluten free. All made in the crockpot! It’s a winner!
We use the William-Sonoma Chili Starter quite often. It’s incredible. But I got to thinking that it was about time I made her a vegetarian chili made 100% from scratch.
This was not the first time I have attempted to make homemade chili. I’ve had to make a lot of bad vegetarian chili’s. But I finally perfected it. A vegetarian chili crockpot version that’s so easy and 100% homemade!
This chili includes kidney beans and black beans for protein. Plus all kinds of vegetables. Like yellow squash, diced tomatoes, yellow onion, and mushrooms. Don’t let the mushrooms scare you away. My family couldn’t even tell they were in the mix. But you can definitely leave them out!
And I love that it’s made in the crockpot. The hardest part is opening all the cans.
Can you freeze this chili?
Yes, chili is the perfect meal to freeze. You can freeze the chili for months. And then pull it out when you want a warm comforting hearty meal.
You should make this ASAP! Because clearly we love this chili:
Enjoy!
Easy Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili
A recipe for vegetarian chili in the slow cooker (or crockpot).
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups chopped yellow onions
1 ½ cups baby bella mushrooms stemmed, wiped clean and cubed
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 medium yellow squash, stem ends trimmed and cut into small dice
3 (15 oz.) cans diced tomatoes
2 (15 oz.) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (15 oz.) can corn kernels, drained
2 (4.5 oz.) cans diced green chiles, drained
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
2 Tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons oregano leaves
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 ½ teaspoons onion powder
1 ¼ teaspoons seasoned salt (or regular salt)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
½ cup water
¼ cup cornmeal
Toppings: sour cream, chopped green onions, shredded cheese, and/or tortilla chips
Directions:
Add all ingredients to a crockpot except cilantro leaves, cornmeal, and water to a crockpot. Stir and season with salt and pepper.
Cover and cook on High for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.
20-30 minutes before the chili finishes cooking, mix the cornmeal with water to make a paste. Then stir the paste into the crockpot. Add the chopped cilantro. Cook for a final 20-30 minutes.
Serve with sour cream, chopped green onions, shredded cheese, or tortilla chips as toppings, if desired.
We use a 6 quart slow cooker.
Does the cornmeal paste go into the chili the last 25-30 minutes? Is it a dumpling of sorts? Sorry, it’s not clear where to put this paste…recipe sounds great and I will be cooking today, I hope. TY
Yes, the paste goes in the last 25-30 minutes.. I’m not sure what you mean about dumpling but it should be like a very thick liquid. Hope that helps! And I hope you and your family enjoy 🙂
Think some people as myself were thinking the cornmeal and water paste at the end would create a type of cornbread topping……idea for another day!
This was so fabulous. I made it last night, after purchasing all the ingredients at the store. I literally kept it on warm in the crockpot over night. When I woke up it looked so yummy and smelled so good. So I have been so excited to eat the chili tonight. I totally forgot about the CORNMEAL addition! Lol…….
But….it was amazing! Since I purchased the cornmeal and cilantro….I guess I will at least make some Cornbread tomorrow night! Lol.
Great recipe! Thanks so much. I replaced the yellow squash with tofu, and added a teaspoon and a half of (vegan) worcestershire sauce for an even heartier flavor. Definitely remembering this one!
Thank you for leaving such a nice comment! So glad you liked the chili 🙂
I’ve never made chili before and found this. The recipe is delicious!!! I made it exactly as written. Thanks for a great recipe!
So glad you tried it and liked it!
Fantastic recipe! Good call on adding oregano. I used an Applewood smoked sea salt which gave the chili an extra hearty fall flavor. YUM!
Awesome! It’s deinitely one of our favroite chili recipes!
Can this recipe Be doubled?
Hi Lucy, I wouldn’t suggest doubling this recipe because one recipe fills an entire 7-quart slow cooker!
I made this recipe for dinner tonight. My wife and daughter loved it! We will definitely do this again, especially during these soon-to-come cold Wisconsin nights. Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback – Being in Wisconsin you will definitely need it again! 🙂
Made this tonight with no changes. Whole family loved it! Thanks!
Yay! So happy to hear. 🙂
Would you happen to know the nutritional values such as: calorie, carb and fat count per serving?
I used caloriecount.about.com and this is what the nutritional value was for a serving of 14: https://www.layersofhappiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/chilli-nutrition.jpg
Hope that helps!
I mixed the yellow cornmeal and the water, but it didn’t turn into a paste. It just sat in the bottom of the bowl. Is it supposed to be thick before putting it into the chili? Thanks! 🙂
It’s not supposed to be super thick… It should be more of a slurry – I will change it in the recipe! 🙂
If I were to substitute the yellow squash for zucchini, would it be an equal ratio? Also, are there any other, similar vegetables you would recommend to substitute? Thanks so much! We’re so excited to try this!
You could definitely substitute equal amounts of zucchini for the yellow squash! As long as the seasoning are kept the same, you could really use any vegetable… or extra of one of the vegetables listed! I’m so excited for you to try this! Let me know how it turns out 🙂
Has anyone ever made this ahead and froze it? , if so how was it when thawed?
Hi Darlene, you can definitely make this ahead of time and freeze it… I normally defrost it by putting it the slow cooker all day! It’s just as good if not better! Hope that helps! 🙂
Made this today and it’s awesome! I added zucchini, but left out the fresh cilantro (I forgot to buy it) and substituted garlic powder for the onion powder (cause you guessed it, I forgot to buy it)! I will definitely make this again because it was awesome! And just a tip for others- don’t add too many extras if you’re using a 6qt cooker- cause mine was full to the top! Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
Love your modifications! Cooking is all about adapting to what you like/have on hand! 🙂
Do you pour the cornmeal mixture on top of the chili or mix it into the chili?
Could the cornmeal be swapped with flour? Thanks!
Corn flour, yes….but not regular flour. Sorry <3
Hi, I am making this tomorrow and I forgot to buy cornmeal. Just wondering if it’s necessary? Thanks
Hi Jessica! You could use 1 Tablespoons to 3 Tablespoons of water mixed together instead. The cornmeal just helps to thicken the chili up.
Thank you for this recipe. It really is delicious. I barely altered it to my liking. I omitted the corn because I don’t care for that texture in my chili. Also, I kept hearing the words tangerine chilis on the TV, and in my mind, I was hearing tangerine chili (as in a dish) instead of tangerine chili pepper which is what was actually being talked about. So, I had this in my head for most of the week and became obsessed with wanting to make an orange chili! I went searching for an orange or tangerine spiced chili recipe and nothing really came up. I found your recipe and added about half a cup of freshly squeezed orange juice and a generous helping of orange zest to the recipe. I am so happy with the results. Thank you for the foundation to a great tasting veggie chili.
Love these alterations! I will have to give them a try next time!
Are all the spice/herb measurements correct? I do like things spicy but the many “Tablespoon” measures seems very generous! Making this tomorrow for a church youth group cook-off. My 13-year old daughter has decided she is vegetarian, and this seems easy enough to assemble at 5:00 in the morning for a noon church lunch!
Yes a Tablespoon is correct! This makes a lot of chili! Hope that helps 🙂
My husband and I LOVE this chili! I thin I have made it 3 times in the last month! ha! It is so easy, healthy and has so much flavor! My dad came to visit and he was a little skeptical at first but loved it as well! Thanks for sharing it!
Yay!! So happy to hear you love it as much as we do!! 🙂
Why do I feel like instead of cornmeal you mean cornstarch – like a thickening agent. Is that right?
We do use cornmeal for chili, but you could definitely use cornstarch. Check out this article for more tips on thickening chili: http://www.wikihow.com/Thicken-Chili
Hi, How do you think sweat potato would be in it?
Yep! That would be yummy! Just peel and dice it up – then add it in at the beginning with the other ingredients.
Hi, this looks amazing and I would love to make it but I dont have a crockpot/slowcooker. Can it be made on the hob and what changes would you recommend to the recipe or steps to make?
Thank you!
Saute the yellow onion, mushrooms, red bell pepper, and yellow squash with some olive oil. Then add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 1-2 hours!
This recipe is easy, healthy, and delicious. I often feel at-a-loss when I cook for vegetarian friends, but this was a home run! I subbed one can of kidney beans for a can of white beans instead. I really love that it yields so much so that we can freeze some for future use too. I’m keeping this one on hand for sure! Thank you!!